Happy Easter

The kids always LOVE decorating eggs. In fact, they love it so much I usually boil a dozen eggs for each child. Come to find out some of my friends don't do hard boiled eggs so had a hard time imagining doing a dozen per child. So this year I thought maybe I don't really need to do so many. So I only did 3 dozen and the kids said "mom, why don't we get to do very many this year?" So, I guess from now on I will do at least a dozen eggs per child each year.
Here are the kids with their baskets after gathering all of the candy
Jane was in heaven. I'm sure she couldn't believe it when we had candy hiding throughout the house! She could have filled her basket but got so side tracked once she found out there was candy in the plastic eggs she ended up stopping at her first egg! As you can see she is thoroughly enjoying the candy.
Here I am looking at the candy Lucas got....you know there is always a mommy and daddy tax in our house so I was trying to find what I wanted to collect!!

Lucas is a big fan of the chocolate bunny!!

Look who is as old as me!!!

Andy is always so so good at reminding me that I am older than him. Yes, it is true but only by a little more than 2 months!! We had a fun birthday weekend. Andy and I went out to dinner the night before his birthday and enjoyed a steak dinner at home (andy's request) with the kids on his actual birthday. We also had strawberry shortcake for his birthday cake (yum!!) Happy Birthday to the best guy ever!!

Who says you need Disneyland to get a good ride?!??!

It has been fun to have the MBA dads around more this semester. We see some (Bryan B.) more than others. The kids are enjoying having them around more also. They couldn't get enough of this ride! It's so funny looking!

Proof that my neighbor Mindi will one day be a hoarder!

Well first of all this is what I gave her for her b-day because she loves cats so much!
Look at what she wears to enrichment....bunny feet PJ's ! It does make you wonder!

Look at what she is holding onto in her closet for special occasions. I think it might come out on the cruise!! (what is she storing away in those sleeves? Probably cats!!)




Ok, so the truth is:
I did put this on her door for her birthday because we have had a few hoarding parties where we eat lunch and watch the hoarders show. (I would not recommend eating while you watch that show!) and we always joke that hoarding starts with cats!! ha!

She did wear the PJ's to enrichment but that is only because it was pajama night and she thought it'd be funny to wear these.

She does NOT own this dress. An older lady she works out with found out she was going on a cruise and brought this to mindi to borrow for one of the formal nights. Funny huh?!??!

If you knew Mindi you would know she would be the absolute LAST person to become a hoarder. Her house is always spotless and super organized. I just love giving her a hard time about becoming a hoarder!

John has entered life with the oldies!!

John turned 30 last week. Amber planned to have the adults go to her house for fondu. What John didn't know is we were planning to dress as old people to welcome him into his 30's! His face was pretty funny when he answered the door and saw how we were dressed. It only took one more couple to arrive before he realized everyone was going to come dressed old! Then Amber took out clothes for both she and John. It was a fun evening with lots of laughs!! I couldn't get over some of the outfits. I think I know how Mindi really will look as an old woman and Mike....just think Biff on Back to the Future! Too funny!

Now here are some good looking MBA students!!
Andy, Bryan, John, Mike

I can now say that I went to MBA school!

Thanks to Sara I got to go to one of Andy's classes today and LOVED it. Sara asked me a couple weeks ago if I would watch Jenna so she could go to Joe's class and then she'd do the same for me. I was glad to get a chance to go and see what Andy really does every day. I got to attend his digital marketing class and I was highly entertained. The topic was fascinating. I also enjoyed sitting next to Andy, Joe, John, and Brian (yes, they are all in the class together!)

Make yourself at home

Jane is crazy and full of personality and for the record she is very strong willed!! In the middle of dinner one night she just decided to kick her feet up and relax! It took me by surprise and we were all laughing



Then Lucas decided he should do it. Funny how there is such a double standard when there is a baby around. With Lucas' feet up on our dinner table it wasn't so funny anymore. Just seconds after laughing at Jane for the same thing, we told Lucas we don't do that. It's bad manners. He still insisted on me taking a picture of him as I did with Jane. We no longer laugh at Jane for this behavior!! (I still think it's funny when SHE does it!)

We found a house!!

