Too Much Fun!

I have a feeling that this camera is going to be
SOOO MUCH FUN!!!
I took 150 pictures of my kids playing outside in the pool today! I took the advice of my friend Christy and deleted about 100 of them so that my computer doesn't get swamped with pictures so quickly. It is so fun the emotions and the facial expressions that you capture by using a camera that snaps one after the other. I am very excited to get to become a better photographer and to learn all that this camera can do!

So this is my first attempt at using my new camera.
I have some pretty amazing models to work with.

Isn't she lovely?

Check out the hair growth on this little girl. She can even keep clips in well now! Her hair only gets more fun! I wonder what color I should make it ;)

My children are beyond friendly to anyone walking by and practically daily we get to greet the mailman. Quinn waving to our neighbor while spraying down the high chairs. We gave them a good scrub down today! Oh how I love the summer!

I have learned from my over 3 years of being a mother that children are without a doubt MESSY. So instead of always trying to keep them clean I just embrace it and learn to do a lot of laundry! I do however LOVE having messy treats in the pool. It keeps them happy, them clean themselves off when they splash and slide and then I'm happy!
Rex enjoying a popsicle

Check out the dripping from the popsicle.

This is exactly why we almost always try and eat them in the pool!

Myla Jane sharing with her brothers.
Her brothers like to help her finish most things because she is always the slowest to finish.

I will say this time and time again... I am truly thankful that my kids LOVE each other!
They play soooo well together. They love making each other laugh and just being together. I seriously pray for that daily and thank the Lord daily. There is nothing like your siblings and I am so grateful that they are all so close and all love each other!

Quinn showing off his messy hands and face. What a sweet big brother this boy is. Believe it or not, he has major opinions on what his new little brother is going to be named. Dan and I find his opinion amusing!Enjoying summer!
What a silly boy!Rex continues to be our goof ball. Anyone around him confirms it too, he is a goof!

I'm excited to capture all the joy on their faces daily!

So, this is only the beginning of the fun I'm going to have with this camera. I hope that you all enjoy the pictures. Many many many many more pictures to come!

Happy Anniversary!

So today Dan and I celebrate 4 WONDERFUL years together.
Our wedding day 4 years ago was wonderful. I remember there were tornadoes touching down moments before our wedding and people coming into the ceremony totally drenched but despite all that it was quite a celebration! It's hard to even remember everyone that was there to celebrate with us because the day goes by so quickly. Even though it was only 4 years ago there are quite a few things that I would change about our wedding... sorry bridesmaids about the awful dresses and the ugly flowers. But there is one thing that I would NEVER CHANGE... the man that I said "I Do" to. He is perfect for me in every way. He makes me a better person just being around him. I am honored to be his wife, I am honored to fight for the Lord next to him, I am honored to raise our children with him.

We got to spend 7 hours ALONE together yesterday. Dan's sisters, Jessica and Julia, hung out with our Wee ones. We left around 2 when they all laid down and enjoyed running some errands together, getting a dehumidifier for our basement and milk and fruit from Sams Club (you know romantic things like that). But in all reality we just LOVE being together and even running errands together (and alone) is such a delight. We did enjoy a LONG dinner downtown and then drove around for a while before going home. A truly WONDERFUL day together!

Dan surprised me with a special gift.
We have always talked about getting a nice camera for our family but it was never the right time. Well, a friend of ours is a photographer and he was getting a new camera and offered us his old (very nice) camera for a great deal. So much to my surprise I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D90 with a fabulous lens... I am going to get some lessons on how to use it from our friend because all I can do now is put it on Auto and shoot. But I am excited to capture the fun memories that happen daily around our house! I'm pretty sure that Dan loves to spoil me whenever he can. He is always way too good to me!!


I would not change a thing about the last 4 years. I am excited to see all that the Lord has in store for us this next year.

I love this man!!Happy 4th Anniversary Danny!

Happy Father's Day!

I'm not quite sure that there are words to express how thankful I am for three very important Dads in my life, Dan, Tim Rude and my Dad.

Dan is above and beyond the most incredible man that I know. I know that I mention this quite often but Dan is the most amazing Dad. Saying my children adore him is an understatement. I'm pretty sure that I could go on for hours about how thankful I am to love our children along side of him but these days things like this will make me cry so today I'm just going to say Thank you Dan!

Dan's first few moments as a dad. It's hard to even remember that!

One of my favorite pictures of Dan and QuinnDan is ALWAYS willing to play and LOVE each of our children and make them feel so special!Daddy and his wee ones.

Before Dan came along the most important man in my life, was my Dad. I'm pretty sure that my sisters and I are the luckiest kids alive to have this handsome man for our Dad. He is someone who loves us deeply, sacrifices so much for us and would drop everything to help us. A man that I admire greatly, respect so much and LOVE!

Quite possibly our first picture together

I'm thinking that we both have lovely hair in this picture. I get my blue eyes from my Daddy.

