My Crucibles

Here are some of the crucibles I use. I do not have a pic for my larger #6 crucible yet.

Back Yard Metal Casting Hobby

So this past fall I took up a new Hobby, Backyard Metal Casting! I use a green sand method to cast aluminum, brass, copper and someday bronze (I just don't have any yet). Below are a few of the projects I have done so far.

Trip to Colorado

We recently journeyed out to visit Russell's family that live in the Ft Collins/ Loveland, CO area and had a great time! We got to visit a farm and feed the animals as well as just play and hang out with family. We also traveled up into the mountains one day. We had a great time and overall, the boys did great! While we were there, Micah turned 3 months old. Time sure does go by fast! Enjoy the pictures of our time away!

Introducing Micah Peter Soppe

As most of you know by now, Micah Peter Soppe was born on July 8, 2010 at 3:55 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 21 and 1/3 inches long. Mom and Micah have been home for several days now and we are enjoying getting settled into being a family of five! Russell's aunt and uncle were here to watch Caleb and Joshua for us while I was in the hospital and it was great! The boys had a great time with Grandpa Gary and Grandma Jo and it was good for mom and dad to know they were in good hands! I was successful at having a VBAC, so recovery has been much easier this time around! I must say that while taking care of a newborn is definitely challenging, we have also found it easier to have one instead of two at a time! Russell has been home for the week to help with the transition, which has been very nice. I am not looking forward to him returning to work and taking care of all three of these boys by myself, but I'm sure everything will find a way of getting done. Here are some pictures of Micah from the past week as well as a few from Caleb and Joshua's adventures while we were in the hospital.

Happy Father's Day!

We also had a great Father's Day! Thanks Russ, for being such a great Dad!

Happy 2nd birthday boys!

Well, it's official... we now have two 2-year-olds in the house! Alison's parents were in town to visit the weekend before the big day, so we opened some presents and had cake with them. We saved a few gifts for the actual day and just had a good time! For the most part, the boys were more impressed by the fact that Pooh and Eeyore were on their cakes than they were with how they tasted... Just goes to show they don't get sweets very often! We also had them in to the doctor for their two year checkups - both of the boys are about 33 1/2 inches tall. Caleb weighs 22 lbs and Joshua is 23 1/2 lbs. They are still small for their age, but Dr Duff says they are following their own curve and to continue feeding them as much as they will eat!

Both of the boys are HIGHLY mobile and into everything these days. Joshua decided to climb out of his crib the day before they turned 2, so we have transitioned into toddler beds. We were hoping to wait until after baby # 3 arrived to make this transition, but safety prevailed, so it is done. The boys are doing okay with this... they take longer to fall asleep, but usually stay that way once they are out for the count. We're not always sure exactly WHERE they end up sleeping, but they get some rest! Overall, we are enjoying our final days as a family of four and looking forward to being a family of five soon!

The past few months...

Just wanted to post a few pictures from the past few months before the boys' birthday comes around, which is almost here! We have been busy playing and getting ready for little boy number 3 who will be here before we know it! As you can see, the boys are growing like crazy. They are slowly but surely gaining some new words and we are hopeful their vocabularies will increase so we will be able to understand them more and they will be less frustrated.

Communication continues to be our biggest challenge - the boys can understand TONS of what we say, but are not able to let us know what they want/need. Frustration is evident from both sides as we struggle to understand what they are trying to say. Each time there is a new word (or we understand a new noise that is supposed to be a word) there is much rejoicing in our house!

The boys absolutely LOVE being outside and as the weather has gotten warmer, we have tried to be out more frequently. My pregnancy has been going smoothly and I am still feeling good for the most part - it is AMAZING how much I can still move around and do with "only" one child inside! =) Currently, I am 34 weeks and counting... The boys have figured out that Mom can't move as fast as she used to and do take advantage of that from time to time!

The other exciting thing that happened a few weeks ago, was that Russ was given a motorcycle from a family in the church. He has worked at length with their son and they chose to show their thanks with what we think is a generous, extravagant gift. It was a complete surprise for Russ and a bunch of the people from church, who own motorcycles, came over on their bikes to be a part of the presentation. It was a lot of fun!

Last weekend Russ took a motorcycle safety class and passed all the tests, so once the paperwork comes in the mail, he will have his license. Enjoy the pictures and I will post some more soon after the birthday celebration!


The boys...

The motorcycle!