Nikolas's confirmation

We had grandma and grandpa in town for two weeks, through Nikolas's confirmation. They got to watch the boys play baseball, saw Sonja play soccer, and enjoyed warm, sunny weather before they headed back to Boston. Here are some pictures from the confirmation day. Nikolas's best friend Noah joined us for the dinner after the ceremony.

Deko with his great-granddaughter:

Nikolas is easy to spot: the tallest kid in the group:

Dinner:

Spring 2023

I took Stephen and James to the festival at the dairy farm, to get to see a bunch of cows up close (Stephen had to hold his nose) and learn a bunch of stuff.

Another spring event is the elementary school festival. Stephen was very excited to meet his best friend Victoria there and try all the bounce houses, rockclimbing, and everything else they could get into. Here is our brave rockclimber (one of these days I'll get back into it myself!):

Kids' close-ups:

Stephen's energy seems infinite. He keeps going without a pause... until he crashes. Here he is, sleeping on a bean bag in the middle of the living room, with headphones on his head (and a thumb that just slipped out of his mouth):

He is the most popular kid at his preschool among both the boys and the girls. A few months ago he asked, "When will I grow up and be a boss?" He comes up with the ideas on how to play, everyones follows him, and he is always very helpful and happy, someone they all want to have around. If only I had the time for playdates.....

This spring Sonja added softball to her sports repertoire that already includes soccer and swimming. She joined the middle school softball team after only a couple of camps since last summer. Here she is at bat.

Middle school soccer team:

Sonja's travel soccer team: