Catch Up!

Ok, so much for the more frequent, shorter posts! Once again, I have quite a bit to recap so here I go! :)

This should have gone before my Easter post but I figure better late than never, right? The Saturday night before Easter, my dad and Janis came over to color Easter eggs. This is no small occasion either! I think they brought over close to 50 eggs and we colored every single one of them! Unfortunately Miss Brecca was sick so she didn't get to enjoy the festivities but we said we would do it again soon. Who says it has to be Easter to color eggs???? I remember as a kid coloring Easter eggs with my dad down at the lake.. My grandpa enjoyed it just as much as us kids so it is nice to continue the tradition with my kids and their grandpa!

We went fishing one night a couple of weeks ago. Would you believe it if I told you Brax fell in Uncle Tim's pond??? Not once, but twice! He always wears a life jackets whenever we go fishing but Dave and Julia bought all the kids new life jackets for Easter so he broke in his new one! I dropped Nate and the kids off and went to Wal-Mart and then went to pick them up on my way home. As soon as I pulled up the girls came running up to the van! "Mom, Mom, Dad caught a big fish and Brax almost drownded (not drowned!)." This sure caught my attention! When I got around to him, he was wearing Nate's shirt and shivering but still fishing! Dave and Julia were there and offered to take him home and warm him up but he told them, "I'm fishing right now!"

My dad and Janis also got the kids a trampoline for Christmas that we just now put up. It has a nice net around it that keeps them from falling off so that is a big plus. I am quite sure that if it weren't for the net, we would already have several broken bones! (Actually, we would not have one if not for the net but you know what I mean...) Last weekend Brecca wanted to turn the hose on and put it underneath the trampoline and let it spray them. I told her that I didn't want to get the trampoline wet (just an excuse to not get out the hose). Of course, that same night it rained. The next morning she informed me, "Mom, I listened to you about not getting the trampoline wet but God didn't!"

Brax's birthday was Sunday! I can't believe he is 3 years old! I will do a separate post for that shortly. Only I wouldn't recommend holding your breath! :)

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

I hadn't realized it has been so long since I have posted! It really isn't that I don't have time to post. I have time to keep up with the 30 other blogs on my Google Reader (only about three of which are people I actually know in person!) yet I don't have time to write on my own??? It really isn't that. It just seems like I always have so much to write and sometimes I feel overwhelmed by it all. Shorter, more frequent posts are the key. I am going to try to be better about that. But until then, hope you enjoy this LONG post that recaps a few of the most important events of the last couple of weeks.

First things first, Braylee had her first soccer game. Well, I guess I can't actually call it a game... more like a clinic with a five minute scrimmage at the end. The first one looked promising. She got in there and kicked at the ball. She dribbled when the other kids were dribbling and kicked the ball into the unguarded goal. I was even more impressed when during the scrimmage portion, she actually broke away from the group and dribbled down the field a little ways until she realized she was all alone and stopped. Go Bray!!! I can't say she was the most aggresive kid out there but she was trying. I think one of Nate's proudest moments as a father was last night when the coach told her that it was her turn and she very slowly dribbled the ball and kicked it into the goal, all the while blowing a huge bubble with the big wad of bubble gum that was in her mouth! That's talent!

Friday afternoon we decided to head up to Lawrence to catch a KU ballgame. Nate's cousin plays baseball for them so we thought it would be fun to go watch. He plays in the outfield and starts pretty consitently for them so it was cool to watch someone we actually knew. Nate and I, Matt and Kara, and all three boys rode up together. The girls opted out this time. They decided they would rather stay with Grandma and Nanny this time but I think they would have enjoyed it so we will have to make another trip up before the season ends. He had a good game and they won so it was a great night to go. We also met my brother and Erin at the game and had dinner afterward with one of my best friends, Sarah, and her husband James.

Brax was sure happy he got to sit in the middle!

Sorry for the picture quality on this last one! It was getting dark and the flash on my mom's little camera just wasn't quite strong enough. Have I said I miss my camera????

Brecca actually got sick on Friday night while staying at my mom's. We were going to see Poppy at the Lions Club Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning but Brecca didn't make it. She was supposed to play soccer too at 11 and she didn't feel like doing either. We called and asked if Larsen wanted to join us. The kids had fun and got quite a bit of chocolate!

In other news, I have not found any of my stuff. I was hoping since I had no cash in my purse that maybe they would just discard it in an alley somewhere (actually I was hoping they would put it back in my van!) and that maybe someone would find it and call me to come pick it up. No such luck! I am still hoping but I think the likelihood of finding any of it is diminishing more and more each day. I have been able to get most of the contents replaced though so that makes things a little easier.

I guess I had better get some stuff done around here. I only have about an hour left until I have to get Brecca from school so I better get something accomplished before that! Wish me luck!

Happy Easter!

