whobody wants to see my mother's day gifts?

So....I realize that Mother's Day was over a week ago...but between the busy time of year (with fieldwork) and the exhaustion and yuckiness of the first trimester of being prego I haven't gotten around to this post...until now.  (I also have pictures from their gymnastics recital....will get those up soon.)

Lucky for me, the kids both made me something special at school this year for Mother's Day. The picture below is what Lola came home with:  a sack with a picture of "me" laying under some covers in bed....and a paper with an interview with Lola.

First things first, the interview. Lola did well.... I hope you can see all of the answers. The only 2

questionable answers are on #6 and #8....she says my favorite food is oatmeal... I think that I have eaten oatmeal maybe 2 times in the last year :) and as for my number of brothers and sisters...I only have one of each, but she said she was counting both Steves. :) Cute either way. 

Okay, below was the poem on the back of the sack:

and inside....drum roll please......a nutri-grain bar! She was insistent that she and I and Keaton all share it on Mother's Day morning....so we did! I thought that this was extremely cute!

She is always extremely proud of the things that she brings home from school...especially presents. She was pretty intent on making my Mother's Day special.

Keaton also came home from school on Friday with a nice present for me.  See below.

He planted some marigold seeds....and we already have 4 little sprouts! He is pretty excited to see them grow.  I love the card he made to go with it....He did spell Mother's Day "Mother'e Day" but it was still perfect. I should mention that on the cards he made for the grandmas he spelled it "Moner's Day" which is more like how he says it! He is a very sweet boy.

I had a great Mother's Day...although it was pretty busy! Jason worked all day, so I didn't even see him....but the kids had Sunday School and then sang at church. My mom "Grandma Piano" so lovingly came and watched them sing (and helped me corral Nash throughout church). She also...VERY NICELY...spent the afternoon here to help out.  As soon as we got the kids down for "quiet time" I got to go outside and mow the lawn! I was very thankful she helped out that afternoon, I couldn't have asked for a better present!  Before supper, the kids and I went and visited their other Grandma "Grandma Tractor" to wish her a happy Mother's day. That evening we went out to Bill's for supper with my Grandpa and Grandma W. and my Mom and Dad. The kids had a blast entertaining everyone, and I enjoyed the night off of cooking.

The kids and I are lucky to have such great Grandmas! Happy Mother's Day (Late :)

whobody wants to chaperone?

So, Keaton came home from school yesterday....a little shook up (and a little excited).  He heard about the senior trip that Clayton Ridge students get to take to Florida....our conversation went like this:

"Mom, I guess when I am in the oldest grade in high school...I'll get to go on a trip to Florida."

"Yeah, when you are a senior they take a field trip to Florida!"

"...and they even go to Disney World Mom!....."

"I know, won't that be fun?"

"Ummm, but do they go all alone? just all the kids?"

"Kind of. You don't go with your families....it is a trip with all of the friends in your class."

"so they go all alone with no adults?"

"not really, some teachers and parents will go along too...but just a few."

"Will you come with us to Florida when I am in high school?"

"okay, I will."

"Good, cause otherwise I don't want to go!"

Then he was relieved and willing to face the rest of the day.  The thought of taking a trip without me 11 years from now terrified him! Oh, how things will change.... He is SUCH a sweet boy, and he is growing up WAY too fast.

(and yes, I will remind him of this  conversation 11 years from now....)

 

whobody believes in Christmas Magic?

I do. 

We have a little announcement.

Christmas magic is alive and well in our house!

If you don't know what I am talking about, look here. (12.19.10)

Oh, and this clue might help you out too...

Alright, this is your LAST clue.....

Nash in his 'new' shirt!

He is going to be a big brother.... We are expecting baby #4!

(I thought I better just spell it out for you, just so there were no misunderstandings.)

We are super excited....the baby is due the beginning of December.

That seems like a long ways away.

Phew. I am glad that is out there.  To quote Jason, "it isn't official until you put it on facebook"...and although this isn't technically on facebook, I figure any 'friends' who would really care...and don't already know, would read this anyway!

I guess that is it for today.... I haven't had much energy (or good mood) to blog with the last few weeks...hopefully I can keep thinking of things, or people to write about soon!

whobody is dressed in their Easter best?

So....after the finding of the Easter baskets, we got the kids all dressed up for church and headed outside for some pictures!  I tried to get a nice picture of all 3 kids dressed up and looking adorable. One of the kids was NOT cooperating. (Again, big surprise.) Enjoy my attempts...

After the photo shoot :) we headed to church.  Then we rushed home from church so Nash could have a little nap (he was exhausted) and then we headed to the hospital to have Easter lunch with my Grandpa and family.  It was very nice, the hospital had a nice table set up for us and a huge spread of food for us to eat. I think that Grandpa really enjoyed having people there to eat with...and sitting up to a table to eat his food. (He seems to be doing much better, by the way.) Also at this family Easter gathering were Grandma Piano and Bombpa Sheryl....and Dave, Linda and Kate! The kids loved entertaining the crowd.  Of course Grandma and Grandpa brought very nice Easter baskets for the kids...and then after we ate we had another Easter Egg Hunt outside of the hospital.  Grandpa Sheryl so kindly filled the eggs with his hard earned pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. The kids were SO excited to have money to add to their piggy banks.

Ready...Get Set...Go!!!

Each of the kids had their own strategy.

Keaton just ran around and tried to

pick up as many eggs as he could.

Lola would follow Keaton, and then complain

that he was taking all of the eggs.

I know, she really doesn't look like she is complaining here.

Nash had a very interesting tactic for this Easter Egg Hunt.

He would find an egg.

He would pick up the egg

He would crack it open.

