Happy Birthday Brooke!

My baby turned 2 today.
And oh what a fun-filled two years it has been!

Photo taken by her "Papa"...{close to her most favorite person on earth!}

This girl came to us smiling and has never stopped.
She is the happiest thing on earth and
we are all in a better place because of her.
Nothing but pure joy I tell ya!
Should I stop? I really should.
I'm jinxing myself, I know.
Okay, I'm done, but seriously....

Thanks for being the happy, energetic, loveable
"toddler "(sniff, sniff) that you are.
You truly are such a blessing to ALL of us.
We love you!

Ellen

January, 6th 2011

Our fun, fabulous friends we got to enjoy it with

{hard to tell I'm excited to be there...pretty sure you can see all 28 teeth!}

Ellen was hilarious,
Lex was a super-star dancing for the crowd,
Scott and Jeff looked hot in their pastels together-he he ;)
and I was just loving it...ALL of it!
So much fun!

Oh, and while we were there...may as well pay this a visit


and this...

{This one's for you, Em!...(the above one)...
or the below one too. Whatever works :)}



How we love a quick get-away once in awhile.
And great food.
And Scott and Lex.
And good conversation.
And the beach.
And the late mornings.
And our kids that much more after a little break.
And our family who stayed with them.
Oh, and Ellen for the invite...sort of.

Birthday Boy

Just need to give a shout out to our dad/hubby and say a

big, huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! (37, really?....he, he)
Here are a couple things the kids had to say about their dad today:

"I love dad. He plays lego's with me, he really loves lego's. I like that he is my coach in all my sports and teaches me how to play. My favorite is when he does crazy-hugs at night with us and we climb all over him. He tells the best stories at night. My favorite are the ones he tells us about him and Aunt Jen. I like his prayers in Dutch. I like to play catch with him. I like to watch football with him. Go JETS!! I love dad, he is the best dad in the whole world!"

"I always love when dad does crazy-hugs. He always gets us crazy at night and makes us laugh so hard. I like to ride on his back and try to stay on and I like when he takes me to bed on his back. I like to play Hello Kitty with him. He teaches me to play new games on the wii. He lets us have movie night, with popcorn, when mom is teaching yoga. He talks in Spanish (it's dutch, sweetie) and I think it sounds funny. I love him and love to make cards for him."

"I love my da'den. He chases me and I run to mom to save me, it's a fun game and I laugh my head off. I love to snuggle with dad in the morning. I like to take all my toys to him while he is working, trying to distract him...it usually works. I like reading books with him, he is very animated and makes the stories very interesting. I too like crazy hugs at night, especially when he sticks me in the laundry bag and hides me. He's a fun dad and I love him so much!"

We hope your day brings you a fraction of the
joy you bring us on a daily basis.
We love you!