More photos posted - June and July

The photos from June and July 2013 have finally been uploaded.

At Cole's high school graduation

In the May-June 2013 album, the June pictures include: Joe's birthday, Cub Scout Rockets, Cole's high school graduation, Vacation Bible School, Squirts baseball (coach-pitch) and the Marriage Encounter group's camping weekend.

In the July-Aug 2013 album, the July pictures include: the 4th of July celebrated with friends; BBQ Days with the 5K and Kids Fun Run, parade and carnival; Z&A learning to ride bikes without training wheels; the Scott County Fair and demolition derby; and a great day at the park.

Cole as George Gibbs in "Our Town"

We also added a great picture from May, a picture of Cole that was in the Hopkins newspaper from his performance as George Gibbs in Hopkins High's production of "Our Town"

A big step

Zach and Alex are going to miss Ms Kate,
who taught them for all 16 months
they were at NHA

Just quick post for some fun pics... The big step was Zach and Alex's last day in the Pre-K class at New Horizon, which was celebrated with afternoon treats that we brought in for the class before they said goodbye to their teachers and friends. NHA did a great job getting them ready for their next big step: Kindergarten!

The July-Aug 2011 album has the pics from that day, along with photos from an afternoon at the Stages childrens' theater to see "Annie, Jr." and some family fun at the bowling alley (be sure to check out the video of Alex and Zach getting their groove on  when some dance music started playing for Cosmic Bowling - it's sure to make you smile!)

A year of fun in Pre-K

Alex and Zach in class

Zach and Alex spent the 2010-11 school year, along with the summers before and after, at New Horizon Academy in the Pre-Kindergarten class. They had an absolute blast learning and playing with their friends and their great teachers. Ms. Kate, the room's lead teacher, took pictures of the class frequently and posted them online for the parents to see all the fun things they were doing. I've posted the ones of the boys in the New Horizon - Preschool album. Come in and play!

Parades and picnics

A great day for a picnic!

The July photos in the July-Aug 2011 album feature two events: the annual BBQ Days parade in town and a fantastic day at one of our favorite parks. The BBQ Days parade is always a big hit, esp the bands (check out the video of Alex jamming!). And at Lake Minnetonka Regional Park, we had a blast playing on the playground and playing games and grilling a tasty picnic dinner.

Fun times with friends

The Vandermarks recently got some opportunities to get out and have some fun with some friends - Alex and Zach with neighbors Brooke and Stella, and Karen and Joe with friends (and Joe's co-worker) Phil and Heather.

Last weekend, Zach and Alex attended the birthday party of sisters Brooke (5) and Stella (3), and they had an absolute blast.  The birthday girls celebrated with pony rides and a little petting zoo complete with chickens, ducks, guinea pigs, rabbits, and a hedgehog.  The animals where huge hits with the kids, although Alex preferred to look from the outside and spent most of his time playing with the girls' toys.  Check out the pictures in Brooke and Stella's B-Day photo album.

Karen and Joe actually got a little playtime too recently when they joined friends Phil and Heather Rodemann on a trip out to Treasure Island to eat, drink, and laugh our booties off with comedian Ron White.  We spent a couple hours playing the tables (blackjack can be a mean, mean game...) and then went on the casino's dinner cruise for a nice relaxing dinner on the Mississippi River (check out our pictures).  To cap off the evening, we saw Ron White perform. He is one incredibly funny person, but I think the funniest parts where when he screwed up his jokes and then just went with it.   We all had a great time!

A busy weekend for the Vandermarks

This past weekend was a busy one with lots of excitement for all the boys with a couple of truck rides and a couple of parades. Lots of fun! :-)

While I was working from home on Friday, the power company came by to let us know they needed to shut off our power to swap out the transformer across the street. They had a big truck with a crane to move the transformer (as well as a trailer carrying a digger, although they didn't need it for this job). Zach and Alex were beyond excited to see all that cool stuff right in front of the house, so we sat and watched. When the guys came by to tell us they were done, they got such a kick out of them, as Z & A couldn't stop talking (guy! truck! crane! digger!) - so they offered to give them a ride while they turned around in the cul de sac. How cool!

On Saturday we went to the Belle Plaine BBQ Days parade to watch all the trucks, cars, and tractors on display. We sat with Debbie's family, who lives near where the parade route ended this year, which was a lot of fun as all there were lots of kids to play with (big and little). Being at the end of the route really paid off this year, as we hit the motherload of candy because most of the floats still had a bunch left at the end. People would just dump their buckets right in front of us - it was better than Halloween! We had plans to go to the carnival after the boys' nap, but we got hit with a big rainstorm (1" of rain in an hour!) so we didn't make it back.

Sunday was the day of the parade at the Hopkins Raspberry Festival, where Cole's mom is a participant as a member of the Hopkins Fire Department. For the second year she invited Joe, the boys, and me to join her and Cole in the parade to ride on the trucks, which just thrills Zach and Alex beyond belief. This year, Lisa drove one of the big ladder trucks, so Joe, Z & A, and I rode in front with her while Cole rode on the top. We all had a good time waving at the crowds on a beautiful sunny (but warm) day.

We were able to get a couple pictures of the power truck and fire truck rides (although we weren't able to get one of Cole on top of the truck before we had to start the parade); you'll find them in the Jul - Aug 2008 album.

New pics for May

Some new photos from the past month have been added to the May - June 2008 album. (And can I say for the record that it's really scary that the month of May is almost over already?!?). The last time Cole was here with us, he brought with him some hats and other toys that he used to play with that he thought his brothers would like. And boy, they sure did. We have pirates, cowboys, and firefighters running around here on a pretty regular basis now! Some other fun pictures include a day at the park with Debbie and her niece, Jordan, and our little chefs helping prepare a pizza dinner. Enjoy!

