Balloon Fest 2014

Even though we were up so late for fireworks and 6am didn't seem like a fun time to wake up the following day, we did it anyway as we didn't want to miss the last day of the hot air balloon festival.















We packed up breakfast, pulled our kids out of bed and Grandma and Grandpa Kraczek took us out to the field where they were taking off. We all had fun watching the balloons fill up with hot air and then float away into the sky.

Happy Independence Day!

This year we spent the 4th of July in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa Kraczek and some of our Kraczek cousins. Evan has enjoyed playing with his cousins Abby, Sam and Kaitlyn everyday and Bennet has enjoyed having more space to run around in with lots of cabinets that aren't safely locked that he can explore.










Provo puts on a big Freedom Festival with lots of fun 4th of July events that go on all weekend. Thursday we went to Colonial Fest where Evan learned how to make barrels and was put in jail before Grandma brought us fresh squeezed lemonade, which is Evan's favorite.

Dancing in the dance contest with Abby and Sam

HIYAH!

The morning of the 4th, Aunt Marianne and I woke up early to stake out a spot for the Grande Parade. Cousin Sam and Abby came too. After we found the perfect front row spot, we had a great time watching and participating in the pre-parade festivities.

 Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Mike brought Evan, Bennet and Kaitlyn just in time for the parade to start. It was a really fun parade, Mommy liked the BYU float the best, Grampa Kraczek was partial to the marching bands and Evan liked the candy that the advertisers threw.

Even little Bennet enjoyed it so much he sat and watched the whole time without trying to wander off once.






After the Parade, Grandma and Grandpa picked up Daddy from the Airport. He got here just in time for a fun family barbeque before we headed off to Thanksgiving Point to watch the firework show.  At first, Bennet didn't like the loud booms, but after a while he decided they were okay.

Evan came prepared with his headphones as he wanted "to make the fireworks nice and quiet."
As soon as the fireworks stopped, Evan and Bennet started to fall asleep and were fast asleep before we even got to the car.

Big Trucks

Having two boys who like big trucks, I couldn't pass up the opportunity this year to take them to the Town of Herndon's "Big Truck Days." Each year they fill a parking lot full of the city's big trucks and let kids climb all over them. It was a beautiful spring day and Evan and Bennet had a blast. There were so many cool trucks with buttons and switches all over them just begging to be pushed by little fingers.

Bennet's 1st Birthday

My baby Bennet celebrated his 1st birthday last month. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing this little one home from the hospital.



So far Bennet is a very happy boy who loves his family and adores his big brother. He has been walking since he was 10 months and now runs around this house like he owns the place. He is a great eater and will mostly eat anything you put in front of him or that he can steal of your plate. His favorite game is peek a boo with the curtains or his towel after his bath. He loves to play outside and will bring me his shoes to put on him and then stand by the door until I take him out to play.

In addition to all the boring stuff Mom and Dad got him, Grandma and Grandpa Saunders sent him a great big dump truck to push around the house.  He loves it! Happy Birthday to my happy baby.

Egg Hunt 2014

Surveying the egg carnage

We had so much fun last year that we had to make our Egg Hunt a tradition. So we invited 30 of our closest friends and their children over to our tiny house and hid 250 eggs in our backyard. Everyone brought something yummy to eat for brunch and when we had had our fill we let the kids loose on the back yard.

Evan had much more fun this year. Last year he thought all the eggs were for him and that the other kids were taking his eggs. This year he was so excited to have friends come over and look for eggs with us. Bennet loved shaking the eggs and was so excited when Evan showed him that there was candy inside.

Cherry Blossom Festival 2014

Spring is finally here! Our polar vortex winter seemed to last forever ruining the Kite day of the Cherry Blossom Festival by first raining then snowing causing it to be canceled. It finally warmed up and this year Uncle Jeff and Aunt Michelle came to visit us from Dayton Ohio to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival with us and see trees in full bloom. Uncle Jeff and michelle wanted to take lots of pictures of the trees so we went Thursday morning and Friday night at sunset. Both days were wonderful. The sun was shining, it was finally warm outside and the trees were beautiful. What a wonderful way to welcome in spring with a beautiful walk around the tidal basin. 

Happy Birthday Daddy

 Monday we celebrated Daddy's birthday.  Evan made sure we decorated properly and mommy spent the day making cake. It is our second attempt at the perfect chocolate cherry cake for Paul. I made a few changes to my recipe from last year and we are definitely getting closer to the Ultimate Chocolate Cherry Cake we are looking for. We love our Daddy so much we hope he had fun on his special day.