First let me show this precious picture of my two boys. Aren't they amazing?? I am SO IN LOVE with these two!!!
Easter weekend we went to IC to be with family. My grandparents came since they hadn't seen Silas since Christmas (they winter in Texas) and I think they were surprised at how much he'd changed since Christmas. Silas didn't seem to have forgotten them or if he did, he wasn't very shy. He loves playing my parent's piano every chance he gets. Look how big he looks in this picture standing at the piano. Goodbye baby Silas, hello big boy!
We all hung out Friday evening and then Saturday kind of bummed around until one of my friend's Mom, Sue Reeves, came over to take Silas' 1-year pictures. Silas was not too cooperative so I felt bad for Sue - it really was the first time that he did NOT cooperate for any photo shoot. :-/ He'd napped, eaten lunch....who knows what was going on in that mind of his except for not wanting to do what Mom wanted him to. Oh well, I'm anxious to see the pictures anyway.
Saturday night Kellee's boyfriend's family came down from Cedar Rapids to hang out and play games. It was nice getting to meet the entire family and hang out together. Josh's Mom is hilarious and very outgoing with made game time a blast.
Easter morning we went to church and Silas got his first Easter basket.
Last year he was only 4 days old on Easter so this was the first year he really got anything. He seemed genuinely excited for his basket full of toys - a Tomas the Train, book, Bob the Builder movie, bunny, toy boat for the bath, etc. 
It was cute watching him take joy in discovering what all was in there. We did manage to get him to hold still for a few pictures outside with a daffodil. Silas was absolutely THRILLED that Mom gave him his very own flower to do whatever with! 
Silas even enjoyed a chocolate egg!
Okay, on with the exciting news! Big changes are going on in the Soll household!! It's finally official and finally I can yell from the rooftops - Jake quit Aspen!!!!!! He and a family friend of ours, Aaron Grove, are going into business together. They've been working for a year on developing a business plan, researching, praying, finding an investor, etc. for this small business. They have created a website called Pickagym.com where you can type in your zip code to locate gyms near your location. They will have video tours and pictures of each of the clubs that "join" the website. Gyms will pay to have the video tour and pictures of their gym on the site and customers will also have the option of buying a membership online, basically taking out the need for the customer to visit the gym in person and taking out the middle man (the salesman). The investor is a member of Aspen, someone Jake met a few years ago who is a neat Christian guy which makes Jake and Aaron both really excited to be working with him. He is an entrepreneur himself and really encourages the guys and gives them honest, solid advice.
Jake had some mixed emotions leaving Aspen but thankfully one of the owners, Luke, was very excited for Jake and really encouraged him to follow his dream. Jake had been at Aspen for 6.5 years so many of the people there have become good friends and a few like family. Aspen feels safe to me, kinda feels like home - always familiar faces when I go in, everyone knows and LOVES Silas, I know many of the members myself, etc. It's going to be an adjustment for us but we're really looking forward to new (better!) hours for Jake, an even more flexible schedule for him, time as a family on weekends (oh my goodness, what will that even be like??), etc. Hopefully Jake and I will be able to stand each other now that we're getting more time together. ;)
So if you see Jake or make contact with him, encourage him. He and Aaron need a lot of prayers and support right now. The first 6-12 months are going to be huge for them and they are going to be putting in A LOT of hard work and probably quite a bit of travel time too (eventually). Jake has such a genuine, big heart and has so many desires to help others when/if this company gets huge. If, for whatever reason, things don't work out it definitely won't be because Jake and Aaron didn't put their heart and soul into making it work. Jake has a wonderful work ethic that I admire so much and I know he will pour himself into making this business go.
I got to see the office where the guys will be working and it is AWESOME. It really got me very excited for Jake and Aaron. The location is downtown, not too far from Mercy, in an old building that has tons of history. The owner of the building is into antiques and collects old doors from older homes that are being torn down. The building is home to a few businesses already with lots of space for more businesses. There is a mother cat and one of her babies (who is an adult cat now) that live in the building. The mother cat just gave birth to a liter of 9 kitten that are about 2 weeks old (can you imagine how in love I was visiting tonight and getting to play with these little kitties??). The office is going to be just great for these guys and all the antiques really add a lot of character to the building.
Anyway, more posts to come soon...and I won't wait as long next time! ;)