FYI, I never posted a note about it last month, but I did add quite a few pictures in April, so if you haven't seen them yet, be sure to check them out!

New album for 2008

It's hard to believe we're this far into the new year already to have enough pictures to start the 2008 Family album, but here we are.

The first batch of pictures include little glimpses at just how much Zach and Alex have grown in the last year. They are able to feed themselves with forks and spoons - and doing it quite well most of the time. They'll sit down with a book on their own and look at all the pictures, naming the objects and colors they know (which grows by the day, it seems). And they love to do art projects - coloring, painting and more. It's amazing how much they can do now!

Some favorite pictures, though, are from just a couple days ago where the boys were hanging out in their Halloween costumes, dressed as Pooh Bear and Eeyore. They loved wearing them and looked so darn cute! Particularly funny was the fact that Zach absolutely HAD to have the hood up - any time it slipped off, he came running to ask for help putting it back on.

New photos for November and December

We've got some great new pictures in the new Nov - Dec 2007 Family photo album, including a trip to Underwater World at the Mall of America, playing in class at ECFE (Early Childhood and Family Ed), preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and getting out during the first big snowfall of the season.

We also went to Joe's company Holiday Party on December 1 at the fabulous Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. It was a 70's disco theme party, complete with a great, well-known local cover band called Boogie Wonderland, and it was a ton of fun. Most of the crowd, including Joe and me, dressed the part in all its cheesy glory, and everyone got out on the dance floor - or even on stage (yep, that is me on stage with Heather, the wife of one of Joe's coworkers). The pictures are a bit grainy/fuzzy given the lighting in the room, but the Dow Jones Holiday Party album will give you an idea of the fun that was had by all.

Latest photos

Here are the photos we've added from the last month or so:

Karen's day at the MN State Fair with Mom and Dad B: Family July-Aug 2007 album
A new Family album - Sept-Oct 2007 - which includes fun with hats, shoes, brooms/vacuums, shades, magnets, climbing and noisy kitchen stuff
New pics in the 2007 Friends album from the birthday party of one of Karen's college roommates

New photos

We've been taking a ton of pictures lately, so I've had a bunch to sort through and clean up. Here's the latest - enjoy!

The May-June album has lots of playful pictures - the twins playing with their food, all three boys playing with a tent Z & A got for their birthday, Cole playing baseball, Z & A playing in the water, a trip to the Children's Museum with Debbie where the three boys had lots of fun playing, and Z & A playing with new tractors (they love all things with wheels, and "tractor" is a new favorite word for them).

A separate Father's Day album features pictures from Father's Day weekend where we honored Joe and Grandpa Bob for being great dads.

And a start to the July-Aug album, where we played around on a relaxed Sunday.

New pics from April posted

About a month's worth of pictures have been added to the March-April 2007 family album. They cover a day at the zoo, playtime, some tasty treats, and some brotherly battles for position.

They had their 15 month checkup recently and continue to do great. Zach is 30.5 inches long and weighs 19 lb 6 oz, and Alex is 30.5 inches long and weighs 20 lb 2 oz. They had their last set of shots before kindergarten, for which I am very grateful.

New pictures posted

Over 40 pictures have been added to the Mar-Apr 2007 family album.  Included are pictures of Zach and Alex learning to use spoons. a cookie-making session with Daddy, and playtime at the park.  Oh, the fun of exploration!

March album started

The March-April 2007 album has been started as the pictures just keep on rollin'.  There are pictures from my birthday, pictures of new foods for the boys, and pictures of kids hard at play.  Still on the camera but due up on the site soon are ones for the boys playing with Cole's keyboard and having a favorite book - Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? -  read to them.  One of their favorite things to do now is have stories read to them.  They'll hand you a book and climb right into your lap.  How cool is that?

Birthday pictures and more

We had a low-key celebration for Cole's birthday, but I think he had a lot of fun.  The weekend took on a "game" theme.  He was able to join Joe at the monthly poker game, which absolutely thrilled him.  He did quite well - he's turning in to quite the poker player, especially now that he gets the poker face concept. The next day, we met Grandma Pat and Grandpa Bob for lunch at a Chinese buffet that Cole really likes.  Zach and Alex got to try all sorts of new foods - the wontons were big hits with them.  Then we all went back to the house for presents (lots more games) and cake. Check out the pics in the Cole's 12th Birthday album.

I've also added a bunch more photos to the "misc" Jan-Feb 2007 album (previously known as the Jan-Mar album until we filled up 20 pages in two months!).  I haven't had a chance to put captions on the newest ones yet (maybe this weekend), so if you check the album out in the next couple days, be sure to check back so you don't miss my witty commentary.

Snap happy

We've all gotten a little snap happy around here, taking even more pictures of our favorite subjects (and an occasional one of the rest of us in the family). New pictures start on page 11 of the Nov-Dec 2006 Family album. And to think we haven't even gotten to Christmas yet. :lol: (The link is correct now, if you tried this before)

New Pics

We've added new pictures to the Family July-August 2006 album of the boys' first taste of veggies, fun new exersaucers from Grandma Pat, and other cute photos. The Sept-Oct 2006 album has been created (how is it that late in the year already??) with Zach's exciting first attempts at crawling. And we took some cool pictures from the "Space Tower" at the Minnesota State Fair while hanging out with Bobby and Kwo Ue.

July-August album

The May-July album was getting long since we've been going crazy with pictures, so I've created a new July-August album to keep both albums smaller.

New pics include a little wrestling match between the boys in mid-July (it had been hiding on Joe's camera), a visit from Grandpa Dan and Grandma Marilyn, the 2nd cereal feeding (the first was videotaped) and bath time - plus some just plain cute ones.