i make things

Family Get Together: Why? 'Cuz Dad's Home!

DAD's HOME!!!!

So we gathered together at home. All of the kiddos were there and most of the children...Nick wasn't. He fixes ag equipment so he's out in the field (it's Harvest time in MN and everyone is either finishing up their beans or starting corn.)

It's hard getting everyone happy at once. There's always someone smiling, someone crying, someone pouting, someone looking the other way and someone making a face.

These two love this kid. Grace because she loves babies and Jacob because it's his brother.

Ashton wasn't too thrilled.

This little cutie patootie smiles the most for her Daddy.

I call him Squirt-o. No reason really it's just a nickname. There's no back story on that one.

He looks somber now but you should have seen his excitement at Grandma's motion-activated spider that drops from the ceiling when you get close enough. He squealed with delight.

This kiddo should be wearing a shirt that says, "I army crawl for food."

Plaid groupies. I wonder if they planned that?

'

Smooches from Grandma.

PILLOW FIGHT!

Break time from fighting for popsicles.

 

Grace turns 8!

My niece Grace turned 8 years old today! 8! How the heck did she all of a sudden turn 8? Seriously? The time has FLOWN BY!

I can still remember the day she was born. Michelle and I both worked in the cities at the time. She called me in the early afternoon and told me she was in labor and had been since the morning. She was on her way home. She had to stop talking mid-sentence because she was having a contraction and needed to breathe. I was ticked. I yelled at her and told her to pull over. I was only 10-15 minutes behind her. I could pick her up and drive her to the hospital in Owatonna and I'd go back later with someone to get her car.

She wasn't having any of that. She kept driving. I kept worrying and speeding and swearing. I made it to the hospital and sat there until around 4 p.m. She was in heavy contractions when I got there and didn't even know I was there. I left at 4 to go pick up Jack, my  nephew and their kid, from daycare.

That was definitely an interesting experience. I still give her crap about it to this day.

So without further adeu...here are some pictures of Grace through the ages. Really, it's each year near her birthday but that doesn't sound quite as exciting as "through the ages." LOL

Grandpa and Grace.

First Halloween

Christmas 2007 - her First.

This kid loves her cake. and Pink, she loves pink. Although for several years she was deadset on purple but in the last year she's switched back to loving pink.

One of my favorite costumes.

Second Christmas

I loved those piggy tails.

3 years old and she got a homemade princess crown cake made by me. :) You can see already she's into the purple.

4 years old and completely into Tangled. She loved that movie for awhile. This was probably one of my favorite birthday pictures of her.

She really looks like my clone here. I know the picture is blurry but I love the look on her face as she gets ready to blow out the candles on her cake.

6 years old and definitely has a personality.

At 7 she's the ringleader, sheepherder, wrangler of her cousins.

At 8 she's all her own. She is very smart, too smart for her own good, in fact and LOVES barbies and dolls. She has a slew of little friends and loves to play with her cousins. She's very opinionated for her age and definitely has her own ideas and wishes.

Here are a few more pics I happened to find. I could spend all day perusing through old pictures. LOL

me and Grace.