By Geri Imler on 4/20/2009 8:43 AM

The girls have had a ton of fun Easter festivities over the last few weekends, but finally it was actually Easter Sunday for us.  The girls got all dressed up in their cute dresses and found a bunch of different baskets from various Easter Bunnies to help them celebrate the day.  We then had lunch with my family, and of course my dad wanted the kids to have one more Easter egg hunt.  This time it was not a race, though, and was a bit more relaxed for the kids.  They went around and found a ton of eggs, some with money and some with candy in them.  Once Emma figured out there was candy in some of hers, she kept stopping to open them and eat it first before moving on to find another.  Later, we visited one more time with Tim's family before heading home after an exhausting but memorable weekend.   Here's Easter for us:

       

Emma (left) and Abigail (middle) getting Easter baskets from Grandparents Imler.  Then, Abigail showing some plastic eggs to the bunny.

      

Abigail and Mommy pretending to "listen" to the eggs like a phone.  And Emma playing the piano for everyone (middle and right).

Emma (left) and Abigail (right) getting their Easter baskets from grandparents Core.

  

Abigail checking out a new book she got (left), while Emma goes for the candy (right).  Of course, of all the things in the basket, that is the first thing she finds!

  

Later, after we changed into playclothes, Abigail decided she was tired and relaxed on the floor for a bit.  She had such a big, busy weekend!

   

A final Easter egg hunt.  All four kids heading out to find the eggs, and Abigail finding one in the rocks.

   

Emma finding an egg, and of course stopping to eat the candy out of it.

By Geri Imler on 4/20/2009 8:30 AM

At one point in the weekend, after the party was over and everyone had left on their way, we took the girls down to the larger pond behind the house.  The loved putting sticks and leaves in the water and trying to stir it with large sticks I found for them.  We tried to do some turtle watching, but didn't have any luck finding them.  Tim went around the pond and took some fun photos of us sitting on the dock so I thought I would share them.   It was nice just relaxing after the fun-filled party.

       

Mommy, Gramma, Grandpa, Emma, and Abigail enjoying the pond and dock together.

The house with the dock.  Don't we look so small?!?

Emma playing in the garden fence after we left the dock. I just wanted to add it as she is so concentrated!

Oh, and since this is the first time I have blogged in a few days, I want to send out a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Matt, Joni, and Noah as they welcome a new member of the family! Can't wait to meet Paisley! 

By Geri Imler on 4/20/2009 8:12 AM

After the Easter Egg Hunt last weekend, the girls played outside for a while with their cousins.  It was such a beautiful day out!  We tried for a group photo of the kids but I didn't get that great of one.  Then the kids "fished" in the pond together, looking for the mysterious frog that is suppose to live in there.  The girls "helped" the bigger kids fly a kite, as well as pulled one of their cousins around in a wagon.  It was so nice to have the girls outside playing with their cousins!  I just enjoyed watching them all interact.  Afterwards, when we went back inside the house for some down time, we turned on a movie.  The girls sat together in a chair, and before we knew it, they had fallen asleep on each other!  That is the FIRST time they have ever done that, and what is amazing is that they slept for like a half hour together even with all of the noise and commotion going on around them.  It was so precious and cute...a definite memory I will cherish in my heart for a long time! 

  

Abigail, Emma, Avah, Owen, and Paxton

    

The kids all playing in the pond and searching for a frog.  (Notice all of the pointing fingers.)

   

Abigail trying to help fly a kite.

   

Emma chasing the flying kite.

    

Abigail and Mommy together, and Emma playing with cousin Avah.

    

Awake one moment....asleep on each other the next!  SO PRECIOUS!

By Geri Imler on 4/16/2009 7:41 AM

Disclaimer:  A lot of adorabale, great photos ahead!  One part of the Easter party we went to this weekend included an Easter egg hunt for the little kids.  The girls did a great job running around and getting eggs into their buckets, though Emma still liked to open them as she went along to dump out the money.  Abigail found an area where there were a ton of eggs, so she really filled up her bucket.  I am going to let the photos speak for themselves, as they are just too cute!  Sorry there are so many...I actually narrowed it down to these ones as there are so many on our camera!  They look so classic to me, like they should be in a book or magazine.  I just love them all!  More outside fun photos coming in another blog, so stay tuned!

       

A play-by-play of Abigail finding an egg.

     

Emma finding an egg and then looking around (left and middle).  Abigail finding another egg.

     

Abigail with an egg (left).  Emma putting one in her bucket and then looking with Grandpa for another one (middle and right).

     

Emma showing Grandpa's bunny the egg she found (left).  Abigail, with hair blowing in the wind, finding an egg and putting it in her bucket (middle and right).

     

Abigail reaching for yet another egg (left) and looking around for more (middle).  Emma holding her bucket and watching the chaos (right).

     

Emma going for, not an egg, but the little fisherman in the pond (left and middle).  And the girls checking out their eggs while on a wagon ride (right).

By Geri Imler on 4/16/2009 7:19 AM

GIRL! 

Yup, we are having another sweet little girl come August!  We had our ultrasound last week, and told our family over the weekend.  I have not had a chance to post it up here yet, but here are a few photos from the ultrasound (there were a lot so I just chose a few).   There's going to be a lot of estrogen in this house!  And this little girl is going to have a TON of clothes to choose from!  Not only will she have two of everything, she will have different colors to select from each day!  Sounds like a good deal to me!  We did take Abigail and Emma to the ultrasound, and they did a great job watching the screen.  They kept pointing at it and saying, "baby!"  And when we would say, "oh, there's the head," they would say, "head," and point to their own heads.  Too cute!  If you ask either one of them how many Sissies they have, they will tell you, "TWO!"  I am sure they will be great helpers and big sisters to this new little one.  Anyways, here she is!

