Happy 5 Years to Olivia!

This picture might not look like much, but it's the start of a day full of blessings for Olivia on her birthday!  She wanted to go to the store & pick something out, paying for it with her own money. She only had $2, but I said I would cover the rest for whatever she wanted.  So she picked out a strawberry shortcake lotion, body spray, lip gloss, chapstick, and 2 fingernail polishes.  $5. No problem. When the clerk rang it up, it showed up as only being 1 penny.  I said woo hoo! We'll take it! The manager standing close said ok, give it to her! So Olivia only had to pay 1 penny for the whole thing! Who does that? So she picked out another princess bowl for her babies since she had so much money left over.  THEN, in the parking lot, the lady who was behind us at the register walked to our van and gave Olivia a 1 dollar bill to get "an ice cream cone".  She thought that was pretty special. 

Then we took taco bell to a park and played.  My sister and kids are here from Germany so they had fun being in the sunshine!

Then after naps, we went to Bounce USA.  There was only 1 other family with one kid in the whole place.  The kids loved running all over the place without running into other kids.

AND the lady working gave the kids free ice cream since it was O's birthday!

She wanted a Hello Kitty bday cake.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The Big One.  First we beat it. Then we open it.

She now has a bike....and rides very well!

I can't believe she's 5 already!  I wouldn't trade staying home with her for anything! What a blessing!

Tami's 33!

Surprise! Justin took the day off (and Olivia skipped school)! So we left the kids at the house with my parents and went out to breakfast at the IHOP.  I had blueberry pancakes that turned my teeth blue (though my mom said it was just gray).

*video taken out

We went to a park and let the kids play in the creek.

 Fun fun!

 Lots of swinging.

 We ate dinner at the Olive Garden.  Justin had dropped off flowers, card, and peppermint patty there the day before so they were delivered to me before the meal.  What a surprise!!!  I love daisies and there were 3 roses for 3 kids!

 This is actually my cake.  Dirt cake.  But I didn't really use the recipe.  It's more like dirt pudding.  It was delicious!  Totally what I've been craving!  Thank you mom for bringing the flowers to complete the presentation! Me and Bud.

 Me and Little Man.

 Me and Sweet Pea.

I had the best birthday ever!  It was SO perfect to spend it with family!

April Endings

Brotherly Love.

 We had Elaina (and mom Erin) over for a sleepover while J was away in Denver.  We had lots of fun! They rode wheels in the cul-dee-sac. Olivia rode Elaina's bike and decided she wanted one for her birthday.

 They slept in the same bed this time. Looks like Olivia barely hung on.

 The next morning they packed their backpacks to go to Disneyland with their babies.  Isaac has a "spanking spoon" hanging on his.

 Playing with shaving cream is always a winner.  And messy.

 These are our three peas in a pod.

 Another time while playing together, they came downstairs with O's swimsuits on over their clothes.  The goggles from Lowes completed the ensemble. I think they are excited to go the beach soon!

 More creative sleeping by Isaac.  This time he hung his legs over the edge.  Doesn't look too comfortable if you ask me.

 Just another angle.

 Elias is starting to push up.  And today was the first time he rolled over (a little on accident) from his belly to back.

The Funny Pages

 Some of our first harvest of the year - radishes!  They both enjoyed pulling on them as hard as they could and falling on their rear ends when they came out.  Tomato, broccoli, bell pepper, squash, and  cucumber join the radishes this year.

 Elias found another thumb.  He's babbling and smiling tons these days.....oh.....and drooling too.

Could you believe I took him out of the truck, transferred him to the van over the second row captains chairs, and buckled him back in without him waking up!  I had a good laugh.

Blessed Daddy!

Olivia (2 weeks shy of 5yrs), 

Elias (4 1/2 months), 

Isaac (3yrs 3months).

Easter

The kids colored Easter eggs with Grandma and Grandpa this year.  We're still eating them...

 The excitement!

 My parents came to church with us and stayed for lunch afterwards.

 The Hunt.  

 Acrobatical skills to complete the mission.

 Odd findings in the garden. (it's a toothbrush)

 Elias relaxed in the nice weather. What a smile!

 They also got some colored bubbles.  Pink and yellow bubbles. Apparently the "may" cause "slight" staining on clothing.

 All of his laughing so far has been like this.

 Side note, the kids went to Dollywood with G&G too.

 I love everything about him!

The Painting

Ok, so here's the product of my Christmas present.  I FINALLY got around to it.  I think I worked on it for 3 days....and a little more when it was hanging on the wall.  I was super nervous with my first strokes!  I think the next investment might be an easel??? 

 It's now hanging in the kitchen bathroom.  I have a new respect for painters.

Random March-Ness

Maybe he could see better with the goggles while coloring on a black construction paper???  Or maybe he thought Aunt Katie was just really cool??? (see next blog post)

 Old haircut from winter.

 New haircut for spring.

 A garden has been planted! Tomatoes, bell peppers, radishes, broccoli, and cucumber.

 Justin crawling out of a hole at the zoo. We've had lots of fun zoo trips since our pass ran out at the end of March. 

 Isaac hugging a bird. He's been insisting on his socks like that. I have finally gotten some short summer socks, in hopes of warding off the pull-up sock with shorts.

 Stump climbing.

 Justin came out and asked, "Hey! Whatcha doin?" Isaac answers, "Sifting."  So matter of factly.

 Birdies in a nest.  (also at the zoo, just not with the other pictures)

 We sold our bike pull-behind thing.  We have 3 now.  And 2 kids are getting too heavy to pull. So we took one last ride back and forth in front of our house...where it's nice and flat.

 Blurry, but the best I could do to catch his smile.