Easter Pics

Easter this year was a special one for the kids. For miss Elena she was proud to tell me the real reason that we celebrate Easter. She has been paying such close attention as we read her Bible each night and when we read a Library book about Easter it was saying Easter was all about Spring. Elena corrected the book and told me that is not what Easter is mom. I loved it! She is growing so much every day. Here she is on Easter morning with her new E-Pet. I think she likes it as she hasn't let her out of her sight all week. In fact as I sit here, she keeps asking to go online to play with her puppy :P

Natalie loves Mr & Mrs Potato Head and was overjoyed that the Easter Bunny came and left her candy. The fact that she also received a Easter Bunny Potato Head made her whole day:)
Ethan was excited about getting his big chocolate bunny. Here he is looking all handsome before church.

Of course they had to inhale as much of their baskets before we left. That is a pretty big bunny for such a little monkey!Ethan's is almost as big as his head!

After church we went to have dinner with cousins. Also to have the egg hunt. It was a beautiful sunny day, but with the snow all melting causing it to be muddy we had to do the hunt inside. This year Aunt Sandy & Jen picked a scavenger hunt which was fun. The kids broke into two teams so it would be fair. I think they had fun with it.

After the family passed out treats they had brought for the kids and all their eggs were emptied into their buckets. They had quite a bunch! Of course now we have the daily "Can we have candy" Can we have more candy?" Oh are their tooth brushes going to get some use!!

Happy Easter

The kids hanging out with their cousins. They all say HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Saint Patricks Day

We had our 3rd Annual Saint Patricks Day Feast yesterday and it was a success. The kids really look forward to any chance to get together with cousins, but Ethan likes it because there is a chance you get to pinch someone if they don't wear green, Elena loves this party because it involves getting tattoos. Natalie was loving that also. She had to have 3 on. One on each arm and one on her cheek! Elena needed one on each cheek:) Stephen was so cute I asked him to pick out which tattoo he wanted and he wanted the one that said Kiss me, I'm Irish so we kept smootching on him.

Ethan didn't want a tattoo, he just wanted to chill out and watch some toons.

Forcing Emma and Abby to pose the minute they walk in the door, Aren't they just so pretty!
I think they all had a good time and there was plenty of good food. and Thanks again Aunt Sandy for making the Irish Creme cake which I also had for breakfast this morning. YUM!!

The kids are loving the fact that they will see each other again next week for another Holiday. EASTER!! Then Birthday parties begin right around the corner. Fun, Fun, Fun!!

Jammin' at Grandpa's

When the kids got to hang out at Grandpa's one night, they couldn't wait to get on his drum set and rock out! Natalie and Elena especially love to bang on the drums and Elena actually gets a pretty good rhythm going. They each took a turn singing on the microphone too. Natalie is turning into quite a songstress. She has been singing all the time around the house. Her favorite song right now is a tie between Rain, Rain Go Away and the Hannah Montana song "Best of Both Worlds" Which she will belt out at any given moment.

Catching a moment of sweetness

Sledding and Snowboarding

Our handsome boys:) Warning! Photo overload!

Dad took advantage of the decent temps and tons of snow and took the boys sledding. This was Ethan's first time out. Usually it is too cold, or someone is sick. So this was a big deal. He had a riot! Jason was happy to use his snowboard again, although it has been awhile and some practice was needed. Here he is getting ready to go downhill, He is off!
He is down, but not out - notice there is the hint of a smile on our teenagers face:)

Ethan wants to head up to the bigger hill. He trucks up to the top and away he goes!

I didn't think we would ever get him off the hill! Jason down again, but it's all good.

Ethan decides to skip the hard work of hauling a sled up the hill and just rolls down instead. Of course cannot be in the snow without whipping a few snowballs at each other while taking a brief rest.

It's so nice to see these two having fun hanging out together!

School closed? snow? Bring it on!

Oh what fun we had on this past Tuesday. I definitely did not want more snow, but when I realized it was perfect conditions for snowmen and snow forts - I started bundling us all up!! I cannot remember the last time we had (I had) so much fun playing outside! We were outside in the morning for about an hour and a half. We made a snowgirl and a ton of snow angels. We would've stayed out longer, but tummies were grumbling- had to eat lunch.

Natalie figuring out what to do next

Here is Crystal the snowgirl. We submitted her to our local paper and they posted it! The kids were so excited to be in the newspaper! So now it was time for round two. After lunch and naps. Clothes were dried and out we went again. Grandpa W brought over a sled for the kids, so they pulled each other around the yard and we made a snow fort. I was having so much fun making this, one of our neighbors made a comment about being able to play in the snow all day. I truly felt like I was having more fun than the kids! I didn' t want to go in!

Natalie would not stop eating the snow! Everytime I looked at her, she had a chunk of snow in hand nibbling on it. All in all we spent over 3 1/2 hours outside and I am so glad as the next day it was just to cold to go out and play in it. So that snow day had to be spent indoors. What fun! The boys went sledding today, I will post those pics when I get them on here. Now we just need spring to arrive!