I have never lacked love from this man.Dancing on my wedding day.

This is a favorite picture of mine!I love my dad dearly and I get so excited that my children get to know him and love him so much. They often times walk around our house holding cell phones and calling "Papa."

Dan's dad, Tim Rude, is another amazing man and is admired by many. He is the father of 10 children who he loves dearly and grandfather to 10 (with 3 more on the way). He is a man that Dan and I greatly respect and learn so much from! We are truly thankful for him.

A sweet picture of Dan and Tim flexing their muscles.

Tim and 4 of his 7 boys in Spain on a mission trip.
Dan, Jason, Tim, Steve, DaveTim and Dan on our wedding dayTim and I on my wedding day.
He has been a blessing as a Father-in-law!I hope that my three boys would learn so much from these three men and grow up to be dads of honor and integrity and to love their children the way that these three men have. I am blessed and honored to have each of these men in my life and my children BLESSED to have these men in their life.

Happy Father's Day!

I'm No Match

I'm no match for their daddy!
Dan is more fun than anyone I've ever been around when it comes to our kids. I'm pretty sure that I could do the exact same thing, the exact same way and the level of fun would not even be half the level of fun that my kids have with their daddy. My efforts pale in comparison. There is just something about him that they adore! I mean I don't really blame them. He is a blast and is ALWAYS coming up with fun things to do and fun places to explore and creative ways to jump or throw a ball that could keep them entertained for hours! My children do love me, but being 31 weeks pregnant does not increase my "fun-ness" in their eyes. When Daddy is around I'm usually only needed when someone gets hurt or needs a little extra hug. I'm so glad my kids adore Dan and Dan adores them. I am so thankful for my fun loving husband.

We have had some really fun Daddy time this week. We went fishing at our friends house. They just moved to a "lake" (although no Minnesotan would actually allow you to call it a lake). Our friends said that the fishing was great for kids which means you cast and catch, cast and catch. They were right and we caught enough fish to keep my kids entertained for an hour. Well between the fish and the worms everyone was happy!

Daddy and his kids showing off their catch.

They were all a good size, the only bummer was they were a little too big for my kids to hold them without getting poked and for some reason my kids like holding slimy things!

Everyone enjoyed some special Daddy attention while he fished with each one of them. I'm so blessed to be married to a man who cares so much about a relationship with each of our kids.

They were all really good at cheering for each other to catch a fish.

There is something so amazing at watching your children grow up. It's like I blinked and these two are big and independent and have opinions and personalities.

Watching Daddy get the hook out!

Daddy and the babes

The BIG worms kept the babes especially entertained.
They LOVE slimy things.

Myla is brave just like her brothers. She's not afraid of much!

In case you were wondering, the worms usually end up dead after being held and loved on.

We had an AWESOME family day on Tuesday.
We met the Hukee family at the "Big Pool" (as opposed to the splash park) and had a blast. My children LOVED being able to do big jumps, go down the water slide, play in the fountains. Quinn didn't even want Dan or I to catch him. He would jump into 2.5 or 3 feet of water by himself and go under but was so pumped about it. Myla didn't want you to catch her either, she wanted one hand to hold but you could not stand in front of her and she would go under occasionally. What a crazy girl. Rex, although slightly more hesitant about things had a great time too. I love my little water babies. I did not however, get any pictures because 3 kids in a big pool require 2 parents attention AT ALL TIMES. So the big pool is something special we just get to do with Daddy. We packed a lunch so we were there till 2 (nap time) and this was my view for the 8 minute car ride home.... Totally worn out.

I am truly thankful for all the fun times with Daddy.
Dan is amazing and loves each one of our children in such special ways. I love watching him be so sweet to Myla, a special Daddy daughter relationship that only he and her will share. I love watching him teach my boys things and how to be tough and brave. I have no doubt that adding another babe around here will only increase the fun level and Dan will come up with fun ways to include baby #4. He is the best Daddy and I'm just fine with not being nearly as fun as he is!

I'm just no match for Daddy!

Big Kid Room!

I have been working on getting my BIG KID ROOM ready!

It is not finished. It still needs things on the walls, some new curtains, the nightstand needs some attention, I want to get some big baskets for underneath the bunk beds for toys to be stored. Getting all these things done would be ideal but I'm also not holding my breath. The important things are done, they all have beds (REALLY CUTE BEDS) and the walls got painted. Dan's sister Julia (who lives in our basement as of May) volunteered her time and did a great job painting their room Mineral Water blue. It looks a little more blue in person. I decided to go on the lighter side of things because I have picked too bright in the past and regretted it. It's also a fairly small room so a lighter color makes it feel bigger. The bunk beds I found on craigslist (after months of looking) for half of the price Dan told me I could spend, oh yeah! We already had one mattress, Dan's parents offered us a very loved but fine with a mattress topper 2nd mattress and some friends of our offered us a 3rd mattress... BLESSED! The boys bedding was on sale at Target and the sheets from Quinn's old bedding (which I had two sets) matched perfectly to the bedding as did his old pillows. And Myla's bedding was a little splurge but she is my FAVORITE girl in the whole world and I loved the bedding A LOT. So, this is where we are at so far with our Big Kid Room!
I'm not sure why but every picture is out of focus and bad color... oh well. The bunk beds were one year old and looked amazing when we got them. I was so excited. The family that was selling them only used them while they were remodeling and then wanted to get rid of them. I love craigslist!