We had a fun Easter! Nate had to work so it was just the kids and I until we went to my moms after church. The kids were really excited about the Easter Bunny. We could not find Brax's basket anywhere to leave out for the Easter Bunny so we used a Halloween bucket that we had been keeping candy in on top of the refrigerator! It was always a tradition at my house growing up that the Easter Bunny left our baskets beside our beds so that when we got up in the morning, they were right there for us. I was downstairs Easter morning and I heard someone moving around upstairs. Pretty soon, Brax comes down the stairs eating a pack of gummy worms. I said, "Brax, where did you find that?" and he said, "From the candy bucket in my room!" He didn't even know the Easter Bunny had been here. I think he thought it was just the same candy bucket that had been in our kitchen since Halloween (technically, it was - just refilled)! So, we went back up and checked out all the other goodies in it. Brecca was still sick from Friday night so she stayed at my moms again. Luckily the Easter Bunny found her over there too.

The kids and I (including Brecca - she was feeling better by this point) went to church and then went to my moms. Nanny, Poppy, Chelse and Tylee were there for lunch. My brother and Erin got there about 3:30 but we were headed to Nate's parents around 4 so our visit was short but sweet.

Since it was raining and the kids were too excited to wait, we did the Easter Egg Hunt out at Dave and Julia's in the shop. It didn't seem to bother anyone that they didn't get to do it outside. We hung out there until about 8:00 and then headed home to take baths and head to bed.

Chelse sent me a few pictures from her camera but I still need to get a few from Dave and Julia. I will post those when I get them! Until then.....

CRAP!

My purse and my camera were stolen out of my van Friday night! Can you believe that? It isn't really my purse that I am concerned about - more the CONTENTS of my purse that concerns me. My drivers license, checkbook, debit card, two credit cards, insurance cards, FULL Maurices Take Ten card, library cards..... The list goes on and on! Maybe it was Dave Ramseys way of punishing us for not cutting those credit cards up like we were supposed to!

We did call the police and file a police report and they said there were three other vehicles in our area that had been broken into that same night. He also asked me if my door was ajar (apparently they usually don't close them for fear it will wake someone up) when I came out in the morning and I hadn't thought about it up until that point, but it was! I was mad at Nate for not getting it shut and hoping that our battery wasn't dead! I owe him an apology cause it wasn't him!

I got up about 7am and got around. Brecca had a soccer game at 9 and Braylee at 10. Kam played at 11and then Kara and I took the kids to eat lunch. As I was getting out of the van, I relized I didn't have my purse and thought I left it at home. Kara paid for lunch (thanks Kara! I will pay you back!) and so I came home to look for it. Then I noticed my camera was missing also.

The really bad deal is that my camera was about a $1000 camera (at time of purchase - less now) and since the stuff wasn't actually a part of the vehicle, it will go under our Homeowners insurance instead of our car insurance. We have a $1000 deductable so we probably won't get any money back out of the deal. We are going to Disneyworld in two months!!! How can you go to Disney without a camera???? I know we can borrow one from someone (my sister already offered) but my camera was just so nice!!! :) I am really going to miss it!

What a cruddy day!

The kids are watching the Wizard of OZ while I sit here at the computer! It is technically "rest time" but they are watching a movie today while they rest. I think Brax is already asleep. Can you believe I passed my love of Wizard of Oz onto my kids? We have to fast forward past the tornado part but other than that, they love it!

Freezing rain is coming down as I sit her typing. I was all excited for the big SNOW storm but ICE I can do without. I was so looking forward to Spring. We even planted some tulips in our flower beds last fall and they had already come up. They hadn't started blooming yet and now I am sure they won't! An inch of ice might be a little hard to survive!

Just one cute little story to share! Last week, the girls and I went to Wal-Mart and Braylee spotted some Clorox wipes. She said, "Mom, do we need some more Clorox wipes?" Brecca said, "What are Clorox wipes?" and Braylee goes, "Brecca, they kill 99% of germs!" That girl just cracks me up!!!

Missing something????

Flying High

I can't believe today is the last "official" day of Spring Break! Back to school on Monday! The weather has been beautiful so we have enjoyed lots of time outside. It is 8:40 and the girls are still asleep. Brax is at Nanny and Poppy's. What am I doing up?

We went to the park one day and had a picnic. Actually, we went through the McDonalds drive-thru and then took that to the park? Is that still considered a picnic? Technically, there was no picnic basket or picnic blanket. Only a McDonalds sack and a cement table but I still consider it a picnic. Regardless, we ate lunch at the park!

Then we headed down the road to an open field and attempted to fly some kites! Apparently, the is a correct way to attach the string to a kite and I wasn't clued in on that. :) No success!

Nate got home at 4:00 so we headed out to the college to try again. This time, it was a success! The kids had a great time. I would seriously suggest going to Wal-Mart and buying a kite. They are only $1 so it certainly isn't a big investment and the kids sure enjoyed them.

Brecca got her kite way up in the air!

Way to go Bray!

Brax didn't have quite the success the girls had but he still had fun.