Papa's Birthday at the Science Musuem

We celebrated Papa's birthday together at the Science Museum.  My parents are charter members of the musuem and we have been meaning to go for a while now.  The kids LOVED it!  The dinosaurs were the biggest hit.  We even went to "The Greatest Places" omni show, which we all enjoyed.  We even brought Anja, who really thought she was going to get "hit" by the leaves, birds, etc that came flying our way!  Here's several pictures of us enjoying the time together.  My sister took some great pictures as well.  Check them out here.

Sledding with our Grand Rapids neighbors!

We had a great time sledding on our Sugar Lake hill with our friends, Benji and Lydia.  Benji was eager to go down the fastest part of the hill, which made us all nervous because there are a few trees!  Yikes!  The kids had a great time together.

 

 

President's Day Weekend

We had a great time at the cabin over President's day.  We were sledding a bunch of the time and we really enjoyed being outside.  We forgot Anja's boots, but she didn't seem to mind too much.  The kids helped make their Valentine's for a school party.  Our neighbors (from home and the cabin) came by to do some fun sledding!  See pictures from sledding here.

Where We Got the Name for the Blog

 Four years ago today Great-Grampa George Krasean passed.  Here is a picture of something that had never happened before: 4 generations of Krasean men (Jeff, George, Gustav, and Kip) taken shortly before George passed on.  It's because of George that Team Krasean has a foundation in the great outdoors, purchasing Ponsford over 50 years ago. 

i heart faces - week 8: "hands on" fun

My husband was given this banjo as a gift from his dad.  Both of them have a love for bluegrass music.  My husband has been slowly teaching himself how to play and he is improving all the time!  I wanted to showcase his hand playing this great instrument for the "hand" theme.  Thanks for looking.

 Head over to http://iheartfaces.com to see all of the other creative entries this week.

Anja's 18 (almost 19) month stats

We went to the doctor today for Anja's well check.  She's very healthy and she continues to grow and learn new things each day.  Her favorite words are Mama, Daddy, Gus, Ruby (friend), baby, baa (for her stuffed sheep), Mor Mor, Papa, Gramma, Grampa, teddy, cup, and don't forget - Noooo!  Notice that "Johan" is not on the list - I think it is just a really hard word for her to say.  Anja's hair is getting longer and is usually messy.  The back gets quite snarled and her bangs are often in her eyes (barrettes and binders get pulled out).  Anja continues to be a very happy and outgoing gal.  She is always happy to put on her jacket and boots and head out to some activity.  Here are the stats:

24-1/2 pounds

32 inches tall 

i heart faces - week 7: i wanna dance!

 Wow, here I am at the last second putting in my i heart faces photo for this week. My oldest son LOVES to dance. We do a lot of "rocking out" in the evenings. For taking photos, it presents the challenges of low light and uninteresting background (a.k.a messy house).


I did my best to use texture to make Gus look like the true rock star that he is.  For those of you who like R.E.M., he has inherited a love for Michael Stipe's music and moves from his dad.  Can't you just see this kid on stage someday? 

Everyone's Dancin'

Welcome to the silliness that takes place in my kitchen! I love when the camera is close enough for me to capture these priceless moments.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Truth be told, I had fun making the Valentines this year.  Yes, the kids helped with the picture taking and pasting, but I had a good time playing around in Photoshop to create these Valentines.  I copied the idea from another photography blog!!  The kids were "holding" pencils for the Valentines we made for their friends at pre-school, but I like the heart-shaped lollipops! 

Mug or Cup?

My neighbor and fellow blogger, Catherine, has posed a challenge on her blog to make one small change to reduce your carbon footprint.  She is even offering a giveaway on her blog for posting your goal for a change!  

In January, I read about her decision to not use paper coffee cups.  I don't go out for coffee very often, but I am guilty of us using a paper cup even when I am staying at the coffee shop.  Last Sunday, I took the boys out for the afternoon and we got some hot chocolate.  I specifically asked for mugs instead of paper cups.  Thanks to Catherine for the inspiration.

While we were at the coffee shop, the boys had a great time playing and hanging out.  We took some pictures for our Valentine's, which I will post later.

My goal for February is to use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.  We have some cloth napkins, but I may need to invest in more at some point.   

i heart faces - week 6: we heart kisses

There is nothing like a smootch from Gramma!  I am so thankful that we have such involved and loving grandparents on both sides.  The kids love it too!  This picture is hazier than I normally post, but I'm branching out this week!  I really liked the warm tones with this particular photo.

Head over to i heart faces to check out other photos with kisses at www.iheartfaces.com

Anja at 18 months

Anja and Ruby

Anja and Ruby are great friends.  It is so cute to watch these 1 year olds play and really have a connection with each other.  Here are a few photos of the two of them together. 

Baby Veronica

We are happy to share that we have a new niece, Veronica Kate.  Here are a few B&W pictures of her.

Happy Birthday Uncle Patrick!

We were able to sing "Happy Birthday" to Uncle Patrick on his actual birthday today.  Patrick is a very involved uncle.  He loves to hang out with our kids - he's always up for taking them outside to play baseball, football, or basketball.  His son is just 6 weeks older than Anja, so the two of them are becoming fast friends.  They shared a kiss today (so cute), but none of us were camera ready at that moment.

Lars turns 5!

We were able to celebrate Lars' 5th birthday with an ocean themed party.  The kids had a great time playing and being silly.  They played a game of pin the tooth on the shark.  You can find more photos of this fun party on my sister's blog.