a healthy Thursday off!!

So we were all finally healthy and the sun was shining on my day off today!! Sunshine and healthy kids has not been the story around here for the last two weeks! We made the most of the day and got out of the house! My little ones were in a bit of shock to see the outside world. PJ got a desperately needed haircut, we are now old enough that he requires the use of a buzzer! I am a bit sad, and boy does a haircut take the baby look away!!

We also got Brie's 15 month photos done! She was not so cooperative and definately did not want to say cheese. I purchased the one photo package and that was it. I have a feeling when we do Maggie's a few weeks it will be a lot more difficult as she is excited to pictures!

We also recieved some spruce twigs in the mail from a previous arbor day donation and they needed to be planted. Let the watering begin! We have had rain for the last three weeks nonstop but now that I would like some for the tree we will go into a drought!

Sunshine and warm temperatures make for happy kiddos playing on their swing set!

Easter dressed up

PJ was still feeling ill on Sunday so we had to split going to church. It is not very fun to go to church individually on a holiday! The girls chose to go with me so at least I had them, I felt bad as Pete had to go alone. We showered, put on dresses, went to church and then came home and put on sweats! I captured a photo of the dress up attempt.

Brie did not attend church so we put on the dress, took a lot of photos and then took the dress off and hung it back in the closet. Maybe in a couple of weeks when everyone is better we will all dress up and go to church as a family again.

PJ did not manage to get out of pajamas that day! One Easter that will not be forgotten nor repeated in this house ever again, hopefully!

Though PJ had vomiting and diarrhea he insisted he have his chocolate bunny. My thinking was, well it can't get any worse, the vomiting ceased! and we only had a few more hours of diarrhea and then that stopped as well. Thank goodness, the little man is down 3 pounds from all this! Moral of the story, I guess if you have a GI bug try a chocolate bunny maybe it will work for you too.

Easter baskets

Easter moring I had the first kid in before 6:45! good thing momma had Easter Beagle from Charlie Brown ready to go in the dvd player so we were able to rest another 40 mintes. Then there was no more putting them off so down the steps we went. The hunt for baskets, then the hunt for eggs, and then the opening of eggs and going through baskets. It was a busy 60 minutes. The girls feeling great were all energized and ready to go, PJ still felt like poo so he was pretty pathetic, and Brie was exhausted from Jacie's party the day before so she slept!

Maggie with a goofy look and her basket of stuff and eggs.



PJ looking pale, sick, and thin going through 2 of his 4 easter baskets. He was in love with his puppy and combine from Auntie Jacie and his John Deere DVD( I think we have watched it no less than a 1000 times already! Who can say no when they feel so terrible.

Makayla was so surprised the bunny could find a pricess game for the Wii. She was an excellent sister waiting patiently for her siblings before going on to the next thing.

Brie Brie was hilarious with her shades! She was very proud of herself and enjoyed her basket of goodies as well.

Great grandma Betty

So great-grandma Betty died at 103 years old in 2007. Whenever we were back we would visit her and she adored the girls. Mags was only 16 months when she died but she swears she remembers her, who am I to doubt a 4 year old! Her death was an excellent way for Kayla to witness the end of life process, all the way through the burial. On occassion we take flowers to the grave site and the last time we were back they insisted we take flowers for Easter to make it pretty for her. A trip to Hobby Lobby to pick out the perfect flowers and off we were to decorate. Betty's children do an excellent job of keeping the site looking pretty and my mom said there were plenty of flowers currently but the girls insisted. They picked out tall pink lillies because "great grandma would like those best." As photographed they do look very nice and I am sure Betty was watching them.The girls had to carefully place them just right and kept moving them until the were "perfect". Grandma Betty we all miss you dearly and prayer for you nightly and know that you keep a careful eye on all of us!

Jacie's Easter Fun

My sister Jacie hosts the annual Easter gathering for my family on Saturday. My dad was able to join us for a few hours and really was quite spunky! He was in a great mood and appeared to feel well.

The famous bunny made an appearance which made all the children happy except Brie. She was fasinated by the rabbit from a distance, however the photo of her solo with him she was screaming!!

Gabriellie found this yellow laffy taffy early in the afternoon and continued to carry it around for a couple of hours!

Each year another sister Coke makes a pinata' filled with TONS of candy. The kids each get a couple of wacks at it and then the older kids are called in to finish the job. This years break was textbook, a clean, smooth break with the candy fanning out perfectly. Way to go Todd!

A quick shot of the girls. PJ and Pete were stuck at home as PJ was too sick and contagious to make the trip. He woke with a fever and vomited during the day. His rotavirus bug really knocked him down!

Brie collecting eggs, she really got it but then discovered there was stuff in those eggs! She stopped collecting and just wanted them opened!

Maggie came in with a decent amount of eggs.

Kayla collected the most for our group and was very proud of herself.

We found a corner and opened our eggs to discover the loot we had collected. Jacie is know for hiding candy, rocks, money, and prizes in her eggs so it is always fun to see what is in each one.

Brie decided to clean the floor by pushing herself backwards on the floor. It was a cute little Brie thing.

Easter part 1

In spite of all the illness we still managed to egg coloring done. The girls are always very eager to do this project. I was in charge of deviled eggs for the family party so we had 3 dozen eggs to color! Even with that many there were still boos about running out of eggs!

Maggie likes to color many eggs at one time!

A sick PJ needed daddy's help with his eggs.

Brie had to pass on the coloring this year, however she did enjoy playing with the egg paper holders. Do people really use these for holding eggs?

