Sweet Freebies

Our new neighborhood has a google group, and neighbors will post things for sale or free they want to get rid of.  We scored two amazing (FREE!) deals this week and are praising God for the blessing!

Freebie 1:  Outdoor Playground

And here's the finished product!  Brian put some major work into taking this thing apart, hauling it to our house (with some great help from Brian's brother and some of the high school students) and then building it back together.  It's been finished for about 1/4 of a day and already the neighbor kids on either side of our house have come to play - it's awesome!!

Freebie 2:  A new bedroom set for Carson!

Here it is in Carson's room... get a good look, his room isn't usually so clean and neat but we had to move everything out to get this in.  Again, Brian did some amazing work building this back together (he basically had to re-build the bunk bed from various pieces).

We have also been enjoying some great outside time with the neighbor kids.  The weather has been on and off with the nice weather but when it's sunny, we go outside!

Carson, Aliana and the two boys that live to the right of us. This afternoon they were playing in gutter water... awesome :)

Aliana, her cousin Sydney and the little neighbor boy (such a boy, right??  He wanted to hear the story Sydney was reading but wanted no part in the tea party :)

Carson, Aliana and the two neighbor kids that live to the left of us.  We really just started playing with them about a week ago (and we have been living here since October!)  and the kids get along great!  They are on their trampoline.

Carson and Aliana being sweet together... yes, it does happen! :)

Wedding fun

We went to Omaha this past weekend for Brian's cousin's wedding.  There are 9 cousins on Brian's mom's side (all boys) and Jeremy was the last to be hitched!  The craziest part about it all is that he married a girl (Shannyn) we went to Luther with!  I lived with her twin (Jenny) when I studied abroad in England.  Shannyn and Jeremy are both ELCA pastors in the Omaha area and the wedding was so much fun!  We haven't been to a wedding in a LONG time (maybe that's because we are getting old) and the kids had a blast!  And we got to drive out with Brian's brother's family so the kids enjoyed the long drive with their cousins and in our new van!  It is amazing.

Aliana and Daddy :)

The cousin's wives (minus a few)

Hubby and me :)

The next generation!  They had a blast together all weekend!!

Sydeny and Aliana - these 2 are so sweet together!! 

Sister-in-law :)  Love this girl!!

The 8 boy cousins (the 9th lives in Germany)

Shannyn & Jenny, my sister-in-law Melissa on the right and Brian's cousin's wife Suzy, on the left