Dusting off the family blog

Ok, so the Nartker family has been busy, and spending time on the blog hasn't been one of the priorities. However, summer is upon us, and so the four-leaf clover back-drop has got to go. So bust out the sunglasses folks! It is summer time.Here is a very quick update on the JE Nartker family:

Justin is busy with work and school... and trying to find time to log miles for the area's "May is Bike Month" challenge. (http://www.mayisbikemonth.com/) His boss is killing him by almost 300 miles!! HAHA!

Erin has already had two days out by the pool (no, not ours... wouldn't that be nice :) ) soaking up sun with Noah learning how to swim without floaties, and Eli is using them for the first time. They are both going to be little fish. For as fearless as Eli is, he is pretty cautious around the pool... which makes us all very happy.

Noah asked me to take off his training wheels on his bike... Yes... This was a great day for Justin... he took a break from the books, removed the "little wheels" for Noah, helped him manuver up and down the street a couple times before he asked to put them back on... Dang! So close! :) He actually did a really good job, I just don't think he likes dad hovering over him trying to keep him up.

Anyway, life is good... busy, and really good.

Cookies = Mess when Dad is "helping"

Ok, so Justin tells Noah that he will help him make some cookies... But Noah has to show him how to everything... not because Noah is the super cookie maker, just because Justin has not made cookies in forever. :) So Noah helps load everything into the mixer, shows Justin where to turn it on... and POOF! Everything went flying all over! But Noah isn't the one that made the mess, it was Justin! So this picture shows the nice little mess that Justin "helped" create... but Noah had a lot of fun baking with dad! :)

Camping... Kind of

Ok, so Noah really wanted to go camping, but at night, outside... way too cold. So we threw up the little pop-up play tent that we have and threw it up in the living room. Noah was so excited. He insisted that Justin sleep with him... even though there is no room at all! Before it was time to sleep I convinced Noah that Justin didn't need to sleep in there with him and we moved the tent to our room where Noah had so much fun sleeping the night away in his tent... all by himself. :)

Snow Trip

We went with the Phillips up to the snow. After trips like this, we know why we only VISIT the snow. After about an hour and a half we were ready to come home. :) Becky and Dennis brought hot chocolate for afterward, which really hit the spot.

Eli loved the snow, however the boys were ready to be done and ready to go home... we got our snow fix, and that was good enough.Becky and Dennis made this little snow man... It didn't last too long with Eli sitting there.My Boys!

Practice Pays Off

Ok, make sure to read the previous post and watch its video so that you are ready of this one. Elijah's practice has payed off! Instead of jumping in his bed, now he's jumping off the small table. :) Yeah... we definitely let boys be boys... they are great climbers and jumpers... which is bad for us now... but we're ok with that. :) Elijah was only 16 months old when this was taken... Noah is such a great example for him! lol.

Practice Practice

Elijah asked to be put in his bed... I actually caught him free-climbing from the outside and then he asked me to get in. So I put him in and he just started jumping all around... I guess this was just practice for his next stunt. Oh, and Erin told me that he wasn't saying "up" but rather "help." And since this I've heard both... and this is definitely "help." :)

Christmas Time... And a Special Tree

Because of "Trouble #2," and his wonderful ability to get into anything and everything... like markers; we decided to do something different for Christmas.
An Upside Down Christmas Tree! This sucker is impossible to water and a bit tricky to put presents under... Yeah, I'm just kidding... It is fake... no real tree for us this year... Which is kind of sad because we usually go up to Apple Hill to cut one down. So no apple fritters or apple pies or cider from Apple Hill yet! We'll have to make a trip here pretty soon so that we can get our yearly fix. Erin made a tree skirt and wired all the branches not to fold. Yep, those fake trees when held upside down love to fold... so we had to get creative to keep them all out.

Noah did a fantastic job decorating the tree. He's standing on the stool so that he can reach up high. Eli can only reach the bottom 2-3 ornaments, so we'll see how this goes!

We wish all of our friends and family the best for this Christmas season!! Merry Christmas!

Love, The Nartker's (Justin, Erin, Noah, and Elijah)