He would take the money from inside of the egg and hand it to Jason.

He would throw the opened egg onto the ground.

Repeat.

This was Nash's trail (and his basket). You see, you don't really need a basket

if you are just pocketing the money anyway!

We had a great Easter...and even headed to "the pond" after nap time because it turned out to be such a beautiful day! Now if only Spring would stick around for more than one day at a time...

whobody enjoyed Easter?

Well...we had a VERY busy Easter weekend. (At least it felt that way, anyway.) It all started on Saturday when we had lunch at Grandma & Grandpa Reimer's house...where we also did an Easter Egg Hunt.  The kids had lots of fun playing with their cousins!  Shortly after the Reimer Easter Egg Hunt we loaded the kiddos into the car and took them to the Clayton Easter Egg Hunt!  Keaton, Lola and Nash were all able to find 10 eggs (the limit) and had a blast doing it. Afterwards they played on the slides for a little while before we headed home for the afternoon (I'm pretty sure that was their favorite part.)

So THAT was Saturday (doesn't seem like much, but it sure did on Saturday:)  On Sunday morning when the kids woke up they hunted for their Easter baskets. Did I mention that "when the kids got up" means 5:30 AM? I think they were a little bit excited. I finally helped them at 6:45...I guess they were well hidden.  Keaton found his in the washing machine, Lola's was in the bathtub, and Nash's was behind the couch.  Here are some pictures of the kids with their 'loot'.



Lola's favorite thing in her basket was...the shredded paper. (I'm not kidding.)



Keaton, our chocolate lover, of course, LOVED the candy.



and Nash, he really enjoyed stealing the things out of the other 2 Easter baskets....!



 I am seeing that I have A LOT more pictures to put into this Easter stuff, so I think that I will say "to be continued...." and start another post with the other pictures!

whobody is a little jealous?

So....today, Keaton was telling me that he thinks that his tooth is getting a little loose.

Lola's response "Awww... Keaton will ALWAYS have more money than me!"

Way to be happy for your brother, Lola.

whobody went on a nature hunt?

So. After "the farm" we stopped down at Buck Creek to let Keaton go on a little nature hunt. This is one of dad and the kids' favorite Saturday morning stops. It is SO beautiful there.  Here are the kids with their "nature hunting" tools...

It was a little too cold for them to find much of anything, but Keaton did find a few worms and a snail shell... The kids' favorite thing to do in our yard is go on 'nature hunts'...which pretty much just involves collecting anything and everything that they consider  n.a.t.u.r.e.  We usually have quite the collection.  Keaton thought it would be neat to look elsewhere! Below is Nash with the bug net....danger!!!

As you can see, Lola took the hunt VERY seriously.

Here Keaton, Dad, and Lola are looking at the teeny tiny fish swimming in the creek. (We tried to keep Nash as far away from the water as possible...

Here is a picture of Keaton with his "finds"...he was very proud!

We will do this again...and hopefully next time, it will be a little bit warmer!  We are lucky to live in such a beautiful area!

whobody went to "the farm"?

Last night we decided to take the kids to "the farm".  I know what you are thinking...you guys are farmers, you live on a farm.... No. Not true.  Yes. Jason is a farmer, but our yard is nothing close to a farm! Luckily, our neighbors  let us come and play on their farm whenever we want.

Even though the weather wasn't great, we went to get a little fresh air and see some animals.  Jason started doing this about 3 years ago.  On Saturday mornings in the summer, he would take Keaton to "the farm", grandpa's pond, or the creek to spend a little time with Dad (and give Mom a little time with Lola).  Last summer he took Lola along and left me with Nash!  Last night we went with the whole family! Above is a picture of Nash with the horses... Below is a picture of Jason and Lola in with the cows. Jason's brother, Chuck, happens to have cattle at this farm and had come to feed them while we were there! Judy was trying to get one of calves to come over so the kids could pet it. (That, however, did not work)

Lola and Keaton had fun playing in the grass...but Keaton was very, very, very, very, very, very afraid of the chickens, so he was always watching for them out of the corner of his eye. (and he was usually hiding behind me whenever they got remotely close to us)

 Yes, he was actually up on the fence to keep away from the chickens. :)

Lola, however, loved the chickens and chased them around the yard.  These are VERY nice chickens by the way. It was cute...we were just over looking at the horses and all of the sudden the chickens just wandered over by us...Nash and Lola were ecstatic, Keaton....well, Keaton was a little bit petrified!

 Nash, of course, wanted to pet the chickens, but was not successful!

I should add that Nash, like most 1 1/2 year olds, LOVES animals...and really had a blast seeing some farm animals up close and personal. He was just overtaken with JOY the whole time we were there!

and I had to get a picture of all 3 kids together....THAT doesn't happen very often where they all actually have their eyes open and look decent!

I know the kids are very much looking forward to spending more time at the farm, now THIS makes me excited for warmer weather. Hmmm, maybe Jason will just take all 3 kids this summer, and leave me home alone! (ha, I don't think that will happen....)

whobody colored some Easter eggs?

Nothing too exciting in this post...we just colored our Easter Eggs today.  I have to say, the older the kids get, the more fun this is.... I remember the days when coloring eggs with the kids just involved me pretty much doing it for them and they just watched.  Today Keaton and Lola loved to make the designs on the eggs with crayons, and explored putting the eggs in more than one color. They both got to do 11 eggs...and wanted to do more. :)

Here is a picture of Lola coloring eggs:

...and a picture of Keaton coloring eggs...

...and of course, I let Nash color an egg too *(on paper).

Lola's finished products....

and Keaton's finished products.

Now, what are we going to do with all of these boiled eggs???