Birthday!

Ava celebrated her 4th birthday on June 10th. On the morning of her birthday our family picked up her friend Jacob and went to Hy-Vee. Each of the kids got to pick out a doughnut and we ate them in the cafe. They thought it was pretty cool. On Thursday we were in Sioux Falls and had a party at Grandma Sherri's house. Ava made her own cake and had a blast doing it. All I did was put the cake in the oven and frost it. The cake was pink with pink frosting and was decorated with sprinkles and all different kinds of pretty shoes, lipstick, purses, and princesses. When we were taking the cake to grandma's she informed me that if we dropped it her birthday would be ruined. Needless to say, I was very careful with the cake. We are so glad to have Ava as part of our family. I hope she had a very happy day!

Our trip to DeSmet, South Dakota

Last week we took a trip to DeSmet, South Dakota. It's the home of author Laura Ingalls Wilder. Our kids love to watch "Prairie on the House" as they call it, so we thought why not take them to the real place. It was a lot of fun. We got to tour the surveyors home that they lived in. Laura writes about this home in "By the shores of Silver Lake." We also toured the house that Pa built in town. This was the home that Pa, Ma,and Mary all lived and died in. Out at the homestead we toured a replica home that they lived in during "The Long Winter". For the first few months the six of them lived in a space the size a walk in closet. My friends think six of us in a 2 bedroom apartment is cramped. We've got it easy! The homestead was the funnest part of the trip. We got to ride on a covered wagon. The kids each got a turn driving it. They were also able to ride on little ponies. Ava didn't want to have anything to do with that part though. If anyone gets a chance to go, you should. It's great for a family day trip and only 2 hours from Sioux Falls.

Underwear Monster!

I thought this was funny so I decided to post it. Joseph is potty training and apparently thought it would be silly to put his underwear on his head and come at me like a monster. He just kept yelling "I'm a monster". OHHHH the fun we have at our home!

Say What?

Just a few silly things the kids have said recently. On Monday Joseph bought a $1 gun at Wal-mart. We brought it home and as expected from a cheap toy, it didn't work. I told him we would have to take it back cuz' it's not working.

The Wal-mart employee: Is anything wrong with the gun?

Joseph: It's piece a Junk!


This morning Ava was looking at my bumpy veins on my legs (thanks kids).

Ava: Why is it bumpy like that?

Me: oh, that just happens sometimes.

Ava: are you old?

Me: uhhhh I don't know.

A few weeks ago the kids were playing with Sam's stethoscope.

Bianca: I can't listen to your heart mom. I think there's to much fat around it.

Me: Well listen to dad's. He doesn't have any fat.

Our Anniversary

Sam and I finally got to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Our actual date was on April 23rd but with 3 kids and Sam in school, we weren't able to do anything until this past Saturday. My parents came to Vermillion and watched the kids for us so we could go to he Winter Quarters Temple down in Omaha. We haven't been there together since the day we were married. It was different than the last time we were there. Much less anxiety and nervousness.

We did an endowment session for my great-grandparents and afterword we did a sealing for them. On the way out I told Sam "Now they are happily married." His response, "Weren't they already?" Well, at least now it's for eternity.

After the temple we drove to Sioux City and had dinner at Perkins. Funny that's where I picked to go even though we had a million choices. I just really wanted some chicken strips and banana cream pie. Sam was glad to have a variety to choose from. Usually I drag him to mexican restaurants where the only thing he will eat is the chicken strips. He's kinda picky. This time he got a steak and shrimp platter with mac'n cheese and wildberry pie. Typical Sam Bair food.

Anyway, I'm blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive husband. He works hard at school and takes good care of us. I really depend on him for sanity and stability. I hope he still wants to be married to me 50 years from now!

Silly Boy...

I had a couple of funny pictures of Joseph that I have wanted to post, and I'm finally getting it done.

In the first one you may think he had a serious head injury or something. NOT the case at all. He was playing and somehow poked his eye. The only way he would stop crying was to have a wet rag on his eye. Well, Sam got tired of holding the rag in place so he wrapped Joseph's head with an ace bandage. Every time I look at the picture I laugh.

In the next one Joseph was pretending to be Mandi's little girl "baby Kenna". I put a bow in and he crawled around with his tongue out just like she does.

Our trip to Yankton

A few weeks back we had some really nice weather and decided to take a trip down to Yankton. For those of you who aren't from around here, Yankton is about 30 min. northwest of us. It's nice little town that is just a little bigger than Vermillion and is on the Missouri river. We like to go down to the fish hatchery in the summer and feed the baby fish. We also go to a lake and swim. After all the fun, it's nice to hit the Dairy Barn for some really yummy ice cream in large portions.

Anyway, on this particular day the temp. was 70 degrees and perfect for feeding the ducks at the pond. The kids always have a blast. After the ducks were fed we had a picnic dinner and played at the park. What a great day. Hopefully the South Dakota winter will shape up soon and we can have many more fun days like this.