Recent visits ...

Yes, we had recent visits from the grandparents. Both visits were wonderful times for the girls to be crazy with their grandparents, and to make them play crazy games. Anna loved having more people to see her off on the bus, Emily loved extra playmates, and Jenna liked the attention of "grammies".

Emily turns 4

Emily turned 4 on September 16th. What a great day for a little girl. We had two parties ... which meant two birthday cakes. The first one is a buffalo from our recent South Dakota trip. The second cake is a dinosaur ... which our girls seem to think is cool right now. She loved having Addlea come visit, and then Papa and Grandma. A trip to the local apple orchard was also a big hit (pictures of that to come later). Her favorite present (it appears) is at the bottom ... an Emily sized puppy dog.

Jenna goes to the hospital

Jenna spent Wednesday night (Sept. 9th) in the hospital with pneumonia and viral bronchiolitis. We took her in because she had a very high fever and was breathing very deeply and hadn't slept well in several nights. She spent almost 19 hours in the hospital receiving breathing treatments, an IV (which she didn't necessarily enjoy) and good care. She is now back at home, and getting better by the minute, which means back to her crazy self. Now that things are looking up ... here are a couple of cute pictures from our little escapade.

South Dakota Vacation (Anna's camera)

To give Anna some fun on our trip, we allowed her to take an old camera. So, here are some pictures from Anna's point of view ... or pictures with Anna as directed by Anna.
1) Anna the bow and arrow hunter 2) The nosy burro

3) Buffalo up close

4) We finally caught a buffalo to ride.

South Dakota Vacation #3

As Anna would say,
knock, knock ...
who's there ...
what do you get when the family goes to a Chuckwagon Dinner? ...
Lots of really cute pictures. Here are just a couple.

Joel and Andi's wedding

Beautiful "Aunt Andi" with Anna and Emily in the minutes preceeding the wedding ceremony of Joel Haubenreich (Kristin's baby brother) and Andrea Helland on Friday, August 21st in Sioux Falls, SD. Of course, when asked whether or not she would like to have a wedding someday, Anna replied, "I'll think about it." Aaron secretly rejoiced, thinking she'd be the one to take a payout to elope and save the headaches! :) Emily, of course, is all about the dress.

The newly pronounced "Mr. and Mrs. Joel Haubenreich"--aren't they a handsome couple?

Our family in wedding regalia, outside St. Mary's Church.

Mr. and Mrs. Joel Haubenreich, Dr. and Mrs. James Haubenreich (Kristin and Joels's parents), Mr. and Mrs. Paul Haubenreich (K & J's grandparents), and Ms. Phyllis Hamilton (K & J's granny), all looking splendid in their wedding attire.

The wedding was a great end to our trip "Out West", despite our girls' colds. Great time spent laughing and catching up with family--new and old!

South Dakota vacation #2

We left Custer State Park and headed back to Sioux Falls, SD to get ready for Joel and Andi's wedding. We spent the morning of the wedding visiting the Sioux Falls and other areas of interest downtown. It was beautiful, if not just a little chilly.