More Spring Happenings

This is a picture showing the favorite part of Kiera's morning routine, sharing a bowl of cereal with daddy before he goes to work. Hey, who ate all the marshmallows???










We had a special visitor for a week and a half. Kiera loved having Oma around! Actually we all did!











One of Kiera's adventures while Oma was here was to ride a carousel. She was so proud of the horse she got to ride "up and down."















Keep out you wascally wabbits! We planted a garden last weekend, now we have to wait and see if anything actually comes up. Notice the fence, we have a lot of rabbits that will be anxious to get to our veggies before we do.









Kiera was a mess after planting the garden!

Tornado!!!

Thursday evening we quick went outside to mow the lawn and play awhile before the rain hit. Kiera and I were out there for awhile and then we noticed the lightning and heard the thunder. We came in and about 10 minutes later the fire station just down the road from us started blasting its tornado warning siren. (I, being from the west coast, had to double check with Ryan that that's really what it was). We turned on the news and saw that there were about 7 tornadoes headed our direction. We headed down to the basement where we spent the next hour or so watching the news. It was rather scary for me as I've only experienced this one other time. Thankfully all of them passed around Sioux Falls and we just had lots of wind, rain, and hail. There were a couple that touched down just outside Sioux Center, IA that did some damage. I guess we have now entered that season. I definitely prefer the rain to the snow! Thankfully May is finally here and we can enjoy much nicer weather. Today we spent planting flowers and getting our garden ready. Pretty exciting!

Spring has arrived!

We are finally experiencing spring out here in South Dakota. It has been a loooooooong winter. All our snow has finally melted and we are having some nice mid-60 degree weather. It is so nice to be able to play outside and go on walks and actually head somewhere (as opposed to the treadmill). Kiera has just LOVED being outside. She spends lots of time on her swingset that a family in our church so kindly gave us as well as digging in the dirt, pushing her doll in her stroller, and attempting to play frisbee with me (can't say she's got a real good arm yet and I think I get the better workout). We are hoping to get our bikes out this weekend and take advantage of the many bike trails in the area. As far as or life here goes, Ryan is keeping very busy with church activities. It's hard to believe we've been here 8 months already! There have been many times that I have missed Ripon and the convenience of everything within walking distance (and being able to walk year round), as well as the many friendships we had. It has been a big adjustment for me to break into a new church family and very difficult for me to be brave and just put myself out there and try to make some friends. We have found some great friends, but it always takes time and effort to get to where we were when we left Ripon. I just have to be patient. Having a lot of family close by has been another big adjustment. It has been difficult trying to find the middle ground since we enjoyed our independence so much in CA. But, we enjoy the family and Kiera just loves having cousins to play with...as well as Grandma close by to spoil her. We covet your prayers as we continue to adjust and adapt to our new home. Even though it's been eight months, everything takes time and lots of patience. Kiera has had no trouble adjusting and continues to be her goofy happy self. Right now one of her favorite things to play is Pretty Pretty Princess. She has some dress up clothes that she loves to put on. We are including some pictures of her and her many faces. You should be able to identify her goofiness! One of the pictures is her fingerpainting. She did not want me to put the paint away. She LOVED it! Today we went to the "crack" store...aka the craft store. She just couldn't get the "ft" in craft, and I just laughed and laughed. She laughed right along with me not knowing what I was laughing about and then we called Ryan to tell him where we were headed. She got her first scissors and glue stick. Boy, we she excited!!!! She spent the rest of the day gluing and cutting. Why didn't I buy these a long time ago!!!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to everyone! We had a wonderful combined service this morning at the Christian school and then spent the day with Ryan's sister and family. It was a nice relaxing day for everyone. Kiera and her cousin Eli had fun hunting for Easter eggs and eating all their loot. She also had fun dressing up as a "pretty pretty princess." Kiera did so well sitting still while I curled her hair. She was pretty proud of it when we went to look in the mirror afterward! Mom is glad that Easter only comes once a year! Enjoy the pictures of our precious little girl.

Look Who's 2!!!

On Friday night, we were able to celebrate Kiera's 2nd birthday. Ryan's mom, sister and family, and brother were there to help celebrate. We went with a puppy theme this year as she just loves dogs. She loved being sung to and enjoyed the attention. It is so hard to believe that she is 2! Our little girl is growing up. We hope you enjoy the pics from our celebration!

Pretty in Pink!

Welcome 2008!

We wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!! We were able to spend our new year with Ryan's family in Prinsburg. Kiera had a wonderful time with all her boy cousins and was even seen one day walking around with a helmet on. Who said she isn't prepared for all the wrestling that happens??? Her cousins were a wonderful influence on her with getting used to the snow. She finally dared to brave all the heavy clothes, boots, and mittens to get outside and play. She even outlasted all of them! She had fun playing in the snow fort and crunching in the snow with her boots.

Kiera has changed so much over past month already. She is becoming so much more creative in her playing and copies EVERYTHING I show her how to do. Kind of scary but very flattering. She talks non-stop and her constant chatter can get rather tiring some days, but I enjoy it and she definitely keeps me laughing. The other night we were helping her pray before supper and she said "thank you Jesus...your welcome". Ryan and I just started laughing and laughing. Sometimes you just can't hold it in any longer!

We are now back in Sioux Falls and back to our regular routine. We have included some pictures of our time in Prinsburg. Enjoy!