SnOw?!?

that is snow you are seeing out my window, I think Mother Nature has forgotten today is April 18th!! While I realize it is not accumulating it still does not seem right to have snow falling this late in April! Poor PJ has yet to have any soccer practice or games! and he is very disappointed! Come on sunshine!! we miss you!

date night

Pete and I were asked to give a talk at a Marriage Date Night. We had this beautiful Italian mural as our backdrop at a very nice winery. The mural is a three D stucco type of art.  It was the first time Pete and I have done a talk together, lets just say we have some more practicing to do before I would want to do it again. It was an enjoyable evening.

Brie's bucket

 One of these passing phases (I hope) that I do not want to forget. Though it is annoying right now I am sure in time I will look back on these days and smile. I cannot even tell how long this has been going on, but a long time. Brie had the vomiting flu a LONG time ago, hence we gave her a "puke bucket". After her illness passed and her bucket had made it through the sanitizing cycle of the dishwasher she requested it back. Being concerned she may vomit again  I happily obliged.
Well let me tell you this bucket has become the holder of many things! Brie is ridiculous about her collections of various what nots! I think the current list includes my cow, my teddy, my night nights, and lalaloopies and bunny and and and. The list is added to almost daily. It really isn't hurting anything so I have let the phase continue, though it privately drives me crazy! Anyway this particular evening she was collecting her bucket list to head up for a bath. She would get almost everything picked up and then something would fall out, she would bend over and retrieve the fallen item and then something else would fall, I just watched. Eventually she got frustrated and stated very manner of fact tone: "I have got too much sh_t!" I could not hold back my giggles, I was laughing so hard. That mad her mad and up the stairs she went crying to her daddy. He met her on the steps and asked her why she was crying and she stated: " I am mad at mommy, she is laughing at me because I have too much sh_t!". oh my gosh, I was laughing even harder at her and just had to take a time out! I want to point out that we do not call her bucket a bucket of sh_t, this is her interpretation of her collection!

grandma time

 Spending time at grandma's is one of the kids favorite things to do. We are very fortunate that we get to see her fairly often. She is always so welcoming and we just love her.

The girls were out of school a couple days after Easter so they stayed behind with grandma as the four of us returned home. The girls had a great time and I think exhausted their grandma. They so enjoy time with her and I am so grateful they are able to spend time with her. All in all good times were had by all, including the four of us that returned home. Pete and I were able to spend a little quality time with the little ones. It can be easy to forget how sweet these little people can be!

basket fun

 Happy Easter morning sweet Brie cheese.  Brie was the last to rise. The kids requested to "find" their baskets this year. PJ's was hidden in the exact spot he had requested. Brie's was in the bathtub, an easy find as she usually runs to the bathroom first thing in the morning. Maggie's was a little tougher and Makayla took forever to find hers. Makayla did request that hers be hidden very hard so apparently the rabbit was successful on that request!

 PJ got his first nerf dart gun, he has been thrilled everyday since!

The bunny used bags to hold the baskets this year and I have to say they were quite pretty.  Granny and Pop sent a card and money for the kids. They were each excited and immediately started planning on how they were going to spend their money!

 I love their faces!
The girls were each happy with the fillings of their baskets. The baskets contained new butterfly nets and the project to grow your own butterflies. A project that I think requires warm days and sunshine, something we hope for again soon!

Easter 2013 update at last

Easter at Auntie Jacie's and Uncle Allan's is always a good time! The kids were in very brightly colored outfits that were super comfy! Brie's hair pretties ended up being as big as her head!

A quite single shot of each kiddo while waiting for the pinata'.

 The Easter bunny made an appearance and we seized the moment for a picture. Brie was very excited about the rabbit, just kept following it and watching it but also keeping her distance.

 The "egg hunt" proved very successful for our kids again this year, here they are all opening their eggs to discover what prizes they won this year.

 My siblings are above and the "outlaws", in-laws are below.  I cannot figure out how to make this site zoom as to give you a closer up look of them. I am very blessed to have so many people to call my family. My children too are very lucky to have such a large number of people who truly love them!

Ericka and chocolate covered strawberries

 My niece Ericka is now old enough for babysitting so we had her come into town last week a couple of days to help out. She did a great job and the kids were very excited to have her here.

Little Miss Ericka has never had a chocolate covered strawberry so Uncle Pete came to her aide and made her the ever delicious treat!
I think she enjoyed them!

 Obviously so did Maggie! this girl cannot stay clean for anything! Brie too was thrilled with herself and the wonderfullness of chocolate covered strawberries! Thank you Ericka for helping us out and babysitting. It was fun to have you come and stay with us!

coloring eggs

 Pete colored eggs with the kids on Friday while I was at work. Each of them had roughly 12 eggs, certainly not enough for them but plenty for the daddy to keep track of! We had some very pretty eggs this year, it is amazing how kids can change in a years time!

PJ and Brie certainly needed the most guidance and hand holding! overall another successful holiday tradition!

school Easter

 This is Brie's first bus ride. The look on her face says it all. She was a bit scared of that big orange school bus! The picture kind of breaks my  heart because she was so excited to go, obviously it was different than she expected.  The school took the kids to a nursing home and the residents had made an Easter egg hunt for the kids. PJ and Brie came home with a bag of filled eggs each. They were thrilled with what they found inside of the eggs.