Spring has Sprung

The weather has been beautiful on the weekends and we've gotten a lot done around the yard as a result. The kids are always right behind willing to lend a helping hand.


The tulips came up again this year...I always wonder if they will survive the winter and Marc's snowplow...they are pretty hearty though! Emma thought they were beautiful.

We can't seem to get Marcus to stop picking them though. At the rate he's going there won't be tulips around here for long.

He is very sweet though; he does like to share with his sisters.

He makes sure everyone has one...what a good guy! The girls have him trained at such a young age; his future girlfriends will be so grateful.

Working Boy

Daddy woke up this morning and asked if Marcus wanted to go to work with him. Marcus was so excited, it took him no time to get ready. At first he put on his hard hat...

But Daddy was wearing a hunting baseball cap; so Marcus ran to his room and came out looking "Just like Daddy!"
He even wore his work boots.

Ok Mom, let me tell you what we are going to do; first we are going to drive in Dad's truck and then we are going to work really hard.

Now, we've gotta go so see you soon...Love you!

Turkey Time

Poppi came over for opening weekend of Turkey hunting. I would say it was a successful trip.

What a beautiful bird! The kids were all so excited about it.

Marcus still has the same reaction he has had every year. I think he definitely digs this hunting stuff. He is going to fit in well with the boys in this family for sure!

Nice work Poppi!

Happy 1st to Zack

We went to a birthday party for a one year old today. The sun was shining and it was 70 degrees outside! So nice!

The girls got to wear summer dresses which made them both very happy.

Marcus, well he's just happy to have that cake and ice cream in front of him.

Here is a group photo of the kids (minus Marcus...I gave up on having him in the group photos). Zack the birthday boy is in the middle being held by his older sister, Maddy whom you've seen before on here. Zack's big brother, Jake, is in the blue shirt to the right of Maddy. Notice Emma with her flip flops and Olivia in her cow girl boots...they each have a style of their own.

Look what we found!

There is a consignment sale here twice a year where we sell all of the things the kids have outgrown and buy all their clothes for the upcoming season. We search for pink cowgirl boots at every sale because we refuse to spend the $40 retail on them. As consignors we get to attend a "pre-sale" before the public gets in there; but volunteers get to shop before us so usually all the pink boots are gone by the time we get there. This year's sale started last night but we didn't get to go.

I did spot these cute boots while I was dropping off the items I was selling and mentioned them to a friend of mine. She got to the sale as the doors opened. My phone rang around 5:30pm; it was my friend...she said "I think I have your boots...size 10? Blue rhinestones? Silver toes?" to which I replied "Yes! Those are the boots! Please buy them!" and so they showed up at work for me this morning...only $12! What a steal! Olivia was so excited. Now we only have to spend $40 for one pair of pink cowgirl boots (because you know Emma MUST have some too!). Aren't they so cute?

Happy Easter

Pretty Emma

Pretty Olivia

(three..well almost four...is such a great age).

Two however is a difficult age...Marcus did NOT want his picture taken this morning.

Finally...Olivia, what are you doing?

(I think she was getting fed up with Marcus)

Got it! Well good enough anyways. Hope you are all having a very Happy Easter!

Colorful Eggs

Last night we dyed eggs.

Marcus got a kick out of it.

Olivia was trying to make pretty colors with all the colors.

Emma was doing it the hard way but eventually learned to put the eggs in the dish and let them sit. It was a blast; our hands were all different colors and the girls were quite concerned about that. However, once they took their bath their hands were back to normal so all is well.

No Fear

The girls have been begging me to see the Easter Bunny so this morning we gave it a try. We had to go to the Mall but we were the 3rd people in line so it wasn't so bad. I was honestly surprised with Marcus. He was jumping up and down in line so excited to see the Easter Bunny. The minute we were up he sprinted to the Easter Bunny and climbed on his lap. The girls were very excited too and jumped right up. To think, I almost gave up on these type of pictures a couple of years ago (you may remember 2008...the crying twins...we skipped the Easter Bunny in 2009 as a result). Look at those cuties! I love it!

Surprise Party

We headed over to the west side of the state for a Surprise Welcome Home Party for Raymond's Mom, Bobbi. She was super surprised; unfortunately my camera only got blurry pictures of her reaction.

Grami and Poppie were there too and so was Kimmie and Elle...look at how beautiful Elle is! She had the cutest outfit on and was such a little social butterfly...just like her Mommy.

The party was a potluck and there was a ton of good food. There was such a great variety; even Emma found something she liked (Pizza!).

Marcus started off shy and then came out of his shell quickly. He has become a great eater since the whole week of the flu...we can't get him to stop eating now. I think he's put on 5 pounds just in the last week!

We were trying for a family picture but ended up with a few extras. I was going to crop it but decided it's not that great of a family photo anyways and really this tells the story of the night. We do know the little girl beside me and Olivia. That is Addison, Raymond's niece. The little boy beside Marc and Marcus? No idea who he is...I guess he just wanted to be part of the family for a moment :-)

There was even a play area set up for the kids...good thinking! There was a ton of play dough, markers, coloring books, even an huge soft letter mat that was like a large puzzle. The kids LOVED it!

The Starks were even there! They happened to be in the area on vacation and called Raymond out of the blue so he said come on over. That was a nice surprise! There's Miss Elle again with some of the Stark girls (Kylie, Julie and Karissa), making her social rounds. What a good sport...talk about a dream baby; she was at a 1 year old's birthday party prior to this party and I never once saw her get fussy. She's a trooper!

WELCOME HOME BOBBI!!! We are so glad to have you back!