Spring Break!

Spring break was a full week this year, so we decided we were not staying home! After all the snow we have had lately, we planned on heading to sunny Saint George! It was absolutely perfect! Everything was in bloom and green! The weather was fabulous! We stayed with grandpa and grandma, which is the greatest place on earth to our kids! Once again, the kids loved playing in the barn and on the tire swing! Kaitlyn and Makell found two new friends in the barn. Kourtney helped grandpa plant some vegetables in his amazing garden! She loved every minute of it, and is still talking about it. Maybe I should put her in charge of our garden this year!

This is BAD for us!

The other day Makell asked me if she could open a root beer soda. I said she could, but only if she would share with her sisters. After I cracked open the top, she put it up to her mouth and took a BIG drink. A second later she looked up at me with tears filling those big blue eyes, and with her hand over her throat she said, "MOM, this stuff is BAD for us! It just burned my throat off!"
She really wanted to have more root beer but didn't dare for the fear it would hurt again!

She Graduated!

Yeah! Makell graduated early from the TLC program! She has been attending the program for the past year and a half. She has made such tremendous progress that there wasn't much more they could help her with! Everyone is amazed with what she has accomplished! They asked me if they could use Makell as their example for the program! Makell was their first four year old ever to graduate from the program! Her teachers have been helping her with sounds that were hard for her to make in the beginning. I think I learned just as much as Makell did! She has loved Miss Kerstine and Miss Megan! I am grateful for this program! These two ladies have been wonderful! I was always impressed by how they would incorporate fun learning techniques into their teaching outline! It is amazing to see the difference it makes with all the kids they teach.

Easter Egg Hunt

Can you believe this is what Easter Morning looked like?! Over six inches of freshly fallen snow! I told you it fells like we are in the middle of winter! After church, we were all planning to get together at Grandma Great's for a BBQ and egg hunt.

Since there wasn't enough shovels to go around to hunt outside with, Matt and Janette decided to hide them down in grandma's basement. You know us, snow is not going to stop us from having our Easter tradition BBQ!

Makell getting an egg with dad's help.

The loot! There were eggs everywhere! The kids were told there was a Grand Prize egg, and with it came a big surprise. I think every kid was on the hunt for that one egg. Will, was the lucky little guy who found the egg in the dryer. His family anxiously awaited the prize! Matt and Janette ran home to get it. Right then I thanked the Lord it wasn't one of our kids that had found it! If it wasn't brought to grandma's when they came, then they had something up their sleeves! Sure enough the Grand Prize was two baby chicks! I hear they are worse than a colicky baby.

If you don't have a set of these then you are missing out! Matt and Janette are so good with the kids! They are always doing such fun things for and with them! The kids had such a ball!

Easter Saturday

Easter Saturday we started the day off with the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the sports park. The weather was extremely cold. Lately it has felt as if we are still in the dead of winter. I am hoping Spring will arrive soon! I guess you could call us die hards. The girls had to bundle up in their winter coats to stay warm! The rain broke for a few minutes as the hunt went under way, but the wind was rather miserable. Was it worth putting ourselves through it for a few pieces of candy and some stickers...? Ask Adam he will tell you! :) Later in the evening, we colored eggs at grammy great's house. We took a turn staying with her for the weekend, so my mom could go home and get some much needed rest! Grammy great loved hearing about their eggs, and how the girls had decorated them since she isn't able to see them. After we left grammy great's house the next morning, the girls were anxious to get home to see if the Easter Bunny had left them a surprise! Sure enough their baskets were not where they left them. There had either been a robbery or the baskets had been filled and hidden. Makell was the first one to hunt for her basket and found hers in the bathtub. Kaitlyn found hers in the front hall closet mixed in with all the winter attire. For a moment Kourtney wondered if maybe the Easter bunny had taken her basket with him for some snacks along his delivery route. After fifteen minutes of hunting she found her basket in the toy room closet mixed in with all the toys.

April Fools!

Just ask Kourtney how our morning started off! I'm sure she would LOVE to tell you! Kourtney has had a trick up her sleeve for quite some time now. Look really close at her picture! Can you see something that just doesn't look quite right? I wondered why there were many times I found her at the calendar with a smirk on her face counting down the days until April 1st.
It was first thing in the morning and of course my mind was still a little foggy, eyes not fully opened, and I didn't bother turning the light on when I walked over to the kitchen sink. I reached for the faucet, turned it on, and let out a blood curdling scream! I was being pelted with ICE COLD water! Talk about a rude awakening! Kourtney had put a rubber band around the sprayer and had it pointed directly at her future victim. Unfortunately I was her victim! I have since then made a new rule that mom cannot be the subject of the pranks, only the dad! lol! After the kids had belly aches from laughing so hard I told them that they better watch out because I had a little trick up my sleeve as well! :)


When the kids arrived home from school, they began looking around the house trying to see if they could figure out what surprise I had planed for them. After an hour, they became side tracked doing other things and had forgotten all about the pranks. I decided I was going to dip some strawberries in chocolate and make some of my "homemade" chocolates for dessert.
After dinner, they were anxiously awaiting their dessert. My plan was to lure them in with the strawberry and then get them good with the chocolates.















What they didn't know, was the filling for the chocolate was a cotton ball!
Oh my goodness! Adam and I laughed so hard watching them bite into them and realizing what they were! It made for a great laugh! I would have given one to Adam but he caught me making them! Can't wait till next year!

St. Patricks Day!

I'll admit I enjoy St. Patrick's Day and the fun that comes with it probably more than the kids do! Every year I love to surprise the kids with something green for breakfast. The green eggs and ham didn't go over as well as I had hoped for last year so I played it a little safe this year with green pancakes. I tried making some shamrock shaped pancakes but the end result looked more like balloons on a string. I love watching each of their expressions! As always they are somewhat hesitant but this time they actually liked it.
The girls sat Adam's work clothes out the night before so he wouldn't forget to wear green the following day. Kaitlyn was so serious when she told Adam, "Dad... don't forget because it reeealy hurts when someone pinches you"!
As I was talking to a friend she gave me some fun ideas for dinner. Meatloaf, green mashed potatoes, green beans and lime aid. I am thinking we need to make up some of our own holidays so we can change thing up from our normal routine.