Indianapolis Spring Break

Bryce is getting down to the wire with his dissertation, so I decided to give him some serious working time by taking the kids and myself to visit friends in Indianapolis. We had such a good time! We went to parks (the weather was so perfect); hit some good ol' Indy yard sales - one of my favorite things! (I found 3 Harry Potter books for $5!); jumped on the trampoline; played kickball in the grass; roasted smore's, and stayed up late into the night just talking! It was so great! We also did a freezing cold egg hunt in the rain (it was the Saturday before Easter), but the kids didn't even mind the weather! They just wanted the candy! We had a great time - it was so hard to say goodbye!

Weekend to NC

Last weekend we took a trip down to North Carolina to check-up on some things with our house, check on the kids' schools, visit ECU campus, and attend the temple in Raleigh. It was a lot of stuff to fit in to just a couple of days!

We were impressed with the elementary schools there and felt good about starting our kids off there - I think the kids were excited!?

We got a building schedule for our house and met with the main contractor and it looks like thing should be finished up right around the 20th of June - just in time!

We went to the lot where our house is being built and luckily there weren't any workers when we were there so we took tons of pictures and I even tried scraping mine and Bryce's initials in the day-old cement in our garage (it didn't work so well!) The kids were like, this is our house? because its only the crawl space right now. But they loved running to the end of our property to see how big the backyard would be (and the big dirt hill behind our house was a hit too).

Saturday we got up and had to drop Bryce's contract off at the University, so while we were there, we decided to take pictures of campus. It is really pretty! Every building is a really pretty brick and the trees and fountains around campus are so relaxing.


We got to Raleigh and I dropped Bryce off at the temple. While he was doing a session, I took the kids down a little ways to a shopping center where we found that it was free Italian Ice day at Rita's! What a treat (we all got 2 each)! We ate lunch and had a fun time at the Pet Store deciding what "pets" to have when we move! :)

We went back to the temple and took pictures while we waited for Bryce. It was a super-sunny day (which was nice), but the glare off the temple was just too bright for some serious picture taking.

We got home late Saturday night with sick tummies and had to take a day to recuperate, but we eventually did and it was a very productive trip!

Happy Green Day!

We made green cupcakes today (yellow cake mix + blue food coloring = green believe it or not!) to celebrate St. Patrick's day!

The other picture is just a goofy picture of Annabelle making a puckered face everytime the kids say "MARCO!" No idea why, but its funny to see the immediate response when they say it!

 

 

Its Coming!!!

Spring!! Can it really be close?? Yesterday we hit 50 degree weather for the first time in who knows how long! Our Crocus bulbs are starting to come out of the ground and yes, believe it or not, the snow is melting!! Which leaves us with lots of mud and puddles to splash in.


Here is Annabelle with our neighbors the DeRues' splashing in the mud.

We were all fun and happy until she slipped and got a little muddy!

Annabelle

Annabelle is just so much fun. She thinks she can communicate just like everyone else. Her face expressions are so funny. She loves entertaining everyone! In fact, when she is showing you something, she will yell your name over and over until you look at her and then she puts on an innocent looking face as she does her "tricks." She loves to say prayers and likes to take a turn reading her scriptures out loud just like everyones else.

I'm going to be a Kid Forever Today

So, I know most people saw our pictures on facebook, but here is another pic of the house with the garage so people quit telling us it looks like our place now!

Today, James told me that when he gets older to be a Daddy he is going to kiss me all day.

"Awww, that's so nice, James!"

"But where is the other Daddy going to sleep when I get bigger?"

I had to explain to him that he would have to find his own wife to kiss all day, but that I would always be his mommy.

"I'm going to be a kid forever today, Mom!"

He is so cute!

Lucy's 6th Birthday

In all the excitement of the last week, I have neglected to report on a very special girl's 6th birthday! Last Tuesday was a snow day (of course - I don't remember what a regular week of school feels like!), so to make Lucy's day special, we invited a bunch of friends over for a party! It was snowing like crazy, so I think the kids (and the moms!) were excited for something to do! We had a photo scavenger hunt, ate rainbow cupcakes, did balloon games and watched a movie. Everyone had a great time!

Then, later in the afternoon, Aunt Michelle arrived for the week! We ate crepes for dinner (Lucy's choice), went to gymnastics, and returned for some serious birthday present openings. It was so fun to give Lucy a special day. It was hard on the other kids because she got to do "whatever she wanted." Isn't that how birthdays are supposed to be???