Henrik turned 2 in March. He had difficulty blowing out his candles!! We had our usual crew to celebrate and had a fun evening. I can not remember what he got for gifts; I'm certain he was spoiled!
This Spring I was home every Monday and Wednesday afternoon and made a point to avoid taking any extra PRN jobs those days. This is because it was my last 1:1 time with Will. He was still half days in school, so I would pick him up those days, put Henrik down for his nap, and spent time with Will until Gabbie got home. This day was one of the very last before summer so we went fishing at the pond...and had no luck but lots of smiles!
OUR FIRST FAMILY VACATION!!! MY FAVORITE PART OF 2016
We took off with a broken A/C and wound up kids. First stop was at Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD
Brice was not amused at Will's inconvenient timing to use the bathroom!
First night in a hotel! Mom lucked out. I was trying a new "app" on my phone where you can get discounts on hotels at the last minute (since they are just trying to fill up for the night). Well, I picked a bad night to try this but we got the last hotel I could find in Mitchell, SD!
Air & Space Museum. We had no itinerary, so just pulled off when we saw something interesting. This was the first sight we saw as we came into Rapid City, SD
Bear Country!
Mount Rushmore...not a great place for a stroller :-)
The joke was this is my obituary picture! We asked Gabbie to take a picture of the 2 of us and she kept cutting off Brice's head!
Better...
The cabin we stayed in-the kids thought this was the best part!
On our way home we took a wrong turn and ended up going through the Badlands. Worked out perfect-really the whole trip went that way. We hit the busy spots at off times and found things we hadn't planned on.
Bin construction this summer; Brice also put up a shed for his bales
First 4-H entries at the Sac County Fair!
Buddies getting ready for Vacation Bible School this summer
First day of school 2016-2017 school year. Gabbie: 2nd Grade, Will: Pre-K
The yearly pose before getting on the bus!
And a couple days later-he turned 5
Angry birds was his choice for cakes
A bigger bike!
He loves to read, and nap
Clay County Fair time!
Henrik's half birthday-he got underwear, which has had little use
A pelican spent some time on our pond this fall
Gabbie had a birthday party at the pottery studio in Storm Lake
Halloween 2016
Chopping; Will is riding along
Gabbie's cake request was simple this year and that's OK with me!
The 40-something pound turkey that we are still trying to eat...
Will had his first school vocal program in December 2016
The kids with their Grandma's
With Grandma Shelley at her vocal concert
Christmas Eve church service
Christmas Eve stop at my Mom's house
Christmas Day church and Sunday School program
Loved his suit :-) or maybe it was the Thomas pants?
I think those were the main highlights for the year! We hit the bike trail often this summer-works well now that 2 of the kids ride their own bikes. I ran 5 half marathons...it didn't work out for me to have Brice or the kids be spectators so I don't have any pictures but this year I ran some faster than usual times and was happy with that. I hope it works to do another one sometime with my family at the finish line! The big news lately is the twins we are expecting in June. I *think* the kids are excited, and now that Brice and I are adjusted to the idea we are excited as well (still wish I had a snapshot of our faces when the doctor found "baby 2"). We've had 2 appointments and already they have been label "baby A and baby B"...so far "baby A" appears to be dominating the space but both of them look good. Currently there is a mild complication (for lack of a better word) with the placenta of "baby A" but the doctor expects this to be gone by mid-January. This is my first time being a "high-risk" pregnancy due to age & multiples but we keep praying and will see what transpires!
Next week I venture back into the world of working full-time. I've been mostly part-time for about 2 years now; not sure what I will do without my day and half to be in my pajamas! If all goes well the extra benefits and vacation time will allow me to be home for 20 weeks with the new babies, possibly more. Also, I recently transitioned from inpatient therapy to outpatient therapy, and the extra time at work will be needed to readjust and learn the outpatient side again (if all of that makes sense to anyone).
Here's to a happy and health 2017 for all!
