Fun in the SUN!!

We just couldn't resist... the sun was calling for us today. After church and some yummy BBQ Burgers, we shipped Ad of to work (on call) and got down to some serious water fun. We had the sprinklers hooked up to the slide on the playground and the pool set up for the little ones (though they all ended up in the pool eventually). Adalie had a blast... she is definitely a water baby! We played for quite some time and got everything cleaned up and put away just in time for a nasty thunder/hail storm. These kiddos are so exhausted and should sleep quite well tonight.

A Beautiful Weekend

This past weekend got of to a horrible start. Adam woke up very, very early Saturday morning and was sick as a dog. Our plans to go to the Annual Jackson Rummage went right out the door. I was really bummed about this as I had been excited about going. I love rummaging... and now that we have a big family it's rather difficult to go (lots of driving, unloading, reloading... it's quite the process as you can imagine!). But in Jackson, basically the whole village participates so you can park at the end of a street, load up in the stroller and rummage for hours, sending your husband to the car occasionally to unload the purchases :). Anyway, it just wasn't meant to be this year, which was probably a good thing... we don't really need a bunch more junk, right?!?

Thankfully, Ad's illness didn't hang on too long and he was feeling much better by Sunday. We were able to get a lot of things done around the house... just basic clean-up stuff. We bought Sam a slip-n-slide and he was so eager to try it out. It was a bit chilly for it, but after about the bazillionth time of asking me I finally agreed. It's amazing how different their temperature gauges are... it hardly even phased him. Seth, on the other hand, practically turned blue and had enough after just one slide :)

Adam tackled another project... with a little help from the boys. He sanded down his rusty bumper and repainted it. I don't have pictures of the finished product, but it looks so nice. The boys love it when Ad works out in the garage... they are able to ride bikes and roller blade in the alley and build things with the wood scraps in the garage. Adalie, Aaron and I took walks around the block in the wagon and just really enjoyed being out and about.

Another highlight of the weekend was finally making it to the library. Sam, Seth, and I all got library cards and many, many books. When we grabbed our piles of books to head to the checkout, Aaron decided he needed his own as well. So he got 2 little board books and I let him put them on the checkout thingy himself and carry them to the car. He was so proud and walked with a big bounce in his step... it was so adorable and just one of those moments you wish you could remember forever. It's so funny how the little things they do can just melt your heart like that :)

It was really just an ordinary weekend but definitely a beautiful one! It was a bummer to send Ad back to work, but we get to look forward to next week... he's taking the whole week off! We just realized a few days ago that he has 13 days off to take before July so we are going to be seeing a lot of him over the next month.... yay!!!

Photo Update

So, it's been a while... just thought I'd give you a quick little update on the kiddos:

SAM:

~is finished with 1st grade (yahoo. for everyone!).

~finally has a loose tooth... kinda.

~has a permanent tooth coming in behind his baby tooth.

~got homework from the dentist... to wiggle his bottom front teeth out (or he'll take them out at the next appt. in 6 months).

~reached the 50" mark and will be as tall as Mom before we know it (sigh!).

~is perfecting his roller blading skills.

SETH:

~is a very creative swinger (if that's even a word).

~has a sweet tooth that has caused him lots of grief recently (marshmallows and juice boxes keep randomly disappearing from our pantry).

~will eat any nearly any vegetable off my cutting board before dinner, but refuses to eat them served on his plate during dinner.

~is constantly telling me he loves me.

~gives the biggest hugs after a spanking.

AARON:

~is as attached to his "kiki" as ever (blankie... in case you were wondering)

~is really enjoying the outdoors and would spend every waking moment out there if he could.

~is fascinated by all little creatures (squirrels, neighbor's dog, ladybugs, etc.).

~has hair that would make most high school boys jealous.

~learned how to propel himself on the rocket glider.

~loves splashing in water... no matter how nasty or muddy it is, or how cold it will make him afterward.

ADALIE:

~loves to empty everything... the trash, cupboards, toilet paper tubes, recycling bin.

~loves basking in the sun and romping through the grass... if the doors open she's trying to get out there.

~had her first taste of a drumstick, though it was just a little too cold for her liking (didn't stop her though).

~likes to eat wipes (which she must have gotten from her cousin Eden somehow, cuz I have never heard of this before).

~makes the cutest little fishy lips.

~is now drinking some formula from a bottle and absolutely LOVES it.

P.S. I noticed going through my photos that the number of photos increases as we go down the list... this kindof disproves Adam's theory that the 4th born is somehow neglected. It's really based on who I can keep up with the best, obviously Addie wins... for now.

