Easter Weekend 2010 started out in the Wisconsin Dells with Matt’s family.  The weekend was awesome and we were all able to stay in the same suite and share a kitchen to do some cooking of our own.

The weekend included many hours in the Kalahari Waterpark and roaming the halls of the resort. 

Simon loved the waterslides and wanted to try more and more each time.

Hudson on the other hand only wanted to stand in the water and look around.

Alivia was all about getting wet and being wrapped up in a warm towel.

We also introduced Matt’s mom and dad to Paul Bunyans Cook Shanty.  If you have never been there before, they serve their food family style and it is a ton of fun.  Matt’s dad loved dinner so much he wanted to go back for breakfast.  It was a lot of fun for everyone.

Here is Matt’s mom with Simon and Alivia eating dinner.

We left the Kalahari Resort on saturday and headed to Julie’s mom and dads for Easter Sunday.  Julie’s sister’s kids were there for the week so the boys continued in their eventful and fun filled weekend.

We finished the weekend with a morning playing at the park with friends Beth, Rusty and Grace.  It was a great conclusion to a great weekend.  It also helped wear out everybody for the ride home. 

Somebody please tell me when that happened!  I can’t believe she is 5 months already!  Since I have been so terrible at updating since she was born, I thought this was worth postsing.  On the day she turned 5 months she said her first word!!! It was “ma ma”.  Such a smart and beautiful little girl!  Needless to say I was flying high the rest of the day. (the boys both said “da da” first)  She has also been crossing many other mile stones lately.  She is starting to sit up! We haven’t even practiced, and one day last week I sat her up, and she sat there, ALL BY HERSELF!!  Then, this past week she started wanting to eat every two hours, and so we started cereal yesterday!  She’s taking to it like a pro. So, our little girl is growing up.  And here are a few pictures to catch you all up on here progress.

Alivia and mommy. Okay, so even though she was sitting up all by herself, I wouldn’t just leave her there.

And that is what she thought of her first bite of cereal

This one I had to add just because it was so stinkin cute

Same here

I was taking Alivia’s 5 month pictures today, and this was not posed.  The boys just wanted to adore her.  It’s so nice to have boys who love there little sister!

And these last two are her 5 month pictures

Each year the Missionary Staff at Camp Forest Springs travel up to Fort Wilderness in McNoughton, WI for our annual Staff Retreat.  It is a time to get away from camp, away from the hustle and bustle and get away as a staff for refreshment and to work through some much needed camp business that needs to be looked at for the future.  It is a great time to eat great food, lots of fellowship, games around the tables at night and just good times of sharing with one another.  There is usually tons of laughter and occassionaly an embarrassing moment or two. 

This year was another exceptional year and this is a kuddos to the staff of Fort Wilderness for hosting the staff of CFS and for all your hard work as well as the leadership of Camp Forest Springs for the insight, direction and challenges as we look to continue serving in 2010. 

Sorry if this catches anyone off guard but Hudson is having a procedure done tomorrow.  Basically, he is having a colonoscopy and a stomach scope.  Since Christmas he has been complaining on and off about his stomach hurting and a few times has had blood in his stool.  We were going to have the scope done in the beginning of February but everything stopped and he quit complaining so we cancelled it.  Of course, two days later it started back up again.  So with advice from the GI Doctors in Wausau, we rescheduled it and tomorrow is the big day.  He goes in to Wausau and has to be there around 8:00 a.m. and the procedure is at 9:30 a.m.

He has been a trooper the last couple of days proudly showing off his surgery video to anyone willing to watch it with him and coloring the pages of the coloring book he got from the hospital. 

Hudson did awesome this morning.  He really impressed the nurses with his attitude about the whole surgery experience.  They did remove a polyp from his intestinal track and took some biopsies of some tissues that were appearing to be irritated which we will have to wait for results for.  He is home now resting on the couch watching Finding Nemo and proud he just had his first surgery (or as he calls it sergry)

Too much happened in February to even begin to think it could all go onto one posting but since it was so busy and went by so quick, it will have to do.
Last weekend of January/First of February, Julie took Alivia and met her mom, two sisters and one her mom’s sisters and two of her daughters and drove to Tennessee for a wedding.  The Klassy-Pickens Wedding turned out great despite the weather that nearly put a damper on it.  Freezing rain from St. Louis to Nashville and everywhere in between made for trecherous traveling conditions and nervous drivers. 

Heather Klassy

Julie with her two sisters

Julie with her cousin Heidi Pickens

Superbowl Party
A few friends from camp came over for a chance to watch good football and eat good food. As usual Julie knocked out some killer hot wings.

Eatin Pie anyone?  For the second year Matt has challenged the Awana T&T kids with a reward for passing sections. The reward, smashing a pie in his face.  As usual, the kids loved it were really motivated again this year. 

Valentines Day Cookie Tradition continued this year this Hudson
Each year Julie tries to make cookies with the boys for Valentines day.  This year while Simon and dad were at Awana, Julie went ahead and made cookies with Hudson.  He got into it as much as Simon has in the past and really had a good time with mom.  The next day, Julie took the boys over to friends Ben and Kaylee’s to decorate the cookies and get them ready for shipment. 

The Wrucks Visit for the Weekend
Last weekend the Wrucks from Platteville, WI visited here in the northwoods.  They were on a family vacation and finished the vacation visiting the Huffman’s.  We had a great weekend of playing games, taking the boys tubing on the big hill at camp, Julie and Beth went skiing in the afternoon at camp, grilling out for supper, more games and lots of hungry hippo’s with the boys.  Russ and Beth’s oldest son Rusty is a few months younger than Simon. 

So What has been happening at camp?  Including Matt’s day to day responsibilities of managing the stores at camp, he has logged 2788 miles in box truck for Gift in Kind.  Needless to say it hasn’t been a slow winter.