proof

so just a little proof that

trampolines are fun

for kids of all ages :)

nice job, girls!!

recently olivia's class has focused on small things we can do
to make our community & earth better.

yesterday her class put on a bake sale during lunch.
the money will be donated to a nature center.

wow, they had A LOT of treats donated!
teachers & kids were ready to buy -
thanks to olivia's message on the intercom the day before :)

nice job 2nd graders!!!

a {sort of} birthday celebration

i've always felt bad for kids with summer birthdays.
celebrating months before your actual day just seems odd.
cupcakes & celebrating in class but NO real party or presents -
where's the fun in that??

but i guess there is one upside...you get to decide on cupcakes TWICE in one year!this year it was blue cupcakes with chocolate frosting -"because my bestest friend and i like blue."
and as much as i think summer birthdays are a bummer,thankfully this kid doesn't seem to mind :)

and really, it could be worse -
like having a birthday ONCE every FOUR years!
right, caryn??

breakfast of champions 4 year old boys

today i made pancakes for the kids for breakfast.

everyone loved them except ryan.

here's why...

mom, i don't like pancakes.

i like beans.

you know, fart beans.

can i have some of those.

umm, no.

how about a poptart?

spring break, part II

due to working, classes & yucky weather, our spring break was pretty low key -
we did a bouncehouse day and the zoo.

it lucked out with a super sunny day,
although we weren't so lucky with the animals.
lots were still gone for the season :(
but we did mange to see a few.

so when you can't find animals,
you might was well take lots of group shots!

and that wraps up our exciting spring break -

hopefully our next trip to the zoo has more animals
{or i might need to ask for discount admission!!}

a BIG night

tonight was a BIG night for 2 reasons -

we started the night off at the theater for the jefferson spring program.
thank you to whoever put olivia & garrett on the same set of risers -
made for a cute picture {if you ignore the little girl next to garrett - HA HA}

as soon as the program was done, it was miss josie's turn.
she's been excited about tonight for a while now.
PRESCHOOL OPEN HOUSE!
seriously, where did the time go?

she was so excited to play with all the toys
and that her buddy matthew was going to be there too.
wow, last time i was at the school -
ryan was a baby and allison was pregnant with matthew!
now our babies are going off to preschool :(

but really, how can i be sad when she's SO excited??
so what can i say about tonight??olivia & garrett - fabulous job.josie, you are such a big girl!!xoxo

the keeper of secrets...or not

this morning when we got in the car for school
i noticed the sunroof was cracked open and the radio was on the rear speakers.
i worked yesterday and i thought the tim and the kids had stayed home.
so i asked if they went anywhere yesterday.

olivia mentioned something about returning dvds to the store.
ok, case closed.
then ryan says: your gonna like your mother's day present.
which immediately freaked olivia & garrett out.

i calmed them down, said that he really didn't give anything away.
all was fine - we pulled into school.
then out of the blue, a very clueless ryan says:
next time we go to the mud room i'm going to paint a shark.
they have cool sharks there.

olivia & garrett's reaction????
RYAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!

i love ryan.
the kid cannot keep a secret to save his life,
and the funniest part is that he is TOTALLY clueless
to the fact that he is telling a secret.

ryan, i wonder what you will be when you grow up?
i'm pretty sure we can rule out a career in the cia, though :)

shopping with josie

josie is ALWAYS missing a shoe when it's time to go somewhere.
the other day we were doing a little online browsing for new crocs.this style was her favorite -but there was just one problem that she just couldn't get past.
where was the other shoe????

spring break, part I

we didn't get to actually get away over spring break
because i still had class {boo}
but we did manage to fit in a few fun things for the kids.

the first thing we did was check out bounceland in kalamazoo.
garrett brough a friend,
and we met up with some cousins.
the kids had a blast!

slushies & plenty of slides -yes, we are definitely going back!!

L*O*V*E

olivia has never, ever cared about dolls.
she kind of likes barbies,
she used to play with polly pockets,
but baby dolls were never on her radar.

that is until my parents offered to take to her chicago
to pick out an american girl doll.

and suddenly she is in LOVE with a little doll she named lillianna.
and i'm pretty sure she's in love with chicago too :)

and to make a cool trip even better -
they went to sprinkles!
{i'm so jealous!!!}

oh, but it gets even better...

not only did she get an adorable doll -
they got matching outfits, too!

and since lillianna joined our family,
the girls have spent very few minutes apart.
yup, she's in LOVE!