small group at the park

 I had fun playing with my camera this evening, as our small group played at the playground. I don't take my camera with me as often as I should, but was feeling like I should take pictures of these great friends we've made. ;) We've met *almost* weekly with our Bible study group from church for nearly 11 years! Sometimes it's the most routine events that are the least photographed. That's definitely the case here. I'm glad I did bring my camera, cause the sky was pretty dramatic & the lighting was fun! Also, there are way more photos of Elsa, since I was mostly following her to keep an eye on her. ;) And I didn't get a good photo of everyone, but that's how it goes... :]

 I heard Macey tell another girl at the playground Elsa's name. The girl was clearly impressed & Macey responded "Yup! That's why she's wearing an Elsa shirt." It was sweet. :) We get a lot of impressed reactions from little girls when they find out Elsa's name, since the movie "Frozen" is so very popular. :P

 Emmett

 Eli, Finley, Cedar & Ethan

 We all brought our own picnic dinners.

 Maddie

 I think she was inspired. ;)

 Ominous clouds, but the sun stayed out.

 Tired Cedar.

 Super Emmett!

 How many boys does it take to take Matt down...or some version of the game. :P

 Macey

 Brock

celebrating elsa with the hechts

 Today, we celebrated Elsa's birthday with my family after church. We ate lunch (lasagna, salad & bread) before letting Elsa open the gifts. She got some awesome new toys, nice clothes & even some hand-sewn stuffed animals from her cousins Sadie & Griffin! Memaw sewed a dress for Elsa too. Such special gifts & she loves them already! :) Her family sure knows her well.

After gifts, we let her blow out the two candles on her My Little Pony/Dino ice cream cake (all things that she loves). :) Memaw made a happy cookie arrangement too! :) She really had a great celebration.

elsa turned two

 We could hardly wait for Elsa to wake up, on the morning of her birthday. She took her time & woke up at 10:00 am! She's really been taking advantage of the summer schedule. ;) We all went in & sang "happy birthday" to her, which she loved! Then let her open her presents before all going out for donuts. It was her first time going to the actual donut store & she's been talking about it ever since! She quickly decided on the one with rainbow sprinkles & called it a "baby donut". She gently licked it before devouring it in a crumby mess. :P We pretty much stuck around the house for the rest of the day, as some of our family members have been dealing with tummy issues. I'm sure the donuts didn't help, but we had to do something in honor of our sweet littlest turning two years old! 

She's such a blessing to our family. She's bright & caring, silly & serious. She loves her brothers & is independent too. She surprises us every day (potty trained herself, climbs out of her crib, opens her door, climbs to the top bunk bed) with her strength, love, & cleverness. We can't thank God enough for bringing her sweetness to our family. Happy 2nd birthday, Elsa Roedel. 

lauren's baby "sprinkle"

 I was honored to get to help a bit with a "Sprinkle" for Lauren, as she prepares to welcome baby boy #2 to her family. My part was very small, so I can say that the event went so well & was quite special. We had a soup tasting from SoupCycle & many people pitched in for a gift certificate to SoupCycle for after baby arrives. Such a great idea. Everyone also decorated a bead to make a blessing necklace & took turns sharing a blessing or what their bead symbolizes. It was very touching & so inspiring to see such a strong support system that Lauren has built in just two years in Corvallis! What a blessing as they prepare to grow their family. :)