One better, One not

Brie is finally feeling like herself today. It has been a long 6 days. She is feeling so good in fact that she taught herself a new trick! CLIMBING! up on the toy box without missing a step, and very proud of herself!! She is eating much better today and we have only had 2 dirty diapers from her today! YEA!!

As for her brother, not so good! PJ started vomiting Wed. am on the way into daycare, back home we went and here we sit! He has continued to vomit and now has added rotovirus to his illness list, unfortunately! I thought the vomiting was done and then tonight at 5:30 I learned no we are NOT done with it! He is very good at being pathetic and is requiring constant snuggles!

Say prayers that his is shorter lived so we can make it to the family Easter on Saturday! more to come....

Meadow

So we have an easement in the back of our house and the girls LOVE to go beyond the fence and collect flowers in the "meadow". Last year PJ was only 20 months and not allowed outside the fence. Saturday he was SO excited to go into the meadow with the girls!! They looked like Little House on the Prairie running up and now the long grass, frolicking amongst the dandelions! Yes, the girls taught him all about the flowers and every time we see one while driving he insists we stop immediately to pick it! Trying to reason with a two year old is challenging enough but now I am having to do this constantly on our commute! ugh! Nonetheless, PJ was thrilled to join his sisters in the "meadow".

Staples

These have been staples in our home for the last 7 1/2 years! It is bittersweet that I no longer have to buy these products as our baby days are drawing to an end. Oh the money I will save and how easy laundry is now that we have ONE laundry basket! and no formula!! Brie's last bottle was over a month ago now so we are offically done, however it was hard to not drag them back out over the weekend when she refused any food or fluids. Pete informed me there was no way we could go back now so we pressed on with tippy cups and like I said she is turning around!

SICK KIDS!

It has been SICK KIDS for us since getting the daycare call on Friday the 15th. Miss Brie had some vomiting and then it turned to rotovirus! poor little thing, she really just laid on Pete or I from Friday until today. She is regaining a bit of her personality however and turning around today. She is down 13 ounces, doesn't sound like much but she was only 22 pounds a few days ago! Maggie then came with a fever Monday am and today we tested her for strep and it was POSITIVE! the poor thing, I made her get the shot and she was not happy with me! PJ has felt alittle rough lately too and now tonight seems to be wheezing! Oh as to not be left out Makayla had a fall at school and now has 5 new bruises on her shins! Alright little people you have exhausted your parents so lets all stay healthy for a long time please!

grandpa time

We have been trying to make trips up to my folks alittle more often lately to give the kids time with their grandparents. To PJ's surprise the lawnmower has returned from the farm to my parents garage. He was SO EXCITED when the door opened and he saw the "TRACTOR HERE!!" Who says a two and half year old does not have memories, he has not seen this since early October but remembers clearly everything about it!

My dad does some work assembling little pieces. The kids were very curious and thought they would be so helpful. He was with them in that garage Sunday for over an hour. I have no doubt those three little people and their conversations exhausted him! can you imagine all the discussions they had!

A glimpse into our lunch conversation went like this: Pete and I were commenting to my folks about the latest cow meat we purchased from my sister. Maggie inquired how we get Jacie's cow meat, Kayla without skipping a beat or missing a bite of food states: "she shoots the cow". I thought Maggie was going to fall off her chair. I quickly jumped into the conversation for a little recovery and to soften the blow. Maggie simply said "oh that is very sad," and onto the next subject we went. I am waiting for the time that she comes to me with more questions, right now the wheels are still turning( I can see them churning).

another soccer angle

This is Maggie and PJ's opinion about Kayla's soccer game on Saturday. I can just imagine a similair pose in about 10 years as my then 15 year old is trying to get a tan! dear God help have the strength! They even convinced a friend to joing them on their blanket.

Our team made a goal and so we were clapping and cheering and Brie was showing her excitement as well!

DinoStars

Makayla and her first grade class did a show called Dinostars! It involved singing, dancing, and joke telling. Kayla did an excellent job with her parts. We had to make her costume and she chose to be a Pterodactyl. great!

5 poses

So in attempt to update the above photo we headed outside this evening for a photo session. Let me tell you 5 poses and many clicks of the camera this is the best we have folks! The above is the best of all the shots and below are the outtakes for your smiling pleasure! It was a bit windy and alittle chilly but really kids I just wanted one picture. A one year, two year, four year and seven year old are not any easier to photograph now verses one year ago! I feel like I have to have 4 assistants creating a circus above and behind my head to make all eight eyes look the correct way. At any rate here are an example of my efforts! Enjoy and have a good week.

The slide idea was hopeless from the start!

Soccer

Spring Soccer 2011 has started! We had our first game today. We have added a few more players to the roster and that is helpful for subbing! We still did not have a win but we managed to get a few goals and the girls had a great time. It was a beautiful morning as well, the sun was out and the light breeze was warm. I need to find a soccer picture from September and do a comparison. Have a great weekend. I think spring may be here after Monday for us. One more cool day and then I think we will stay warm!! Happy Spring!

Beads

So many beads and necklaces, what is a girl supposed to do? Brie is following in Makayla's footsteps and is loving playing with the beads. Thanks to my mom and sister we have plenty of necklaces from Makayla's time. Brie will spend 20 to 30 minutes easily entertaining herself with the necklaces! I keep them away and use them when I need a few minutes to get something done! I had to catch it on camera though because I know somewhere I have very similiar photos of her sister doing the same thing!