Spring

Well...I meant to catch up but somehow haven't made it to the blogoshpere for a while again.  Here is a quick recap of some of the highlights of our spring.

After we got back from St. Louis it was Easter weekend.  We had a great time worshiping at our church.  Then we headed down to Billerica to celebrate together.

 The next weekend we went to the Big Apple Circus in Boston with friends. 

 

 A few days later, Ben and I got to go on date...first one in a while.  Here we are enjoying a fabulously fancy dinner....a sausage from a cart outside of Fenway Park (darn you traffic!).  NeedtoBreathe at the House of Blues...fun night out.

 Mother's Day was extra special this year.  Axel was dedicated at church.  It was a special time for our family.  (Bonus: They had family pics before the service and I think they turned out great!)





A weekend away to NJ...one last time before Pam moves to Seattle.  Love these ladies...college roomies and lifetime friends!

 Memorial Weekend fun....first trip to the ocean and a cookout at Ryan and Sarah's.

 

 


Birthday time...Happy 40th to Ben.
Special Breakfast for Daddy:

 
Then we celebrated with something truly special...a weekend away for just the two of us.  Of course I booked a weekend at a seaside resort in the middle of basically a monsoon!  But it was still great to get away...and eat great food...and shop sans kids...and celebrate this great guy: 

 

Not really a sit on the beach kind of day...but the waves were pretty cool.

 My birthday was a few days later...and I decided to treat myself to this favorite stop with 2 of my favorite people!

 Then we had a lovely picnic in the park.

 Happy Birthday Whoopie Pie....

Followed by Birthday Dinner for 2 at Petey's on the beach in Rye, NH.  (No pics..oops.  I was too busy stuffing my face with seafood!)

 Father's Day weekend started with a the recital of one of my favorite ballerinas... Kayla did a great job and she had lots of family there to enjoy the show.


  
Then down to Grandma and Grandpa "Bengskin's" for an overnight visit complete with dinner, outside fun and smores...celebrating some of the best dads I know.

Of course all the other days we love to be at home...playing inside...

and outside...

 ...right up to the first official day of summer.
What better way to celebrate than another amazing day at the ocean! 

Phew!  All caught up.  What a fun spring it was.  A lot of everyday activities highlighted with some special times with loved ones and friends.  Just the way we like it around here! 

Meet me in St. Loius

Oh catching up....

I've been a blogging slacker lately...good thing I don't make a living at this. The next few posts are going to be a whirlwind tour of the last couple of months.  But for tonight I think I'll stick to one subject for this post....

The last weekend in March we headed out out to St. Loius for Ben's grandparents' 70th anniversary celebration.  It was the first time flying for both our kids...and my first time flying in 5 years (hard to believe).  The flight went well (especially now that we are home and I've had a month and a half to forget about the diaper blowout while we were taxiing to takeoff...and the 6 hour delay in Baltimore!).  Minus those two instances I think we did pretty well for our first time flying with children.
We got into St. Louis quite late and were expecting to navigate our way to our destination on our own, but we were surprised that Ben's Aunt Barbara and Uncle Chip were there to meet us!! 

The next day we headed over to the Friendship Village where Grammy and Poppy live.  They didn't know that we were coming in for the weekend...so it was quite fun to walk in and surprise them. 
It was Axel and Tobi's first time to meet Grammy Bear & Poppy (as the great grandkids call them).  

 

There were a lot of guests in for the weekend.  It was great to see everyone and celebrate such a great event.  It was so nice to see so many relatives from all over the country.  We had lovely family time at Ben's aunt and uncle's home, sharing meals, giving gifts, watching family movies from years gone by, playing with new friends, and enjoying the summer-like weather.

 

Sunday morning we attended church where Ben's Uncle chip is the pastor. It was palm Sunday.  It was a lovely service in a beautiful building.

Sunday afternoon was the main event...the anniversary celebration.
Sadly I forgot bring my camera to the big event at the Friendship Village, so all I got was this pic of the crowd (and Tobi pointing at me) at the reception.  As you can see, it was well attended!  It was a lovely celebration of such an amazing accomplishment.

There are a few more pics from the photographer here.

On Monday we made a trip to the St. Louis Zoo.  It was a great zoo...but we didn't expect the 90 degree weather on the 1st of April.  It was hot!

 

Axel's favorite part was the carousel.  He ooh-ed and ahh-ed the whole time.  He also thought he should be able to jump in and pet the tiger...but we strongly advised against this!

 

And Tobi was quite occupied with taking care of her brother! 

 
All in all it was a fabulous weekend!  What a special treat to be able to be there for such a great event! 

Move over lion...here comes the lamb...

This was today....

Lovely spring temperatures reaching 70 degrees.  Unusually warm for mid-march.  Bare feet, short sleeves, swing sets and sandboxes.

This was last week...

After a virtually snowless winter, March decided to give us one last surprise. Hats, mittens, snowshoes and snow walks.

We were happy to get a little more use out of our winter gear.
Sadly, the soft snow and lack of nap proved to be too much for our youngest snowshoer...and she opted for this innovative ride after a just a few steps on her own.

I did help Ben with the load and we divvied up the kids.  I took the littler bundled.  Yes, this is him sound asleep...

 Nothing like adding 40 lbs to your workout...

 

But...enough of that.  That was last week.

THIS was today...

Hello spring!!!!
See ya next year, Winter.  (Or perhaps next week...you NEVER know 'round these parts.)

Happy Birthday, Little Valentine!

Well, despite my pleading and protesting he still went ahead with it!  He had the nerve to go ahead and turn ONE! 

Axel was so anxious for his party he decided to get things rolling a little early by pulling a whole bowl of Pirate's Booty (or Pirate's Goody as it is known around here thanks to Tobi) onto the floor and start digging in...

After some snacks it was pizza time...

Then it was time to open some gifts..with a little help from the ladies...

No party would be complete without a little entertainment...

 

Then it was time to get down to the big event...

   

Cake time!!!  

Axel had his own cake.  

It was made by Daddy...

 

and thoroughly enjoyed by the birthday boy...

 

...especially the frosting.

 

 Okay...he enjoyed it all...even the plate!

 The proof is in the smile...or cake induced stupor.

 Poor tired boy.  He rubbed his eyes...and rubbed red velvet cake EVERYWHERE!

Time to call this party done!

It's hard to believe that just a year ago we were introducing Axel baby here.
It was Valentine's Day, one year ago, that we got to take this precious gift home from the hospital and now he is woven so deeply into the fabric of this family.  When he was added to our family it gave us all new roles.  Ben and I became parents of a son and Tobi got to take on the role of big sister.  It stretched our titles but more amazingly stretched our hearts.  We couldn't imagine our home without Axel's silly infectious giggle, pointing finger, "manly" grunting, squeals of pure joy, pitter patter of toddling feet, slap-slap of toy-clad crawling hands, scrunching nose, cheesy smile, curious nature, and even the pant-grabbing whining with an incessant "ma ma ma ma ma ma ma...".  It's all part of our daily experience here.  We are so in love this boy and we thank God every day that we get to be his family!!!  Happy Birthday, Baby Axel!!!  WE LOVE YOU!!!