Happy Easter!!!.... UPDATED

Okay, so I was pretty tired last night... didn't really feel up to writing. I guess I am feeling a little more chatty today ;) We had a really good, relaxing Easter! It was supposed to rain but didn't... a huge blessing for us as I am SO over rain. That is something I never thought I would say. Growing up in Nevada, rain was always like a special treat... not so in Wisconsin. It's NEVER-ENDING! I want some sunshine!

Anyway... we enjoyed coloring our eggs this year. Adalie watched from the sidelines and enjoyed munching on her star crayon. (I know, I'm such a good mom... ha ha ;) Aaron spent most of his time peeling crayon wrappers. I have never been able to get him to actually color anything. He can't get past the peeling stage. Whatever keeps him happy and busy, I guess! We dyed a total of 43 eggs... and amazingly only 2 made it to cracked beyond hiding stage.

We fully expected to have our egg hunt indoors because of the impending rain... but the Lord blessed us with a beautiful day. In fact, we were able to come home and take some cute family photos after church. It was, however, not warm enough for the boys to use their new super soakers... much to their chagrin. I bought these off amazon before Christmas, for only $5 each... I am thinking I should have held off on giving them for another month. The boys are so eager to try them out... and I am so tired of explaining why 40* is not warm enough for water guns. Sunshine, please come quick! It's supposed to be sunny and in the 50s on Friday... yay!

I LOVE my kiddos!!!

I was able to buy an Easter dress! It's so special to have a little girlie to finally dress up. I did have fun dressing up my boys too, though. I bought the boys somewhat matching blue shirts... I didn't want to go totally matching because I'm thinking Aaron would get sick of wearing the same shirt for the next 5 years! So we coordinated with their bow ties. I even let the boys pick out their own fabric out of my bin in the basement. It's totally not the fabric I would have chosen but it worked out perfectly... it is so them! My boys all have an infatuation with orange for some reason.

The rest of the day was spent making a yummy Easter feast... honey ham, homemade mac'n'cheese, green beans and deviled eggs. Sam read to me the whole Easter story out of Luke while I prepared dinner... he loves reading out of his "real" Bible. I love that he is such a good reader and enjoys it so much.

Anyway... I told ya I was in a chatty mood! Have a good week!

Buddies

I love the fact that my 2 littlest munchkins are so close in age... though I will admit, at first I was completely nervous and overwhemed about having 2 babies at one time. There are still (many) days that I feel like I can't really keep up with my 2 very active big boys and my 2 babies, but we somehow manage. Sam and Seth are always together... not always getting along, but always together. Right now, Aaron does his best to keep up but is always several steps behind. I am really hoping that Addie and Aaron will become the best of buddies!

Oh Boy!

Does this boy know how to ENJOY a red vine or what?

Just another day...

...but a good one! We were busy doing all sorts of good stuff today.

We've been having a few issues getting school finished up lately... so yesterday I tried to provide Sam with an incentive, a paper mache project. Well, it didn't work out for yesterday, but we were able to pull it off today. Just in case it looks a little funny, just let me tell you that I have NEVER done this or even seen it done before. This was a total experiment for us! I think the boys liked it... though it was very difficult to keep the top-heavy, very wobbly balloon down in the bowl. We had them go bouncing around several times, spreading the icky flour paste everywhere. I think it'll take a few more layers to get it thick enough, but the boys had enough for today... and I do love projects that take up several days... Busy boys are the best boys!

The sun was shining today too!!! Woohoo!!! So we bundled up (because it was still quite chilly out there) and went out for some fresh air. We've gotta enjoy every ray of sunshine we can get... because it seems to disappear quickly. Last week, after the 4th straight day of rain, Sam asked: "Mom, is it gonna rain all 12 days of spring?" I was really beginning to wonder that myself! The boys had a few bicycle races and then set to work making "stick art" while Aaron gathered sticks for himself and tried his hardest to keep them from his artistic brothers. Meanwhile, Addie scooted all over the place trying to stuff as many sticks and bark pieces into her little cheeks... she's like a little squirrel =)

We ended the day with some of my favorites.... the first ice tea of the season and taco pizza. Yumm!!!



P.S. In case anybody is wondering... no that is not Sam's natural ear color. =) He came out of the bathroom yesterday and told me that his ear was really hot... it just so happens that he also had a red marker sticking up out of his pocket. I obviously haven't passed on my habit of always trying to hide my ridiculously huge ears...