Happy Birthday Brady! (only one day late)

I'm late with this post because we were traveling yesterday on Brady's birthday. I should have done it on Sat., but I just forgot. I think Brady had a great birthday weekend. He got to go bowling, to the beach, to a movie, to the driving range with Pops, Keith and Avery, and he got to play his first real game of golf with Keith and Thad. He also had fun hanging out with all the family for spring break. I'm not sure how we could have done more. (of course, part of it was just spring break, and part was his birthday) Anyway, Brady, I hope you had a great day. Some days I can't believe you're already eight, and other days you seem much older than that. You have the biggest heart! You amaze me sometimes with the things you do for others. You are more selfless than any kid I've ever known. I love you buddy!!

Brady's first day of preschool, 2003.



This is not dirt, although it could be. We sprayed his hair black for crazy hair day at school.


This picture is one of my favorites because it's a rare moment. It's hard for me to catch him not being goofy. The only explanation is that he's tired!! If I told him to be serious, there's no way he would be able to stop smiling long enough for a shot like this.

Spring break is over

We got home last night at 11:00 from Florida. It was a long day, but we made it with little fussing and whining. Chloe was past her limit around 10:30. She had been sleeping on and off since around eight, but she kept getting frustrated that she couldn't get comfortable in her seat. It didn't help that she's got a cold or something also. Poor thing, her nose was stopped up and running at the same time. Thankfully the boys slept some in the van, so I don't feel as bad about sending them to school today. I hate the thought of them being really tired at school. There's no easing back into things here. They'll have a good amount of homework tonight, plus someone has a baseball practice. I'm hoping the rain takes care of that! Well, I just rambling now. There really isn't much organization to my thoughts this morning. I'm tired, and not in the mood to do all the laundry and cleaning that I need to do. I really think someone came into my house while I was gone and made a mess, because I never would have left my house messy!! :) Actually, that's what happens when you're a last minute packer. Oh well. I have some beach pictures and other random pictures to post when I get a chance. I'm really hoping that Chloe will sleep today. She hasn't been sleeping lately, just reading/singing her books. More to come later....(although it will probably be just as jumbled as this!)

Spring Break

We are in Florida for spring break, hanging out with family. We're having a great time. It's been way too long since we've been down here. Normally I'm not much of a warm weather person, but I think I'm ready for it this year. Here are some pictures from our day.
This is the first time that Chloe has ever gone down a slide by herself! She has gone with me or the boys, but she's never liked it. I just looked over yesterday, and she was going down the slide. I thought she would never do that! She was very proud of herself too. She stayed on the slide for most of the time at the park.





Brady got on this as a joke. I asked Avery to, but he wouldn't do it. Brady's pretending that it's great fun.


After the park, we went to Carissa's house. The boys had one thing on their minds...to catch a lizard. As you can see, they were successful! I think it was a joint effort to catch it. They weren't aware of how much Aunt Carissa hates lizards until they brought it in to show her!! Avery wanted to keep it as a pet, but I talked them into enjoying it for a little bit, and then letting it go.

This is what happens when you don't hold on to it well enough! Avery was showing me that he didn't have to hold it tightly when it jumped on his head! I wish I had been videoing, but he didn't jump and scream like some people would have. All he was concerned about was it going down his back. I held it still while Brady grabbed it.

This is Kiley dancing. Do I need to say anything else?!

Kiley let Chloe wear her old ballet stuff, and she loved it!! She wore it the rest of the day. It was so cute to see her in it.

Chloe had so much fun playing with Kiley! She loves having a girl around.

Easter dress

This is Chloe's Easter dress that she didn't get to wear. This happened right before we were leaving for church. I could not believe it. So, Chloe wore a winter dress with tights. I figured if we're changing, then she could wear something warmer.
We had a great day in spite of the dress ripping. We went to church with my parents, and then spent the day at my aunt and uncle's house. It's one of our favorite times of the year. We spent last night with my parents since the boys are on spring break this week. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of our weekend because I completely forgot my camera! Hopefully I'll get some pictures from other people that remembered their cameras, and I'll try to put some on here.
I know Easter was really early this year, but I never expected to see snow today!! Did anyone else see some flurries? Crazy!

