Easter, Weddings, and Everyday life

We had a good Easter... not too busy, thankfully.  

To continue the saga of the lane... it makes me so frustrated sometimes- why do we even own the alley??? Bob was out in the lane picking up sticks and discovered that someone had dumped several piles of ashes back there.  Ashes that were full of nails, screws, broken glass, random metal things, etc.  Grrr.  Apparently the whole "no trespassing- private drive" signs are invisible or something.  He picked up a lot of it, and we borrowed a magnet (and then it's been raining so who knows when we'll get to use it...), but still.  Why would you dump that in an alley anyway?  

 So then we were getting ready to go to Koch Easter and there was a weird buzzing noise in the bathroom that we could not figure out where it was coming from.  We were flipping breakers, and checking outside.... turns out, one of the girls' bath toys got turned on accidentally and the tub acoustics were making it sound like it was coming from anywhere but the tub.  *sigh*  So we were a little late to supper, but at least the house wasn't burning down.  
Egg hunt!  

 They were pretty excited.  I didn't get any pictures of the older group, sorry Cecily.

 Maybe next year I'll remember to save Easter baskets for after church...  

 I think they were pleased, candy, church activities....

 and Hatchimals!  Yay for more tiny toys... :P  

 Guess who was not interested in taking an Easter morning picture?  Uncooperative might be the best description of the rest of her Sunday.... haha.   I was not sad that we didn't have any plans after church. 

 There wasn't any school on Monday and it was a lovely day so we spent the afternoon at the farm.  And so did Jack and Gideon and Aurelia.  It was only slightly chaotic.

"I yike ah sit right here!" On the coffee table books... in an outfit that rivals Emmy's choices...

 I'm not really sure if we have enough vases (or flowers to fill them!).

 The trees we planted last year survived the winter! Yay!  

 The flowering crab is blooming...

 Signs of spring everywhere, which we love.

 Friday was our anniversary... Bob wasn't sure if he'd even be home after the long, late week they had at work.  But they managed to finish up enough that I dropped the girls off to play at Rocke's and picked up Avanti's so we got to eat supper in peace and quiet, which was lovely.
Bob's cousins found a bunch of mushrooms and they were kind enough to share a few with us.  They were delicious.  

 Sunday was Clayton and Jessica's big day!  We went at noon, which I think was a good decision.  It was a good, successful, wedding, complete with the passing of notes to cousins...  Cadence was pretty much done with being in church at the end.  So instead of waiting in line we just sat at a table at the reception for a while before it started... shh...don't tell... haha.   I took no pictures. And we didn't stay until the bitter end.  I was tired, Cadence was grouchy, and we were dealing with things like chocolate frosting in hair... it was definitely time to go home.
There are a lot of people in our cousins pictures anymore!  And we were missing the bride and groom and three other cousins and their families... there could be 14 more people in this picture!  (That's not counting all of the babies that are on the way... between September 2018 and 2019 every eligible Wyss cousin will have had a child... craziness.)   

 And since Trent got announced that same day, Austin getting married in June, Bob's cousin Dale getting married in June.... and who knows who else will bite the dust... we may have a busy wedding season coming up.  My little cousins aren't little anymore- they just grow up so fast.... haha.
Only one of these two is playing dress-up.  Hehe.

Blessings.

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

Time flies.  Ten years just seems like a really long time, and at the same time, it feels like we haven't been married long enough for it to be ten years already!  I mean, we should have this all figured out by now, right, and have a totally picture perfect marriage and life!? Or something.  I'm just glad that Bob puts up with me, and I'm so thankful that he is who he is!  

So, ten years ago on a lovely Saturday in late April we got up way too early and drove down to Champaign to take wedding pictures!! (Most of these are pictures of pictures- back in the dark ages before digital files were standard.) It was a very good decision... campus is gorgeous in the spring.       

 I mean, all of the flowering crabapple trees were in bloom on the quad... it was so pretty!

 Awwww.  

 When your bridesmaids are awesome, you get unplanned amazing pictures like this!

 I think the guys have changed more than the girls... hehe.  

 Sunday April 26, 2009 was a good day.  

Is it really a good reception without plenty of Dr. Pepper?

Or flowers arranged in lab equipment?

Look at how little Cliff and Nina were!!  

You didn't have to defend yourself against "friends" with squirt guns when you left your wedding reception?  hehe.  We do have pretty great friends.  :)  

To quote the Statler brothers... "Oh sweetheart it's so much fun to be reminded

Of how we used to look and what we used to do
And each time we make a memory I'm reminded

I can't picture me with no one else but you."

It's kind of a shame that if you have a bouquet for your wedding that you really only get to enjoy it for a few hours.   By the time we got back from our honeymoon they would have been long wilted (except Mom dried them for me).  But definitely not the same as these lovely fresh blooms. 

Soooo.... I asked Bob if, instead of him ordering flowers for our anniversary, I could recreate my wedding bouquet a few weeks early so I could enjoy them again and for longer. His answer- Yes! Please! (Hehe... not his favorite thing to do, obviously.)  It's not a perfect copy (the colors aren't exactly the same and some of the flowers would have been prohibitively expensive in such a small quantity) but it was still gorgeous and I loved them!  

Maybe only slightly obsessed with them... I took a few more pictures than necessary.... so worth it!

Some people get to go on trips for their tenth... and wear their dress....  I dressed up the girls instead and had them pose with my flowers. 

I had to bribe Cecily.  haha.

