Tuesday, May 31, 2016

If it's broken, fix it

As I was last-minute searching through my phone for the pictures that would best represent all of the happenings of April and May, I came across Leila and Sam's infomercial pics of them drinking Fresca. Ha! First time I saw these. 

"Fresca. It does a boy good." 
What would your caption say??

This is my own little mail-getter. It is his favorite job and he is really good at it!

We celebrated cousin Noah's First Eucharist on one of the first hot days of spring. Most of the boys played baseball outside as the girls dug through dress up clothes in the cool inside.

Hitting balls is this guy's life. Boy do I miss Theo being able to stand on two feet, 
but more on that later!

At the cabin with cousins and friends!

Sam turned 8 on March 30th. He is an active boy with a big heart. Sam loves playing sports & cards & picking on the girls, especially if they have friends over. He also loves helping out with Theo, and riding his new skateboard. We are so blessed to have him in our family!!

Reuel's birthday was next- such a fun theme- Curious George!! 

GG helping Reuel pin the banana. 

And then there was Theo's birthday party!
Ask him how old he is and he might giggle, "eight." 
Ask him again and he will bashfully say, "two".

Theo's love for sports has no bounds. He was especially fussy one day, and a friend came over and started rolling him a ball. He laughed and played, 
like that was what was missing from his day and she figured it out!

Lots of fun and food and family....

Time for cake??

We are so thankful for Theo and all of his silly antics! 

"I'm two!"

Gretta was in Seusical the Musical this year and had a blast.

She and a friend had a sweet little part together...


...so much color!

Great Grandma, Grandma Lo and Grandpa cheering Gretta on!

GG and Gampy wishing Gretta the best!

And cousins galore taking up the first couple of rows!

Lil and Gretta getting ready for bed. Such sweet moments! 
Who loves sleepovers more than these two?

We went to the Children's Museum one afternoon to burn off some energy.

Lo and behold, this little man was one of the three Theo's there that day...

 3 families each with a Theo! 

Grandma Lo invited us to join her for an annual Peace and Love Walk to remember 
her good friends' grandson Alex who died of cancer.

"A little lower...."

These four brave students took on the challenge of becoming 
Classical Conversations Memory Masters this year!

A lot of work, but Gretta breezed through! She was such a great sport even as we picked the table right by the speaker- she plugged her ears to tune out the music as she was trying to remember her own tunes!

These two at our CC celebration night- impromptu sibling affections make my heart melt :)

And just a few hours before, Leila was with Daddy at dress rehearsal for her ballet performance the following day. She is in yellow in the first row.

I just love this time of year of final performances and closing ceremonies. Another chapter written, another year closing. Spring is here and summer is coming!

A little buttercup between GG and Gampy...

...sitting sweetly with Grandma Lo and Great Grandma.

Thank you for the flowers and the plant! 

We also visited Tim's cousin Amy and her husband David and kids who recently moved to Kansas to join staff with a campus ministry called The Navigators. Theo and James are one day apart! James loves cars as much as Theo loves balls!

K-State, here we come!

"Give me a K!

We did not plan this, but were pleasantly surprised by the sign in the library that read something like, "Take a study break with 4 kittens!" We visited over finals week, where kittens 
were to some students a much needed stress reliever.

All on one couch having some down time before heading out to...

Camp!! The boys braved the rain that night and slept in a tent, 
only to be home around 6 am for dry clothes!

"I hit ball." -Theo

No kidding, but the day after we got home from Kansas, the boys had a bowling birthday party and Sy tripped over Sam's foot. The 8 pound yellowish orange ball landed on his left thumb which lead to...

2 plus weeks in a splint. No playing t-ball, but Silas has been an awesome
 coaches helper at 1st base and collecting bats after hits. 

While I was in the ER with Silas, Sam and Theo were playing at home and Sam somehow tripped Theo (wrestling?!?) which lead to a fractured tibia. I didn't know those details at the time, but when Theo was up all night in some sort of pain (and had a dry diaper and was gassy) I figured his belly hurt. In the morning, he didn't want to bear weight on his right leg, and thats when the truth came out!

We chose blue for the cast color and currently have over two weeks in out of four. 

This picture was actually the least scary of the collection! My sweet twin and I were basking in the sun on some blankets in the backyard while the babies were sleeping. Then it dawned on us, 
"why ever is it so quiet?" and we came inside to these faces...

We weren't sure whether to laugh or cry, so we took some pictures and 
calmly directed them to the bathroom sink- ha!

I love these days of sword fighting and mask and cape wearing- they are fleeting!

Some thoughtful friends built this "walker" for Theo as he builds strength back into his leg. We picked blue to match his cast. There is even a coat of glow in the dark paint over the blue!

So on top of a broken leg, the flu went through our home, so these two and I stayed home from church last Sunday. In between sickness, we parked our chairs out front to cheer on the runners in the Cellcom Marathon.

Silas helping his time while Theo takes it easy...

And asks if he can "hit ball too". Not this time, buddy! But soon!

AND the Torpens were back in WI!! Cousin love.

Lots of sweet friends came over to play outside on this beautiful day!

Tim's brother's son Grey plays soccer for the Y. We made it to his last game, and then went over to their house for a grill out.

Theo found a cool spot perfect for throwing...you guessed it...a ball!

Grandma Lo asked if Theo wanted to go for a walk, meaning that she would carry him and do the walking. He shook his head, lifted up his casted leg and said, "no walk, leg." Awe!!

Still doesn't stop him from much!

A date night walk along the river in De Pere was SO refreshing and 
just what we needed before another week began.

Memorial Day Birthday fun for Maverick and Sam and friends. Water fight!!



Theo stayed busy admiring all of the "ducks" (chickens!) running around. 
A fun and full Memorial Day for all!