Myla's sweet bed.

I decided that coordinating their bedding would be too difficult so I just picked what I liked for both of them. They will not share a room forever and I liked Myla's bedding too much! It's way prettier in person.I've been told this bedding fits her outgoing and sassy personality!

Quinn wanted to pose with his awesome bed!

He has slept on the top bunk since the day we got it and LOVES being up high!

The babies however have not slept in their beds yet. Tonight I decided to offer it to them thinking that they would be so excited to sleep with their big Bro but both were practically in tears and wanted to sleep in their cribs. I will have to start with naps and go from there. It's weird to me that they don't want to sleep in there. Oh well... someday soon!Well this is me, 30 weeks pregnant and Large! I didn't know that my husband was posing in the background. As I get bigger he keeps losing weight. He is still running 5 days a week, 6 miles a day. I'm so proud of him!

I also forgot to tell you all about the surprise date that my amazing husband took me on.
Last Sunday Dan surprised me with Taylor Swift tickets. Now you might be thinking, Taylor Swift??? But I happen to be a huge fan of her and most country music and Dan LOVES me was excited to take me out! We went to dinner before and then the concert. It was a HUGE production and very entertaining but more than that I was an amazing night with my husband. As much as I adore my children, a night with the most important man in the world to me so very treasured! Thank you Dan!!!

June Already!

Wow time flies!

I can't believe that it is already June, what happened to May (I only did one post). On the other hand, it's only June, I still have many more weeks of carrying this little guy around in my big belly! It seems like some days take forever to go by and other times the whole month has gone by!

We are enjoying the summer and are totally in summer mode. We have gotten in the swing of putting lots of sun screen on, eating cold treats and getting in the pool anytime it is nice out! We are big fans of getting home from the park or a play date and jumping in with our clothes on. If I had to go and change everyone into their swimming suits everytime we wanted to take a quick dip then swimming might not come as regularly. Instead, we have fun in our shorts, lay them on the deck to dry and they are ready to wear again after naptime. If the pool is visible then they want to get in it! My little water babies!
Myla Jane, liking the water more and more!My water loving boys!
I am truly thankful that my children love each other. They have a blast with each other. That's not without an occasional push or stollen toy but they really enjoy each other. They keep each other entertained.

Rexy boy!

Myla has joined the scorpion phenomenon at our house. Any time music comes on at our house the scorpion comes out! She just likes to join in with the boys.The boys doing the scorpionLoving the slide

Rex' typical "cheese" face

The slide is used constantly in the pool!

Another day in the pool... pure joy on his face!

Look at this stud!
Rex looks so old all of the sudden. Quinn and Rex like to wear their sleveless shirts to "get tan like Daddy." Anytime Dan wears a jersey to mow or play outside, my little boys need to look like daddy.We brought out the sprinkler the other day. It was not as big of a hit as I anticipated. Myla would not even go in it and Rex kept running part way and then the moment it hit his face he would freeze and not know how to get out! Quinn ran through a few times. Maybe if some friends were over running with us it would be more of a thrill.

A shocking photo of Quinn without a shirt on and Rex still wearing a shirt. Usually the moment Quinn's shirt comes off so does Rex'.

We went to the zoo the other day with Daddy. The Des Moines zoo is not the most impressive place but keeps the kids entertained for an hour or so. Their favorite part is always feeding the goats, which is funny cause it is my least favorite part. My babes follow in their brother's footsteps and don't hesitiate at all when it comes to animals.

Rex and Daddy

Check out this good looking crew!

Attempting a picture with my kids.... hmmmm

We are all doing great. I'm 30 weeks along and still cooking this little guy and for that I am very thankful! I am measuring big (2.5 weeks big, nothing to worry about) but I guess that just means he is going to be a tough, big Rude boy! We are still working on names for this little guy. I have definitely been in the "nesting" phase of things. Although I just prefer to call it preparations. Getting clothes switched into different closets, things organized. I have not attempted to get the babies into their big beds yet but they are ready for them. I will have to post pictures soon of the boys bunk beds and Myla's big bed. The thought of them being able to get out of bed whenever they want to is a daunting idea so I might put it off for a few more weeks. Still lots of preparing to do, washing clothes and blankets, making sure the carseat is clean and ready to go. It is hard to image that in a few short weeks their will be one more mouth to feed, one more diaper to change, one more child to dress.... but more than that, one more sweet baby to love. Can't wait to give this little guy lots of kisses!!!