Just to Prove They Know!

Marianne and Allison came home from church a couple of weeks ago singing this song. We thought we'd save it for them to reference a few years down the road.

Where Has the Time Gone?

Well, my friends, it's been over a year since my last post and I am feeling a bit neglectful. But, alas, I'm am back...if you'll have me! There is too much to catch up on since last Spring, so I'll just go on from here, perhaps posting a few of our endeavors that you may or may not have missed. For now, here's an updated picture of all of our sweet little kiddos taken at Alli's birthday party! Marianne is now 6, Allison is 5, Bo turned 3 today and Rachel will be 2 next week. So, here's to hoping I can keep this going again. It's good to be back!!!

Allison's Birthday #4!!!

Our little Alli Bug turned 4 on May 5th. We celebrated with everyone on the 3rd and had a lot of fun. And, Als had lots of fun playing and enjoyed all of the attetion. So, here's a recap of the day:



The night before, Justin set up the tent in the front room for the girls to sleep in. I think they stayed up until about midnight playing in it before they both zonked out for the night. What fun!


We invited everyone over for volleyball,


some grillin',


presents,


cake and ice cream.

Now for the gush! I love my little bug. She is such a joy to be around. She always has a great big smile and hug for everyone. She is such a big helper and loves her brother and sisters. We all love her more than anything. She is the best 4-year-old out there! I hope you had a great birthday, Alli. I LOVE YOU!!!

What the HECK?

Pictures of Allison's birthday party are on their way, but I just had to post about Rachel's latest...a new tooth. But, not just ANY tooth...a MOLAR!!! Seriously...what the HECK!?! She has a total of three teeth now. Her front two on the bottom and a top molar. Crazy! She's not even 1 until June 16th! No wonder she's been a little cranky the past few days. Poor kid...poor Mom!

Alli's Turning 4!!!

Our little Alli bug is turning 4 on May 5. She and Justin share the same birthday and we are all so excited! We are having a party for Als this Saturday at our house. Hope you can make it!

My Brother, John sent me this YouTube video of one of my piano idols. This guy is amazing. Hope you enjoy!

(p.s. Make sure you scroll down to the bottom of our blog page and pause our tunes first!)

Happy Easter!!!

We have had quite a week and weekend. The kids and I headed down to St. George to visit Grandma and Grandpa last Sunday and got home Thursday night. We had a lot of fun. I helped Jeri and Sally paint the dining room in St. George, we went shopping, the kids played on the rocks, we went to The Pizza Factory and lots of other fun stuff. I, unfortunately, forgot my camera so the only pictures we got were the ones that my mom took while she was with us. So, if you want to see pictures got see her blog HERE.
On Friday, Justin and I, after a long week apart, went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and to see "Wicked" with two of my brothers and sisters-in-law. Let me just take a moment to say how wonderful and excellent and phenomenal and WOW "Wicked" was! I am so grateful to my parents who got us the tickets. Even Justin liked it and he's not much of a musical nut. Anyway, if you ever have the chance to see "Wicked," don't miss it!
So, on Saturday, we had dinner and colored eggs with Mike and Jeri and their family. Then, on Sunday, the kids woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had paid them a visit. The got to hunt for eggs and eat lots of treats from their baskets all before church! I know, horrible! Anyway, here are a few pictures from Sunday's festivities!



Here the kids pose with their Easter baskets.


Bo shows off the "Shake-n-go" car he got in his basket. The girls got little boxes with 6 rings in them and each of the bigger kids got chapstick, which apparently is a tradition since Marianne has asked for it for two years straight. Fun fun!


Rachel wanted nothing to do with her own basket but EVERYTHING to do with Bo's. Who can blame her? Her's had only fishy crackers and Bo's had CHOCOLATE!!!


Here Marianne finds an egg in the window sill. Sometimes the Easter Bunny doesn't hide the eggs very well.



Allison checks out the orange egg she found hiding in some decorations.


Bo found his eggs (with a little help from his big sisters). This one he found in my half-dead plant. I think I'll water my two plants today. I wish I was a gardener.


Here's a shot of all four kids after church. I made the girls' skirts and I was happy with how they turned out. I may even start making them to sell. So, check in soon to if I venture out on that endeavor!


Bo poses in his Easter duds. What a handsome kid!


Allison show off her pettiskirt.


Allison twirsl for the camerman (aka Justin).


Marianne posing for her shot. What a cutie!


Marianne gives her skirt a twirl!


Rachel was done taking pictures by this point, but she still looks cute in all her fluff!

We had a great weekend. Thanks to Phil and Sally for letting us crash at their house last week. Thanks to my mom and dad for the wicked "Wicked" tickets. And, thanks to everyone who humors me by leaving comments on my blog. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! (hint hint)

Sleepy Boy

Allison, Bo, Rachel and I went for a bike ride today. I rode the bike I got for Christmas, Allison rode the trail-a-bike (which she was NOT comfortable with) and Bo and Rach were in the trailer behind Als. We rode to the library, about 6 blocks away. The kids loved it...Alli, not so much, but she got used to it when I told her if she didn't cry I'd give her ice cream when we got home. Anyway, it was great to get out and try out our setup in the nice spring weather. Well, I think Bo got a little worn out being in the sun or something. This is what I found about 5 minutes after I put him in bed with his book for a snooze...



He didn't even make it halfway through his Trucks book. Poor little guy.


Yup, he's under there...fast asleep. I love this little guy!

(By the way...that's a library book and it was like that when we borrowed it...promise!)

Marianne Learns to Ride a Bike...Take 1

On Saturday, Marianne had her first attempt at learning to ride a bike. Justin was excited to teach her and Marianne was very excited to learn. See exhibit A:


Exhibit A: Justin and Marianne posing for a picture before Justin sends her off down the little hill on her own. Just look how happy they are!


Marianne heads down the hill to see how far she can pedal before she loses her balance.

Marianne pedaling and pedaling trying to make it as far as she can before she has to put her foot down.

Bo helps Marianne push her bike up ths hill for another go at it.

Marianne made it down the hill a few times before she actually got hurt. She hit the inside of her leg on the seat when she lost her balance. Well, after that, it was a no go! See exhibit B:

Exhibit B: Marianne after the "fall." Mom (not knowing the ins and outs of learning/teaching to ride a bike) asked Marianne if she wanted to be done. She said, "Yes," and Dad shot a look at Mom. But, the damage was done and she was an emotional wreck until we let her stop for the day. So, keep on checking in for our next installment entitled "Marianne Learns to Ride a Bike...Take 2."

Tagged...By ME!

I just visited my friend's website, and she had this fabulous "tag" on her blog. I love it because it is a "tag yourself if you want to be tagged" so no pressure for anyone who doesn't want to do it!! How great is that?!So here are the rules: The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.

The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!!So there you have it! If you want me to make something for you...hmm, what could it be? A new toilet paper dispenser? just leave me a message.