We spent a week in MN looking for a house and good news......we found one! It was quite a week looking at tons of homes and we are excited to get moved in. As it turns out we ended up buying a brand new home. It will be finished being built in April. We are all looking forward to having a little more space than we have now. We are currently busting out of the place we are in now! We are excited to live in a great town, near the city, in an excellent ward, close to family, close to the temple, in a fabulous school district, in a fantastic subdivision, and near a costco!! ha! Although we have a lot to look forward to, I am NOT looking forward to leaving our wonderful friends behind!

And, the hero of the week was Camie - my sister-in-law who watched our kids each day while we looked at houses! She was so wonderful. Not to mention each night after a long day with the kids she was always so interested in what we found that day. She'd sit and look at pictures and video we took and hash out all the details with us. She acted as though she had nothing else going on in her life (which we all know she does!) She was absolutely wonderful and I trust her opinion. It was nice to have her come look at our top 5 choices (yes, with all the kids!) and help us think through our decision. Thanks Camie for EVERYTHING you did!! I think she'd be fine having 7 kids!

Looking for a quiet place

Lucy loves to talk to Lydia on the phone. One Sunday afternoon I knew she had called Lydia but I couldn't find her. As it turns out this is the only quiet place she could find.....our jam packed garage (more like our storage unit!) She was happy as could be laying in the wagon chatting away with her cousin!

Little Artists

We've had some great opportunities while in Bloomington. Our kids have benefited from being so close to a university. This winter they got to participate in a great art class up on campus. They LOVED it. At the end of the semester they had a little art show to show off their work.

Neema Hat Day

Look at these cuties. The first Friday of each month the kids can wear a hat if they bring in change which goes to a charity. They look forward to Neema hat day each month.

Go Hoosiers!!

We couldn't leave IU without seeing a basketball game. Andy and I enjoyed going to a game with Joe, Sara, Amber, and John. It was fun to be there and be around all of the IU fans!

Better late than never

I don't know where the time has gone but the last few months have slipped by way too fast and now here it is almost April and I am just now writing about my Valentine's Day. Andy was so sweet and surprised me with a little rap he wrote about us. It was so darling. I had to beg him to let me tape him singing it. I'm sure he would not appreciate me posting the video. I would if I could. It was so sweet and thoughtful. Love this guy!!

Last nigt we were Ding Dong Ditched!

The kids were more than excited to find this at our doorstep last night.



I have my suspicions and if I am correct than they would appreciate this look from Jane as a Thank You!

Home from the hospital

Poor baby!! My little sweet Jane ended up in the hospital, once again, with pneumonia. We finally came home tonight. She is not better yet but will be much better off here because in case you didn't know, you can't get any sleep in the hospital. She was silent the entire ride home tonight until we pulled up to the house and then she let out a big happy squeak. I looked back and she was grinning ear to ear. She was so happy once we arrived home. It was really cute! And as soon as we walked in the door she marched over the the drawer and took out a plate and cup so she could eat!

I am sure she kept wondering how in the world she got here and how would she ever get out!! The saddest part was when the took her to put the IV in her arm. She was so sad after they got done with her!
When I found out we got to go home I said "Jane we get to go home." She then found her stroller in the bathroom and was insistent on sitting in her stroller - even though all her chords and wires were still attached. And then she was crying a lot because I wouldn't push her (because I couldn't because she was hooked to so many machines) She was screaming so loud because she wanted me to push her. I went to take her out to calm her down and she'd cry harder. This went on for a while. The maintenance men were in the room at the time and I'm sure they were wondering why I wouldn't take my crying baby out of the stroller. I felt pretty ridiculous during the entire time this went on!! Oh well.
I am very grateful for all my friends who were so good to help out in so many ways. I don't know what I would have done without them. Thanks to everyone who helped out!!
We are super happy to be home!! There really is no place like home!

Girls just want to have fun!

These girls have quite an imagination and are always thinking of fun things to do. If I were their age I would definitely want to be friends with them!! They can be found crafting, playing spa, painting nails, riding bikes, playing "pioneer", putting together fashion shows, creating a restaurant.....the list is endless!

One day they wanted to create a restaurant and serve our family lunch. They put together menus and made the food. I had to assist them just a little but for the most part they did it!
On one of our many snow days they threw together a fashion show. I didn't help with any of it. They hung of a sheet for their curtain, put on music, and had several costume changes - not to mention they did their make up too. Don't you love these girls?!?!