So grown up already.  *tear*

Emmy was probably the most excited about it.

Awww.

Oh Cadence.

Such a goose.

But those eyes.... 

Helpful(ish) second shooters.  

Don't anyone start singing "Sunrise, Sunset" or I may just lose it... we could easily be here in another 10-15 years...

Not so good at pictures of myself, and the ones the girls tried to take of Bob and I didn't turn out well... we were missing heads and the light/colors were terrible.  I haven't changed a bit in 10 years and almost four kids, right?  (Lie to me.) :P  

God is good.

Blessings.

"...And we went dancing in the minefields

We went sailing in the storms

And it was harder than we dreamed

But I believe that's what the promise is for

Well, "I do" are the two most famous last words

The beginning of the end

But to lose your life for another, I've heard

Is a good place to begin

'Cause the only way to find your life

Is to lay your own life down

And I believe it's an easy price

For the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields

We're sailing in the storms

And this is harder than we dreamed

But I believe that's what the promise is for

That's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me

And when I lose love's chains, bind me

At the end of all my faith to the end of all my days

When I forget my name, remind me

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man

So there's nothing left to fear

So I'll walk with you in the shadow lands

'Til the shadows disappear

'Cause He promised not to leave us

And His promises are true

So in the face of all this chaos

Baby, I can dance with you

So let's go dancing in the minefields

Let's go sailing in the storms

Oh, let's go dancing in the minefields

And kicking down the doors

Oh, let's go dancing in the minefields

And sailing in the storms

Oh, this is harder than we dreamed

But I believe that's what the promise is for

That's what the promise is for"   

Dancing in the Minefields- Andrew Peterson

April (snow) showers

Hooray for some warmer weather finally!  I personally don't think it's quite warm enough to play with water outside, but I am outnumbered.  They've been very busy making stews and things.

So I have a love-hate relationship with the honeysuckle vines growing on our fence.  On the one hand, they provide great privacy from the cemetery and the flowers are lovely; on the other hand they hide all sorts of nasty vine-y weeds and volunteer trees and were horrendously overgrown.  It didn't help that the cemetery side got no maintenance whatsoever....they mow, that's it. This picture was from a few weeks ago and is what we look at all winter.  

 We've tried to trim them back before but it's just been too big of a job, so we hired it out finally.  It took two people half a day to cut them all back... and they filled this trailer completely full.  I'm really glad I talked Bob out of burning them off the fence... haha... 

 The fence looks so empty!  And there is actually room to walk between the fence and the shed! So weird.  We'll see if the vines come back healthier this spring, or if this is our new view.  Either way, it's probably an improvement.

 They found some ants.  And were "helping them."  With water.  Yeah.  

 Poor girl came running into the house one afternoon with blood dripping down her finger. She cut it on the swing-set somehow.  Doctor McStuffins bandaids made it all better.

 "Blanky yike outside."  Um... no.  How about Blanky watches you from the window?  "Ok."  

 There are flowers blooming!!  And they have discovered them...  #noblossomleftbehind

Bob and I went to communion last Saturday evening.  I realized a little too late that it was the same day as W-ton's.  Soooo.... I had to find an actual babysitter, which I hardly know how to do.  We ended up with Kate, who the girls loved and were very sad when we came home.  It's too bad we so rarely do anything that requires a babysitter, because they definitely want her to come back.  

Sunday evening was the Easter program... and it had snowed.  Yay. (Not.)  So we had to do tights again... ugh... and I had to scramble a little to find actual shoes that weren't black and were dressy enough for Easter dresses.  It didn't end up being that difficult, we pretty much have one of every type of shoe in every size up to 13 now... ha.  And a spreadsheet to keep track of it all... because I can't help myself.  I hated to match my sister, but I love it that they want to match for some reason.  It was a good winter project and so fun on my new sewing machine.  Aren't they so cute?  

 And then there's the squirrel-y one. 

 "Eh-cess home!!"  

 The sandbox was finally dry enough!  When it's wet it seems to stain their clothes and they bring more into the house with them.

 Emmy got her eyes checked for school one afternoon... and this little goose had to get out of the sandbox because she was trying to eat sand.   

 I've finally hit my due-month. Woot.  Don't get me started on due dates... it's an estimate... nothing more.... and yes, my midwives will 'let me go that long'... I'm sorry if your doctor pushed you to have your baby too early based on an arbitrary date pulled out of thin air, but there is nothing bad about going to 40 plus weeks.  I mean, it's no secret that I despise being pregnant, but even so, it's almost always better to let nature take its course.  And before I stop being all crunchy-granola about birth- you can all say it with me: my body knows how to give birth; my baby knows how to be born.  Ha.  Anyways..... These two goofballs are pretty good with the doctors office routine by now...

 Cecily got out of school early today so we all ate lunch at Chik-fil-a.  "Me yuv Chik-a-lay!" Then we did the quick chat with the midwife and came home.  Our neighbor brought over some Easter treats for the girls, including these super cool sugar cookies.  They came with food coloring 'paint' so they could decorate the eggs themselves. 

 They tasted really good too.

 We celebrated Passover at supper. Even more loosely than previous years because I'm tired.  And my pelvis is trying to fall apart and I ache.  The girls are mostly in it for the deviled eggs, watermelon, and grape juice.  Oh, and they love eating off of china. 

 Not this one.  I don't trust her... hehe.  

So now we take a deep breath and get ready for Easter weekend... 
Blessings.