A few highlights of our day...

Hannah came to spend the night with us on Thursday, and spend the day Friday. Chloe was so excited about it! They had a great time, but Chloe wasn't able to boss her like she wanted!! There's a big difference between almost two years old, and almost three. Anyway, Hannah also had fun with the boys. I think she actually preferred to play with the boys because they didn't tell her what to do the whole time. We had a great time with her here. This last picture is funny because it's the only time all day they were both this still and quiet. :)

I'm in a blogging slump.

It's been a week since I posted last, and I still don't have much to share. I don't know what I used to post about every day, but I just can't come up with anything lately. I guess now that we don't have any construction going on, life is pretty much back to normal. We're back to church, school, work and sports. Right now between the boys we have five baseball practices per week. This is Brady's first year not in t-ball because we skipped last year, and this is Avery's first year in kid pitch. Hopefully they'll have fun with it. Chloe is signed up for preschool next year, and she's very excited about it. I hope she's still excited when it comes time to go.

We're all excited about the warmer weather and the chance to get outside more. Hopefully Chloe won't freeze this Sunday when she wears her sleeveless Easter dress. At least I bought her a sweater to go with it. We're also very excited about spring break next week!! It lets me forget that I need to schedule a meeting with the principal to address the recess issue, and a couple of other things. I just can't stand for the kids to be stuck indoors now that it's getting warm out. I think it's worse then keeping them in back in the fall. Anyway, we'll enjoy the break, and then deal with the confrontation.

I'll leave you with a picture of Chloe and her doggy having lunch.

Recent photos

Our kids love to dig in the dirt!! I guess all kids do. I think this is one of the main reasons for picking this lot, so they can dig. They all three got in on the action, but Chloe was doing her own thing.


Chloe and I were on the trampoline having fun. The sky was so clear and blue yesterday, I just couldn't resist taking pictures.
This is Chloe pouting because she couldn't pedal her bicycle all by herself. She was so focused on pouting, that she walked into the van!!


Almost all the pictures I take of Brady look like this one. He always has to make a face.

What am I going to do with this boy?

I've often thought that Brady reminds me of his uncles, which is a bit scary. If you know Lance and Thad, you know why. They both think that they're the funniest people they know. It occurred to me today that I think Brady feels he's the funniest person he knows. He might not think of it like that right now, but I can see it. He's very clever about knowing the right time to say something funny. I have a story to prove it.

First, a little background. Last night I spilled boiling hot grits on my hand. I don't think my family had ever heard me yell like that. (It's better today. It's just like a bad sunburn, and only in a couple of spots.) Anyway, afterward we were upstairs and Keith was joking around about how we've both been hurt lately. I said I would rather have a minor burn then smashing my finger. Brady shared that he thought it would be more embarrassing to spill grits on yourself. Thanks Brady. Well, this morning we came downstairs, and I asked the kids what they wanted for breakfast. Brady looked at me with this mischievous grin and asked for grits. Of course, once he knew we thought it was funny, he said it at least three more times.

After telling this story it occurred to me that Brady reminds me of my Granddaddy. Unfortunately Brady never got to meet him, but he definitely has his humor. Now there's a thought that makes me smile!

Sports, sports, and more sports!

Lately our life has been busy with basketball, but now baseball is starting. They overlap a little bit, which is going to make this Saturday crazy. We have one basketball game and two baseball practices. It's going to mean Keith and I are in different places for part of the day. I know it's only the beginning. Right now we don't let them do different sports at the same time. We're not ready for that, but it's only a year or two away. I don't know how parents keep up with multiple things going on with the kids at this age. One thing at a time is enough for us.

Now to backtrack a bit. We had a lot going on last weekend. It was busy but fun. We got to have a date night, hang out with Kim and Kathrin while the kids played, spend the day with the Doughties(who helped out with the games while Keith was at guard), and had Sam, Emma and Tessa over to spend the night. I think it was the kids dream weekend, except for the Alys going home early! That was a bummer for everyone. We had a great weekend, and now we're looking forward to another busy Saturday!!