it's the most wonderful time of the year...

ha ha, i know that song is about christmas-
but spring is one of my favorite times of the year

the kids can finally go outside and play!
we just put up our trampoline and the kids are loving it

last year ryan was just a little too young
he like it, but he didn't like being bounced around by the "big" kids
this year, he & garrett weigh the same (ha ha)
he can totally hold his own...
much to garrett's dismay at times :)



and clearly i'm still working on shutter speed to capture the big jumps!

spring break finale

after a on-the-road spring break,
we decided to just chill at home for the easter weekend

the weather was great - so we hit the hiking trails on saturday

sunday we celebrated easter at church,
then had some fun with our self timer
and ended up with a decent family shot :)

finally the easter baskets gave us 4 new family members...
miss chatterbox
mr messy
mr mischief
little miss sunshine



we can finally say it's getting easier doing stuff with all 4 kids,
and for that we are very happy!

it definitely has been a fun break for all of us...
and now back to the world of routines :)

wordless wednesday

water, water & more water

just a few pictures from our waterpark fun

spring break, part 2

more spring break fun...

easter came early at nana & papa's house

then we had some fun time hangin' with the barnetts
even though the kids don't see each other much,
they have lots of fun together...which gives the adults time to chat :)

spring break, part 1

originally we were going to stay home for spring break-

instead we had a road trip...
first we went to iowa for tim's grandpa's funeral
his life was celebrated by friends and lots of family

then we drove north (to avoid the incoming iowa blizzard!) to minneapolis
there we celebrated nana's birthday
the kids were super excited to give her the platter they had painted :)



more pictures to come...

swords in heaven??

over the past few days leading up to Easter, we've talked to the kids about what Easter means. it's not about the Easter bunny or even Easter baskets. we even told the kids that the Easter bunny wasn't real.

{i'm willing to keep the idea of santa for awhile, i mean, it kind of makes sense with his sleigh and all...but a bunny visiting all the kids of the world. how does he get to all the houses? by hopping? and how does he even get in the house? we never hear anything about the bunny coming down the chimney. anyways...}

so tonight at bedtime, i was laying in bed with the boys. here's what garrett said to ryan...

ryan, do you know what sins are? it's naughty bad stuff that you do. the soldiers thought they saw Jesus do sins, but he didn't. then they put him on the cross. so when you get old, like 14, and you go to heaven you should bring your sword. then you can find the soldiers and cut their heads off. then Jesus will give you a big hug. ok, buddy?

only from a 4 yr old BOY!!!

...

well i'm not too worried about my kids spilling the beans on the Easter bunny to their friends. after telling them several times that mommy & daddy buy the stuff for their baskets, garrett still kept asking how the Easter bunny knew where he lived. and for the record, he really hopes the Easter bunny buys him the pre-made, cellophane wrapped Spiderman themed basket at Meijer.

preview...

just a little preview of our exciting spring break

ha ha, kidding!

our trip was a little more exciting :)

more to come...

my sweet ryan

my little "ry ry" -
this picture is classic, innocent ryan.
the kid rarely complains.
whenever i leave and come back he always runs up and says "i miss you mommy!"
he says "i wub you mommy" all the time.
i could just gobble him up, he's so sweet!

so what did my sweet, cuddly ryan say the other day when i asked him to get back in his chair & finish his lunch?
under his breath he muttered "awww dang it."

ahh, the influence of an older sister & brother.
i guess i should be happy that he finished his lunch.

should i be worried?

this morning olivia came downstairs with a piece of paper.
on it she had written a note for her teacher.
it read:

dear mrs stratton,
olivia will not be at school this friday.
i am going to iowa.

she was so proud of the fact that she had written the note for me.

well i'm fairly certain the teacher will know i didn't write it,
since it was written in marker on a torn piece of paper.

but this makes me wonder what her teenage years will be like?
i might need to have a chat with her principal about "notes from home" :)