Dressed up

I must not dress up anymore...

Tonight, I got dressed in a skirt and sweater and went outside telling the kids that we needed to leave (going to my great aunt's visitation). Alex looked up and said (without missing I beat, I may add!)..."Mommy, why are you so beautiful now??"

Bittersweet Tears

Our Alex graduated from preschool today. All was fine and well until "Pomp & Circumstance" started playing. Why does that song strike our inner emotions every time? And then to see 18 little 5 year olds walking up the aisle...desperately willing their caps to stay on...it was quite a sight!
She had a somber look on her face most of the ceremony, but did shine once the ceremony was over and we headed to the reception to have a few cookies!

We have asked her what her next plans are for life...can she afford rent at our house? Is she going to get a job? All that fun stuff that comes with graduating and growing up. She smiled and stared at us like a deer in headlights! Oh well...we will work on that over the summer. : )

Sitting with Grammy on the wheelchair.

A very proud Daddy & Mommy with our beautiful Alex!

Stinky Feet

On the way home from picking up Katie at school, Katie commented "It smells like my own swimsuit in here".
Alex piped up from the back in a very serious voice "It's just my own toes, I took my shoes off".

All Knowing

We were at the zoo yesterday, when Katie asked me, "Do turtles have eyelashes?".
"I don't know," I told her, "but we can check online when we get home."
Katie's response: "Yes, we can look on Google, because Google knows everything!"

Katie is 7!!!

We celebrated Katie's 7th birthday today! 7 years...wow...

Alex, Maddie, cousin Judah, Will & Katie - ready to eat the cookie!!

Katie received this doll from Grammy & Grandad and the new princess outfits (Belle & Cinderella) from Matt & I.

Katie loved every minute of her party! She was so excited about her presents. When I asked her (after the party) what her favorite gift was...she told me the Tinkerbell present from Aunt Barb & Uncle Willy. I asked her how Barb & Willy knew that the Tinkerbell house was what she wanted...her answer "I think they can read my mind, Mommy!"

Alex & Mommy sharing a moment.

My Mother's Day Gift

These are the beautiful flowers that the kids made me for Mother's Day!!

Enjoying the Outdoors

We just bought a new camera and are learning the ins-and-outs of it. Here are some pics of the kids playing outside and other misc. pictures.

Teaching Will how to ride a trike with pedals...I was a bad Mommy - no helmet here!

Will fell asleep under his mattress the other day...(I am lifting up the mattress so we can see him)

Maddie talking on Daddy's cell phone...

Mothers Day Outing

Matt woke me up on Mother's Day and asked if I wanted eggs for breakfast...and then I reminded him that we had used the last of the eggs the night before! So, we enjoyed some bowls of cereal! After going to church, we headed to Cedar Rapids to find a few new letterboxes and to pick up some Thomas the Train items from Craigslist. Let me be the first to tell you that it wasn't much of a fun day. The kids were all being onery and fussy. But God being the marvelous God that He is, gave us a good ending! We were able to find a letterbox in a beautiful park (FW Kent Park in Tiffin, IA) and play in a huge playground...followed by dinner, jammies & a movie! It was a blissful ride home and it seemed to lessen the reminders of the earlier tantrums we had dealt with.

Here are some pictures taken at FW Kent Park. We would love to head back there sometime this summer for a day at the beach, playing & camping.

Contrary to how it looks, Matt is spotting Will...not serenading him!

Will showing me a walnut.

On Saturday, we drove to Galesburg to visit the Carl Sandburg birthplace. It was recently re-opened thanks to Gov. Pat Quinn.

Will I ever get a good picture of all 4 kids - at the same time??

Will Seemed to have an abundance of energy this day...

Geneseo, IL

Matt had to work this weekend, but one of his stops had him out in Geneseo, IL (about 20 east of Moline). The kids & I met him out there so we could enjoy the beautiful spring day that we had. We played, ate & played some more!

We visited 3 parks today. We were blessed with a wonderful surprise at our first park...we ran into the Welsh clan! Dear friends of ours from the QC! We found it very ironic that we ended up in Geneseo at the same time, at the same park! What are the odds.

Our next stop was Richmond Hill. There is a "barn" theater, ball diamonds, frisbee golf and a few OLD playground items. They brought back memories for Matt & I.

There were thousands of dandelions! The kids loved that. Here are some pictures of the kids picking & blowing the "wishing flowers" (as Katie used to call them).

I apologize for the non-organization of the blog pictures. I don't know if I am doing something wrong or if blogger is not working tonight, either way I can't seem to move them without issues...

The best part of this park is the hill slide. Just watch the video!