  

Profile photo where she is all curled up (her feet are up by her nose with her hands).  And a face photo looking right at you!

   

Look at those two little feet!  And another great profile photo of our little girl.

By Geri Imler on 4/14/2009 8:53 AM

Saturday was the day of Gramma's party.  A lot of family members came to it, so the girls had lots of other little kids to run around with during the day.  We also got to see some relatives that we hadn't seen in a while.  There was a ton of great food, yummy cake, and even a magician to entertain everyone.  The girls help me make a gigantic card for Gramma, and they were awesome helpers in blowing out her candles on her cake.   It was a bit hard for them to wait, though, for the cake to be cut, as they dug in with their forks before we could do so!  What can I say...my girls love cake!  There was also an Easter egg hunt for the kids outside, and later we took the girls down to the pond to look for fish, frogs, and turtles.  I will post those photos later, but here are some from inside the party.  Happy Birthday, Gramma!

    

Yummy Food!  And Michele with her mom, or Gramma with Great Grandma

    

Singing to Gramma (Abigail in blue, Emma in pink) and helping to blow out her candles

   

Sitting with Gramma to watch the magician, and Emma trying to sneak chocolates

Whew!  This party sure is making me thirsty!

By Geri Imler on 4/14/2009 7:54 AM

In other news, I did have an ultrasound last week that I have not had a chance to post yet on here.  But keep an eye out for the new photos soon, and some new information we found out with this ultrasound! 

By Geri Imler on 4/14/2009 7:46 AM

We had such a big weekend full of so many events that I think I will divide it up into several separate blogs.  The first really fun thing that happened was that we all went to Ohio to surprise the girls' Gramma for her birthday.  Gramma thought that we were going to be coming into town on Saturday morning for a party they were having at their house to celebrate her birthday and Easter, but instead we drove in on Friday.  Grandpa took Gramma out to dinner, and while they were there, we sent the girls in to surprise her.  Then we came in next to say surprise, and were followed by a huge surprise, Tim's brother Dan and his girlfriend, Sally.  They flew in from California to be there for the weekend, but Gramma had NO idea that was going to happen!  So we gathered all of her immediate family together for a big dinner out Friday night.  It was well coordinated...good job, Grandpa!  Anyways, we were too busy videotaping her response and just enjoying the surprise that I don't have too many photos from it.  But it was definitely a fun time!  And Gramma was sure surprised and kept smiling the whole night! 

       

Abigail coloring at dinner while Emma plays with these little guys she got at the Country Club.

The girls with Gramma.

By Geri Imler on 4/9/2009 8:26 PM

Last Sunday we all went to a surprise party in honor of my grandpa, or the girls' great grandpa, Bud.  He turns 90 (wow!) this coming Sunday, and we all gathered to surprise and celebrate him.  It was great to see how many people turned out.  It was good food, great family, and fun memories.  Because my grandpa loves polka dancing, there was even a live polka band that played.  The girls LOVED the balloons and cake, chasing the balloons around the hall and eating any piece of cake that was set down on our table (sorry if they ate yours!).  When the band started up, they were too funny, watching them play for a while, and then finally getting up to dance.  Their cousin, Ethan, is a dancing machine, so it was really cute how the girls tried to dance with him.  Mostly the girls twirl around in circles and think they are dancing, but it is super cute.  Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I am glad we got to be a part of such a special celebration.  HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA (and GREAT GRANDPA)!  We love you!

(Great) Grandpa Bud - HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY!!!!

      

Abigail watching the band play music while holding her balloon, and Emma wondering if she is going to get another piece of cake.

   

The girls with their PawPaw - too cute!  And I want to thank my sister, Emily, and her husband, Ryan, for hosting all of us all weekend!

 

 

By Geri Imler on 4/8/2009 8:46 PM

This past weekend, since all of my siblings and their kids/significant others were in town, we decided to do our annual family Easter Egg Hunt that is put on by my dad at his house.  Now, mind you, there are a lot of egg hunts during this time of year.  But far and above those other ones, our family one is taken SERIOUSLY as it is a matter of pride and bragging rights for whomever wins each year.  I am proud to say that I have won quite a few times, though this year, I came in second to my sister.  I guess I should show good sportsmanship and congratulate her, though I think she was scoping out the eggs before the hunt started (just kidding!).  Anyways, with the grandkids getting bigger, we decided to let them find their eggs first before the real competition between my siblings (and their significant others) got underway.  This year the girls were old enough to understand what they were looking for, and they did a great job!  I did run ahead of them a bit to help point out eggs for their buckets, but they did wonderfully with following me around and actually picking out the eggs from their hiding spots.  Emma stayed right with me, but Abigail got sidetracked halfway through the competition, sitting down to open the eggs and "count" her money before tossing it onto the grass.  Several times, one or both of the girls dumped their buckets and my mom had to help them pick up their eggs and money (which goes into their savings account).  As for the winner...different people would tell you different things in terms of the little kids.  Some say Ethan won...some say Aubrey...I say that it was Emma.   So I guess we will just let them all think they are winners because in reality, they all are.  It is just so neat that we still continue this tradition that I did as a little kid, that we as adults still really get into this egg hunt, and that our own children now get to join in the fun with us.   I guess I just need to do a bit more training for next year's race for the eggs, prepping the girls before with practice runs here at home.  Watch out guys...we are going to make a full sweep next year!  And by the way, Tim did not come in last place, which is great for him! 

       

And they are off!  Abigail finds her first egg (middle photos) in a door corner, while Emma finds hers (right photo) in my childhood sandbox.

       

Emma (left photos) and Abigail (right photo) looking for more eggs.  Mommy helping to point out eggs to her girls (right photo).

    

Looking for those last eggs together (so cute!).  And Abigail holds up the final egg she found for us to see.