donut you know ...

years ago there was a bakery in town

it was well loved

but after the owner passed away and the recipes changed

it lost it's luster and ended up closing

fast forward to this winter

a new owner took on the task of finding the old recipes

and rebuilding the bakery based on those loved recipes

since then ... 

hans bakery has been such a hit.

the lines are usually out the door

and we have been anxiously waiting for the perfect time to go

when the boys had off of school last week

we decided there was no better time

each of the boys picked a donut

and drew decided to attempt the texas sized donut

i'm sure he could've eaten the whole thing ...

but i did help a bit ;)

thanks for putting smiles on our faces, hans' bakery

we'll be back!

bridging the gap

today i spent the day with jen hatmaker ...

kind of ;)

she is great with words

so it was fun to see her live at bridging the gap

a perfect day ...

good friends, worship, encouragement ...

and chipotle!

already?!

2 in middle school ...

already?!

tonight was ben's 6th grade 'welcome night'

we are SO excited for him to be at roosevelt with all of his friends

but

2 of 3 out of elementary school ...

already?!

egg-cellent

we had a great easter weekend again this year

we traveled to wisconsin

and

had a great weekend of family ... cousins ... babies ...

 and 

easter baskets ;)

even marley put on her finest easter dress ...

thanks mom for everything!!

even the kazoos

we love you!!

WEBbie

for the past few months

drew has been SO excited about the fact that next year he'll be in 8th grade

AND

that meant he could apply to be a WEB leader at school

WEB stands for 'where everybody belongs'

and WEB leaders work with the incoming 6th grade class

they are assigned a group of students

and it's their job to help them in the transition into middle school

a few weeks ago he filled out the essay questions for the application

and this week he was SO excited to find this in the mailbox ...

way to go, drew!

we are so proud of you

and

i have NO doubt that you are going to do a fabulous job!!

jumpin' party

to celebrate ben's birthday

he wanted to go to zero gravity again

it is the perfect spot for a group of boys

to burn some energy

have some birthday treats

and

have a lot of fun!

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY BEN!!

my lunch dates

e*l*e*v*e*n

today is CELEBRATE BEN DAY!!

ben -

for the past eleven years you have been doing a fabulous job

of making us smile

you have endless energy

and have fun no matter what you are doing -

whether it is basketball

baseball

football

running

jumping on the trampoline

or

playing ripstick hockey ;)

you put everything you have into it

and i love that

it makes watching you SO much fun!

what i also love 

is that when you do actually stop moving

you've got the most sensitive, kind heart

you are respectful

you are polite

and

you still love hugs ;)

you are a great kid, ben

and

i hope that this year is your best yet!

i hope that it is filled with a TON of

basketball

mandarin orange chicken

lebron james

nba 2k14

seattle seahawks

leann chin

and

root beer

happy birthday, benny

enjoy my look back at the fun you've added to my last 11 years!!

i love you!