Look who's not a baby anymore....

Gracie has really grown by leaps and bounds the last few weeks....She is now talking up a storm, changing her shoes 20 times a day, playing with her baby dolls, asking to have more and more books read to her and "riding" bikes with the big kids. No more babies in this house....she is now one of the "big kids".

Easter Eggs

First we Dye them....Then a week or so later...we shoot them...the redneck tradition lives on!

Grandparents

We love it when grandparents come to town! Thanks for having dinner with us Grandpa and Dorothy!

Good Friends

Our kids have been blessed with many good friends. We have more than a few friends that we really count as family. The Richards are one of these families. Last month we were honored to be at Brendan's baptism. Our kids and their kids often ask, "When are we going to see our cousins that aren't cousins?" I love this. Can't you just see these handsome boys having all sorts of fun together in college? Like fathers, like sons!

Around the House this week...

Imagine opening up your freezer and finding this..."What is that?" you may ask. Well, this little craw fish was given to the boys by Jed's assistant, Dawn. We all went out to eat at a craw fish restaurant while at our state dental convention last month. Dawn thought that the boys would be interested in seeing what a craw fish looks like, so she got this one from the kitchen. Of course she was right...they loved it! The boys brought Sammy (yes, they named him Sammy) home with them in a small cooler. When Jed told them that it was time for Sammy to have a proper burial before he began to stink, they decided to solve this problem by freezing him in a block of ice. Very inventive if you ask me. Now how long do I let Sammy remain in my freezer?
How many times have I read this book? "Mr Brown Can Moo Can You?" is Gracie's favorite book. It was Owen's favorite too. In fact, this is our second copy of this now family classic.
After being in Owen's classroom one day I volunteered to take a bag of pencils home that needed to be sharpened. His teacher, Mrs. Smith, explained to me that keeping sharp pencils in the classroom is a constant battle for her. Frankly, I don't think any educator should have to waste a lot of time worrying about something like keeping pencils sharpened. When the kids told me that I should tell Mrs. Smith that they would sharpen the class' pencils on a regular basis, I jumped on it. Now Owen brings home a bag of pencils at least once a week and in no time flat we have them sharpened and ready to go back to the classroom. I figure this is an age-appropriate way that our kids can do service for someone else. Really they (especially the girls) like doing it. They practice their counting and sing songs while they sharpen and just for the sake of "keeping it real" on this blog, they also spend plenty of time yelling at the other when they butt in on their turn. I guess we are also learning about taking turns...yep, it's a win-win situation!

Spring Soccer is HERE!

This post is extremely late, but we are really truly loving this soccer season. Both boys are getting really into it and I have to say that they have both improved quite a bit over the past several weeks. More than anything I like to see them working hard, seeing results from their work and having lots of fun. Now if Davis could just remember that he is playing soccer and not football! Jed has been able to help out with the coaching of Owen's team, which has been fun for him too! Owen has become an extremely determined goalie...we'll see if anything comes of that or if it is a phase.

My Mom and Dad were able to be at the first game of the season. We treasure any time we can have Nana, Papa, or Grandma Nila at things for the kids...wish it could happen more often.
My Dad took all of these great photos. Thanks Dad! Come back soon!

Naughty Hair

I think I have mentioned before that Gracie twirls her hair while she drinks from a sippy cup. All of the other kids took pacifiers really well, but Gracie only really took hers for about 6 weeks and then gave it up. After that, the hair twirl became her way of soothing herself. We thought it was really cute until she started to put this TERRIBLE knots in her hair every time she had something to drink. I thought that maybe by cutting her hair short I would be putting an end to the knot/dread lock creating....not the case. She does look cute however will her short little "bob" haircut. Jed finally suggested not giving her a sippy cup when it is time for her to sleep and WA-LA, the problem is solved....mostly. :)