Grandpa & Grandma's Visit

Grandpa and Grandma Birx came to visit for 2 weeks! What a fun time we had!! Here are some pictures to prove it:

Grandpa enjoying a nap with Rachel.

Taking a rest while walking downtown (Lillian took the picture).

We had a black bear in our yard while G&G were here! Grandpa chased after it (yes, chased) down the alley to get a few pictures. The bear was in our neighbor's yard for this picture. He was over 6 ft. tall when standing! This is the second bear we've seen in our yard after living here for 7 years... two too many.

We took a day trip to Stillwater, MN and did some antique and boutique shopping. In this picture we're having lunch by the St. Croix River (that's a lift bridge down river that goes into WI)

We took the girls to Teddy Bear Park to run around after all that shopping! They were kind enough to stop for a few seconds and pose for me (and Grandpa) on this fake rock.

Cuddling with Teddy (even Rachel!) who's made of real rock.

The girls went to a neighbor friend's princess party. This was before we left. They were SO excited to be wearing their princess dresses outside!! Oh, and I can't forget to mention that they won the best costume/dress-up award!! :)


Eating lunch at Fort Snelling in St. Paul, MN


Lillian, Abigail and Rebecca sitting in the rifle slots of a round tower.

This is what Rachel did all day... sleep!


Standing with some Fort Snelling soldiers.


Enjoying another beautiful day with family by taking a walk on a nearby trail.

Sweet.


Our little angel.


Here's our angel flying at Miss Kitty's pool! Even G&G went swimming!!

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Thanks for coming out to visit Grandpa and Grandma! We sure had a fun time with you! We love you!

These next pictures are from this past weekend. We went to a Military Vehicle Show up in northern Wisconsin. I'm mainly posting these pictures for Grandpa Birx :)
They were giving free rides on some of the vehicles. This is an Allis-Chalmers M4 High Speed Tractor (used for towing large field artillery).


Daniel and Lillian riding on an M4 Sherman Tank.


Daniel, Abigail and Lillian riding in a M38A1 Jeep (similar to Daniel's).


Getting ready to ride a Mechanical Mule.

Standing by a 1-1/2 Ton Chevy M6 Bomb Truck that's similar to Daniel's.

Sitting in the big tires of a M26 Pacific Tank Retriever.

(Do I know my military vehicles, or what?!)



One more thing...
Rachel's smiling now :)

Rebecca's TWO!!

We went to a park in the morning:


Here's Lillian showing off her new shoes that SHE tied all by herself! She just learned how to do this and is very excited!

This is what Rachel did while the girls were playing... slept in the van!
Do you like her shorts, Enoch and Sarah?!!

Later, when Daddy was home from work, we had cake:

Happy 2nd Birthday Rebecca!!

We love you!!

Here are some other fun pics:
22 days old and growing fast

Abigail reading to Rachel


Helping husk the corn for supper

Busy Days

These last few weeks have definitely been busy, and I can't imagine that they're going to be slowing down anytime soon! I'm learning that 4 kids ages 5 and under are a lot of work... fun work though (most of the time!). I managed (with the Lord's gracious help!) to get some "group" pictures of the girls when Rachel was only 4 days old...

Daniel likes to call these little "tic-tac-toes"

These following four pictures are something we see a lot of around here lately:

At home happenings:
Rachel helping with the laundry


Sleeping peacefully

I found Rachel like this after Lillian had stopped by to "swaddle" her.


Abigail's convert


16 days old

Cross-eyed but cute

The Polk County Fair
Looking at the baby goat


Rebecca's comment about the chickens, "Too noisy!"

Abigail wouldn't pet the horse but she rode him with no problem! This was her first time ever on a horse. Way to go Abigail!


This is Lillian's second year riding a horse at the fair... what a pro!

See ya next time partner!

FOUR Giggling Girls!

What an exciting weekend! Rachel Clara was born on Friday, July 17th (on her due date!) at 3:37pm. She weighed 7lbs, 7oz and was 19 inches long. The girls are absolutely in LOVE with her... almost to the point of obsession. I think she'll be able to sleep through anything! It really is fun having a little baby around... you forget just how small they are as newborns. Tiny miracles from God.

Enjoy the pictures of our FOUR miracles:

This was taken just a few hours after Rachel was born. The girls, especially Lillian, fell in love at first sight.

Rachel's "other" mommy.

My mom (aka: Grandma Lucy) with Rachel. She came and watched the girls while I was in the hospital. THANK YOU MOM! We couldn't have done it without you!

Abigail and Rachel checking each other out.

Look at all that fun dark hair!

A real life doll for Rebecca!

This was Rebecca's idea... she wanted to be like the baby. Hard to believe she used to fit in one of those!



Family of SIX!! Ooftah!



Getting ready to go home.



Lillian asked Daniel if they could wear dresses to the hospital today for when they came to pick me up. They all showed up looking so nice!

Rachel safe in her carseat for the long 2 block ride home from the hospital.



We love you Rachel!