I love...

...how Chloe combines two words into one, like "hanitizer" (hand sanitizer) or chother (each other)
...how Avery talks to Keith about most anything, including girls
...how Brady isn't too big to hug me in public
...counting down the days until summer
...that all three kids still have fun dyeing easter eggs
...watching my boys play sports
...having Chloe to do girlie things with
...that pretty soon I'm going to have two kids taller than me
...living so close to home that I run into people I know from school
...that my kids would rather play outside then play video games
...watching everything turn green again
...that we have a robin's nest in one of our trees out back
...chocolate oatmeal cookies (just had to throw that in there)
...my boys, for being so willing to help others (there are many other reasons too)
...big family gatherings
...how excited we all are about going to Disney World this fall
...decorating cakes

Bad weather

I don't have pictures of the tornadoes that came through on Friday, but here are a few of what it looked like in our area. Thankfully, the tornadoes were on the north side of town, but it was still pretty scary for a while. You just never know if another one is going to pop up. I kept going out on the front porch because that's the direction stuff was coming from, and we can't really see out from downstairs. The first picture is from the front. It was just making me nervous, but it never turned into anything. The second picture is from the back, and that's what had already passed by us, but didn't go directly over. It was incredibly dark at times, and I made the kids sit in the hallway, just in case. We had the closet cleaned out and ready, but we never actually went in there.
We feel very blessed that we didn't have any damage, but everyone wasn't so lucky. One of our elders at church lost their house. If you live around here you might have seen them on the news. Another family from church lost all their trees(huge pine trees), and had some minor damage to their home. I've seen some of the damage up close, and it's unreal. I know there are more that we haven't heard about as well. Please say a prayer for those that were affected. Also, two people lost their lives. Please say a prayer for that family.
As if that isn't enough, we have more bad weather predicted for today. What happened to good ole' thunderstorms, without the threat of severe weather?!

Spring Break at the zoo

We were all really excited about going to the zoo during spring break. We had so much going on that week, that we almost didn't get to go. We waited until Friday, even though they were calling for rain. We went almost as soon as they opened, and there was hardly anyone there. It was great! It was like having the zoo to yourself almost. Anyway, one of our first stops was the lorikeets. We've been in there before, but never so early. They were very hungry apparently, and it was kind of overwhelming. Chloe really wanted to hold the food, but I'm glad that I didn't let her. I started out with it, and then after a couple of birds started eating, I gave it to Avery. Then one landed on my head! I wasn't really crazy about that! Then they started fighting while still on Avery's hand, and all I could do is laugh. It was quite comical, especially after we were out of there. Keith said the ladies in there were laughing at us. I'm sure we were quite a sight! After that, the rest of the zoo was pretty uneventful. The weather was great, cloudy and not too cool. We went to the park at the end, and it started misting, but by then we didn't care. The kids had a blast playing in the rain!

What a kid!

Today is Brady's ninth birthday. It kind of stinks for this to be his first day back at school after a week of spring break, but I think the cookies he took made it ok. We had a good spring break, but it was kind of crazy. More about that later. Back to Brady...we went out to eat for his birthday on Sat., because he has baseball practice tonight. He wanted to go to Five Guys, but then changed his mind because I opened my big mouth. I mentioned that it wasn't my favorite place. I was talking to Keith, but of course Brady heard me. I tried to talk him into going where he wanted, no matter what anyone else wants, but he really wanted to pick somewhere that everyone liked. That's what mattered more to him. He's the only one of my kids that I have to tell to be selfish. It's not like the other two are selfish, but they aren't the middle child. Brady has the biggest heart! So, he decided on Outback for his birthday dinner. He loves steak, so I don't think he was disappointed at all. We all enjoyed celebrating with him.

She's coming out of her shell!

If you've ever been around Chloe, you know how quiet she can be. (You might also know how incredibly loud she can be as well.) Chloe has always been very shy, not just around strangers either, but also around family. It has been very frustrating at times. To add to this, she's also a very picky eater. Well, she is definitely opening up! She doesn't freak out at the doctor (even after those horrible shots), she's trying all kinds of new foods, and she talks to people!! It's very exciting, but I've already discovered a down side. We were at the park the other day, and she just walked up to total strangers and started talking to them! It really freaked me out. I don't think Avery and Brady ever really did that, and I definitely never expected Chloe to. After a couple of years of begging Chloe to talk to people, I actually wanted to tell her not to talk! Guess I'll have to watch out for that now. It's still very nice that she'll communicate with other people now. She even led a song in class at church the other day! Wow.

Here's why I haven't blogged lately.

Life's been a little crazy around here lately. Last week Keith was out of town with guard, so I was on my own. This week is spring break, so all the kids are home. Plus, Keith has been home sick most of the week. I have tried to blog, but either I don't have time to finish a thought (it takes a quite a while), or I'm just too tired. Hopefully I'll get a chance to blog more regularly. I haven't been very good about it this year.

Here are some pictures from last week. Brady had a music program at school, and then an art show. He didn't really want to go, but he ended up having fun. He had a couple of speaking parts in the show and did really well. His pictures are the two at the very top. He also made a bowl that he got to bring home. It was a fun evening.

Chloe and Hannah

Chloe and I went to the Doughtie's house today to play. The girls had a blast playing, and Mindy and I enjoyed talking...when we were able to complete a thought. :) They enjoyed riding their bikes, but I think they had more fun pulling each other in a wagon. It was quite entertaining to watch as well!