Father's Day

It was nice to have a grandfather at our house to celebrate with this year!  Rex and Chris had to fight over the Red Plate for their cinnamon rolls this morning.  Actually, they each tried to pass it off to the other, as the Wolfes have a long standing joke about being "special".  :)

The awesome father of our children!  We are blessed indeed to have a loving dad and husband at this house.  He loves God and does his best for our family.  We think he's the best!

The men spent the afternoon playing usual Wolfe made-up games.  Ami's ladybug ball was being used in ways she never intended.

Again, Ami's princess memory game being "played" by the guys.  Ha!  Grandpa was a great sport to play with her and I'm not quite sure what Benjamin was up to.  :)

For my dad...I am ever so thankful for the upbringing you and Mom provided for me.  I appreciate you more and more as the years go by, and as I have more parenting years of my own.  I look forward to each visit, treasuring the times we have together in between the months of miles between us.  Can't wait to be in OUR Yosemite together this summer.  I love you very much!

(Osaka - March 2011)

Happy Father's Day to the three best dads I know....Chris, Dad, and Rex!

Grandma's Birthday

It's rare that we get to celebrate birthdays with grandparents, but today we had that opportunity.  After having lived in Russia for the last eight years, G & G Wolfe have been easy to please with their food requests.  We picked up bagels for birthday breakfast for Grandma and took them out for a steak dinner this evening.  Then we came home for chocolate cake.  We tried to give her a kitten for her birthday, but unfortunately Grandpa didn't agree.  ;-)

Happy Birthday, Grandma/Mom! 

Phone Download

Time to get some pictures off my phone....

 

We love our regular walks down the road. Johanna always takes sugar cubes or some other treat for Blue.

We were out to eat with friends around the time of Johanna's birthday.  She received a special birthday treat, but didn't want to participate after she heard that the birthday person's face got pushed down in the whipped cream!

From Animal Kingdom...took this for Jeremy.  It reminded me of the Reliant Robin (gotta look that one up).

Fun times!

Oh, the brothers will be mortified!

Nice!  Johanna says it really does work.  :)

From Russia With Love

G & G Wolfe arrived yesterday and we met them at the station.  The kids were excited to see them again.  We've been fortunate to see them about every summer when they visit from Moscow.  This September they'll be moving back to the US permanently, and will only live a couple of hours away.  It will be nice to have grandparents on this side of the globe again!

Today was our regular day to volunteer at the food bank, so we took G & G along with us.

Kitties

Okay, it's time for another kitten update.  They are five weeks old today and getting cuter by the day.  They are venturing out bit by bit and are becoming very playful.  It's hilarious to watch Twix trying to let one kitten nurse while another is playing with her tail and another kitten is pouncing on her head.  They are trying to eat some solid food, and therefore (ahem) have something to show for it, thus we've dragged out the litter box.  Anyone want to claim one?  They'll be ready to find a new home in a couple of weeks or so!  :)

Such a cute trio!

How can you say no to this adorable face?!

We have one more week of swimming lessons for Johanna and Ami.  We've also been going to the pool regularly.  It finally "clicked" with Ami this weekend.  She is having fun swimming under water and realizing how much she can do. 

Johanna has faithfully been taking care of her newly pierced ears three times a day.  Her six weeks have finally passed and she is having fun trying out all her different earrings that big sister has passed down to her.  She is growing into a beautiful young lady.

It really struck me after I took this picture  how much she take after her handsome Uncle Jeremy.  Must be that Rickard streak in her. 

Swimming Lessons II

It's Johanna's turn for pictures!  She is in a different pool than Ami, the diving well.  It's fun for those watching their kiddos during lessons because they also get to watch the high divers being coached.  I think I'm getting in the mood for some Summer Olympics!

Johanna is doing great and improving on her strokes and diving.

10 Years Ago

Ten years ago today we closed on Wolfe Park.  We had fallen in love with the property and so many other things about the house worked for us.  Chris convinced me to look at the "good bones" of the house rather than focusing on all the 70s decoration and upgrading that needed to be done. 

Here are some before pictures and then some taken just today:

We have redone every single room in the house except for the master bathroom, paved the long gravel driveway, enclosed the garage, added on a back deck, put in a whole new HVAC system, redone lots of landscaping, and much more.  It's still a work in progress as time and money allow, and it's already time to start upgrading some of the rooms we originally changed.  But, this is home.  We are so very thankful for God's provision.  Little did we know when we moved in with three little ones (5, 3, and 1) that we would need the extra square footage for two more treasures!  Happy anniversary, Wolfe Park!  :)

Swimming Lessons

Unfortunately we had to cancel Elijah's lessons, but Ami and Johanna started today.  They are in two different pools, so I only got pictures of Ami today, but I'll be sure to get some of Johanna, too.  We love the facilities and lessons at MU!

Remodeling

With more free time on their hands, the kids decided it was time to remodel the Great Wolfe Lodge.  Previously, it had just been owned by Elijah and Benjamin, but they decided to expand and make Johanna co-owner (something she has been requesting for a long time), and Michaela pitched in with her architectural advice.  They basically tore most of it down, leaving only a remnant.  They've assured me that it will look better than ever, and that they'll repaint when all is settled.  It has taken quite a bit of *ahem* "teamwork" to get matters figured out and agreed upon, but they are in full swing now and enjoying the process. 

(Of course this was BC - Before Cast)

 

Ami and Johanna have also loved a new-found friendship with two neighbor girls (6 & 8) that live just through the woods.   They holler to each other to see if they can play.  Then they race to meet at the property line in the woods.  The other day Chris asked if he should use the trimmer and make a path for them, but when I checked things out there was already a well worn path.  Too cute!

Here's the path from our edge of the woods to the "meeting spot".

 

Then they cross a long fallen log across the ravine (a bit of a balancing act!).

They even buried an old mail box where they leave notes for each other EVERY DAY, multiple times a day.

There is also a cute little fort that they've built.  I love the creativity!

The boys have also been earning some extra money doing yard work for Grandpa H.  I caught this picture as they were taking off to do some mulch work.  It was just a bit later that Elijah wiped out on his way home.  :(