Our newest piano player

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When I went upstairs the other day I left Jane in the family room playing with toys. When I came back down this is how I found her. A chair had been left by the piano from lessons the night before and she pushed it close enough to the paino and climbed up and started playing. It took me off guard. I wasn't expecting to find Jane at the piano when I came down. She is growing up too fast!

It's warming up......can't you tell?!??!

This picture cracks me up! Last week it "warmed up". We were all happy to see the sun and feel some of it's warmth. The kids were playing outside a lot last week. I looked out my window and couldn't help but smile and couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap this shot. This is how desperat we are to be outside. They are sitting on a pile of snow!! I can't imagine what MN will be like!!

Happy Shopping!

Last week I decided to let Jane have a try in this shopping cart. Even though Lucas always sits in it I have not let Jane do it for fear of her never wanting to return to a normal cart at other stores that don't have carts like this. I guess I had a moment of weakness and my heart was softened as I thought of how much she'd LOVE to ride in this cart! And she did indeed love it and was ALL smiles and didn't want to get out when we got to our car!! It was pretty cute and she thinks she is such a BIG girl. The buckle will have to go on next time because while in the check out lane she thought she should be allowed to get in and out which she is not very good at!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Ethan reminded me how exciting a birthday can be for a young child. The days leading up to his birthday were filled with lots of birthday chatter from him. "Are you still planning to hang the balloons up in the family room like you always do?" "Are you remembering I want chocolate cake?" "Have any cards come in the mail for me?" "Can I please go check the mailbox one more time?" "What do you think Grandma is going to send me?" (referring to both grandmas) "Have you bought my birthday present yet?" (he didn't really like when I told him I had and knew he'd have lots of fun playing with his new barbie house!)
The night before his birthday he hardly slept. He woke up several times in the night wanting to know if he could open his presents. Later he came in to tell me his stomach hurt. I told him to go potty and go back to bed because I think he was more excited than sick. About 10 minutes later he woke me again to tell me that indeed i was right and he was just excited - not sick. By the time morning rolled around I was worried with all the excitement he might be let down. However, he seemed to have a great birthday. Isn't it nice to be a kid?
We did a family birthday this year and took the kids out to eat for E's bday. But, before dinner we took Ethan to spend some money he got from Grandma S. and then we headed to Build-A-Bear which was our gift to him. He knew exactly what he wanted and had fun picking out an outfit for his wolf and stuffing it. The other kids were so so good to wait for Ethan to make all of his decisions in both stores!

After shopping we went out to eat.....his choice. And of course we found ourselves in McDonalds which is a big treat for our kids. You don't need to look too hard to see that I really have 5 kids....not 4! (oh and you also might notice a couple of chic-a-filet bags on the McDonalds table! Andy and I had no desire to eat McDonalds so smuggled in our own goodness! I must say that was a good call Andy!)

Here is Ethan with "wolfie"

Apparently "wolfie"is part of the family now and had to be present for birthday cake!!
It's hard to believe Ethan is 7 years old!! Our kids are growing up way too fast!!

Happy Birthday......to me!

Seems like my birthday was spread out and celebrated over several days. I won't complain. I loved hearing from so many friends and family and appreciated some unexpected gifts from friends and family. Thanks to everyone who made it a great birthday!!

Andy took me to the Blue Man Group which happened to be several days before my birthday. I didn't know what to expect. I had heard of them but that's about it. I enjoyed the show and was entertained throughout! Luckily we were able to go given an ice storm hit the day of the show. Our babysitter couldn't make it to our house due to ice so Sara S. pulled through and was kind enough to babysit for us while we braved the roads (which turned out to be fine) and enjoyed the show. We also enjoyed going out to dinner on Friday night. 2 dates in one week.....not bad!
I got some great gifts this year but this was a GREAT surprise and meant a lot to me. My grandma and grandpa T. send some money each year. This year it came in this card which was better than the money. It is a copy of a picture my Grandpa painted several years ago and my grandparents made it into a birthday card. It was a nice surprise and meant a lot. This is a painting of a reunion spot we went to one year when I was young. I have fond memories of this reunion and love that it has my grandpa fishing and the car they use to have. Love it!
And life in B-town would just not be the same without these great ladies (and some are missing in this picture). Mindi, Jen, Amber, and Joy brought lunch over on my birthday. It was fun and meant a lot to me.