Daddy on the beach

So, here are shots of Dad and his beach wheel chair. Thanks to Mom, Dad was able to enjoy the water up close for the first time in 4 years!!!

Fishing

The guys all enjoyed late night fishing on the beach. By the way, these are baby sharks that Tom caught from the beach. It was a little scarey that sharks are that close to where we swim!

Pierce family photos

Family get togethers are not complete without a photo shoot. It is amazing how rapidly our family is growing! Seven grandchildren and one on the way... Life is beautiful.

The beautiful Heil family

A little shout out to the Heils - Matthew, Jen, Lydia, and baby. We love you!! It was great to spend the whole week with you!!!

Grandad meets grandchild number 7

On the first night we were there, Grandad got to meet Gemma, and Grandmom enjoyed taking the boys out to see the water, or "wawa" as Jack calls it. All the boys were sayging "wawa" by the end of the week. Jack and Gabe had no fear of the waves, and jumped on in right away. It was a little frightening.

Our trip to the shore

We made it back to Minnesota after a wonderful, fantastic week at the Jersey shore. How I have missed the beach! What a week we had with the family, sharing delicious meals, enjoying the sand and sunshine, and having quality time with everyone. The home we stayed at was beautiful and perfect for our big family. Everyone was there the whole week, except John unfortunatley could only be with us half of the time. He had to get back to D.C. for a final and his job. But it was great to see him for the short time he was there. Greg was able to be with us the whole week, which was a so nice. My favorite part about the week was seeing Dad be able to be on the beach in the beach wheelchair Mom rented. It was also so fun to watch all the children make memeories they will never forget. Mom and Dad, thank you for the most wonderful week!! We miss you all already!! Frederick has been wondering when we are going back the the "Jersey shore"!

We're going to the beach!!!!

We are so excited to go to the beach tommorrow!! I have definitey been missing my family, and the east coast A LOT recently, and am really looking forward to one whole week with everyone. The whole Pierce, Brown, Heil clan will be at the beach together! We haven't been home since Christmas, so it feels like forever. I am especially excited for Dad to meet Gemma!! Although tommorrow will be quite an adventure flying with three kids, and then renting a car, and driving to the beach, it is better than driving the 24 hours it would take to get there. Frederick is looking forward to going to the "Jersey shore," and seeing his cousins again. Poor Jack has an ear infection and has been really grumpy, so hopefully he will feel better for the plane ride!! Gemma is at an easy stage to travel since she just eats and sleeps. So, we are off to the shore and I am praying for lots of humidity and sunshine!!! I will post more while we are there.

Gemma... also known as "Girl"

Gemma has been a princess in her older brothers eyes since the moment she came home from the hospital. Frederick is always telling her that she is, "so cute." While Jack simply walks up to her and smiles saying, "hi girl, hi girl." As long as he doesn't pull or push her, Jack can call her whatever he wants!!!

Enjoying the simples things of life

Hi everyone,
After all of our visiters last month, I am adjusting daily life on my own with the three kids. I realize that if I get out of the house for a few hours in the morning, I am a much nicer Mommy. So, today we went to Lake Normandale by our house in search for turtles and frogs. We never found a frog, but did spot a few turtles, and saw a few baby ducks. I love that my children remind me of the simple joys of life, and I love seeing their amazement in God's creations. Tom met us for a little picnic, which was such fun. The following pictures are from the lake and our backyard from this afternoon.

Pictures of our visits and Gemma's Baptism

Our busy month of May

We have had the most wonderful and exhausting last month. Right after Gemma was born, Minnesota finally turned to spring. So Tom and I went to work in the yard landscaping, and making the yard more our own. This is our first spring in our new home! It has been so fun for the kids to explore our little yard and enjoy the outdoors! Grandmom Lorrie came to visit us for six days in the middle of May. What a treat is was to have her with us!! The boys really bonded with Grandmom, and loved playing with her. She was an amazing help to us, and it was REALLY nice having an extra pair of hands around the home, because life with three little ones is crazy. I have not fully adjusted to it yet. While Mom was with us, we went to the Zoo, walked around lakes, had a 'pirate' themed birthday party for Freddy ( he is 4!!!!), enjoyed lots of delicious meals together, and even got out for some mother/daughter time. A few days after Mom left, we had Gemma's baptism. It was a beautiful day! Luis and Cal are her Godparents, and their whole family was able to there. Tom's brother Fr. John was also in town, and said the baptism. After the baptism, Cal and Luis spent six days with us, and we had the most delightful time. The best part was watching the kids enjoy each other's company so much. The boys had a 'sleep over' in Freddy's room each night, and they played so well together each day. We enjoyed the simple things in life, such as ice cream, trolley rides, parks, and the back yard. It was so special to have our familes together for that amount of time.

Right after they left, we drove up to the Berg's cabin and spent the weekend. Frederick had a blast fishing with Tom. He is a true fisherman. We just got back, and are ready to have a quiet few weeks to recover from all our fun adventures this past month.

Gemma is doing well and gave me her first smile today!!! Yeah!!!