sunny days with silly boys...

first hair cut!


Looking sharp!



our first pod harvest

Ahhhhh Summer

We have had a blast this week! So far Cleveland summer has proved true in being as lovely as anything imaginable. We had alot of fun in our garden, and our back yard this weekend as well as a visit to the Lake Farm Park. Here are some pictures from our week.

The fence that Daddy built:

Daddy digging holes and pulling roots





It's starting to look like something


The big helper


Almost done!


The spectators




TA-DAAA!!!


Before Church today, Ammon in his cool Tie


Hanging out on the couch

Fun from the farm

Well, I have to admit our time in Missouri was AMAZING! I think Jim's Mom has found heaven on earth. The fields were green and beautiful, the cows were fun and talkative. It was a treat to see the Amish driving their buggies and wagons into town. Ammon had so much fun. I think it was the first time I'd ever seen him so happy and free. We are looking forward to July 4th with eagerness! I wish I could take you all there to see it! Here are some pictures to give you a glimpse!


Cozy in the car for 13.5 hours. I love family car trips!

40 acres makes for a long walk

From under the 'Picnic Tree'

rollin in the grass on a sunny day

"Sun block" for our little red head and Jimmy's Amish hat

Too good for the press

The Farmer

Ammon and Mr. Ford got on quite well together

The Help

tickely grass, it was up to my arm pits!

Walkin by the chicken house where Little Bitty and her 3 chicks live

Hello Blog, long time no see!

Spring is a wild and crazy time around our house. Made more crazy of course by just being us. Holly finished school with an impressive 4.0 gpa (shes very proud of herself) Jimmy has achieved a life goal of running a marathon with his sister Emily this last Sunday. They both did an incredible job and were inspiring to watch. Jimmy ran in 4hr 27min and Emily ran it in 3hr 44min. We had a blast with Emily and Sean Sean in town (it's always wonderful to see family!) This week, Jimmy has his finals. He did great on his first one and feel ready and eager for his last one tomorrow. Tomorrow is also a special day around here because it is our 4th anniversary! Wow! I can't believe how fast time goes! And how much we've gotten done! We've lived in 4 homes, had two children,gone to 4 schools collectively, held six jobs, driven cross country three times, gotten one BA and made it into Medical school. Phew! I'm so happy that I found my Jimmy! What a blessing! In a few day's we will be driving to the Red Umbrella Farm in Missouri to spend some time with Jimmy's Mama. We're excited to get out of the city for a while and get our hands dirty! Luke is clapping now as well as waving (and saying) hi and he can throw a ball! We expect any day now for him to start chasing Ammon across the house (He's so close!) Ammon is "reading" books now, and does a great job. He loves to play with his brother and is really a great big brother. Jimmy will be doing research for the summer with the Pediatric Neurosurgery department at UH and I will be taking 8 credits online. The sun is shining, our garden is growing and life is wonderful! Love you all! Here are some snapshots of our exciting month!






victory dinner...yum!

Potty Training

YIKES!!!! Any ideas? I'm lost :(

Just a thought...

It’s Not the Will to Win, But the Will to Prepare to Win That Makes the Difference
April 18, 2008 — Pat Bertram

More cuteness with some good news...

Well I have less then 3 weeks left of school and Jim has about 5 weeks left. We're feeling good! Jimmy is almost 25% doctor I have been able to maintain at 4.0 thus far (we'll see how finals go) Ammon and Luke are doing awesome! Luke is saying Mama now (which I love) He follows me all over the house saying Mama! Mama! He will sometimes do the same when Jim holds him only then its Dada. Ammon is repeating everything we say (which can sometimes be really funny) He is really growing up. I can't believe this is his last year of nursery. He has started asking frequently to use the potty and goes about half of the time. We are so proud of him! For this summer, I will be taking an online class and Jimmy will be doing really cool research with the Neurosurgery department at Rainbow Babies Children's Hospital this summer. We also plan to leave for a little RnR in Missouri around May 23rd for a week then again around the 4th of July. We're excited to see family and let the boys play with their cousins! Oh and we planted flowers! I'll keep you posted on their progress! Here are a few pictures we've taken recently. They just get cuter every day. Love you all!


I love it when they play together.


our naturally dyed eggs (we cheated on the green ones!)


Ammon liked the green ones


boiled eggs for breakfast....YUM



Our Easter dinner tradition that we stole from Nancy, we have fish and honey for a main course because in the book of Luke is says that when Christ appeared to the apostles they were "afraid for joy" and he then asked them for some meat and they gave him fish and honeycomb, proving to them that he had a resurrected body. This year we had some fun appetizers as well; hummus, pitas, olives, cheese and falafal. So much fun!


Lovely Meagan, we're going to miss her when she leaves for her mission. (If you look in the upper left side of the picture you can see Ammon in his "cape". Oh the things you can do with a nursing shawl!)




just horsin around

A Visual Feast for the family we miss....

Sorry I've been spotty lately about posting on here. It's been a moth full of sickies, and school is crazy after all! (By the way, I have a 4.0 with only a month left!) So here is a visual smorgasbord for you to enjoy this conference weekend!


Niagara Falls on our way to Palmyra


chubby goodness


This kid is getting FAST!


the one eyed giraffe, Ammon's latest creation


Cuties, they love to have their picture taken in the chair.

A Perfect St. Patricks Day...

It started out with school. I know some may not consider that a part of a "perfect" day but it was for me! It was our first back from spring break so we got our mid terms back! I currently have straight A's! Yea!!! (I'm very proud of myself!) Then to top that good news off, it was 70 degrees when I got out of class! I rushed home to pick up the boys and we went on a lovely family bike ride. Our dear friend Sarah let us borrow the buggy for the boys. They had so much fun! After the awesome bike ride we ate a quick and yummy dinner which I was able to prepare on my amazing new kitchen counter that Jimmy made for me! After eating we needed to drop off a similar counter that we helped make for some of our friends. We had a lovely chat then decided to take a drive simply because the sunset was beautiful. As we pulled away from there home and took a right towards the west we crested a hill (unusual in Cleveland) and saw this as we stopped at the light! Ammon summed it up with a very enthusiastic "WOW" and we all agreed. Jim proposed that we drive downtown since I had never seen it before so we continued westward into the sunset. Downtown was beautiful and surprisingly clean. We found the Rock and Roll hall of Fame and gazed out on Lake Erie. When the downtown bells chimed 8 o'clock we decided to head home to getting sleepy heads to bed. Ammon was quite taken by the bells and kept saying "Did you hear it? Dong Dong, is that bells?" over and over all the way home. It was a perfectly wonderful day. Who could ask for more?

Our newly beautified powder room

Nothing a little 'Wild Blue Yonder' and laminate floor tile couldn't fix! Now we are no longer embarrassed by our yucky bathroom! Everybody say 'Yay!'