Spring Wrap Up!

Gosh!  I'm sorry!  I've been so busy.  I was almost caught up and then I just got so busy.  That is life I suppose.  I'm gonna keep trying though!  I haven't given up yet!

Here are a few more pics from last spring:

Playdates with Stephanie and Sigmund:
The Butterfly Pavillion was really fun.  There are so many things to look at, touch, climb on, and interact with.  I only chose a few photos to share:

Sigmund petting a cockroach

 Mary petting a starfish

Jonathan walking around in the butterfly room

A pretty butterfly

Jonathan signing "bug" (his version of it at least)

Mary climbing a bridge

Swimming

Mother's Day

Mary graduates from Busy Bee Preschool with Miss Leigh

I already posted one photo of Mary graduating from Miss Leigh's preschool.  But here are a few more:

Look at all these cuties (7 in her class total)

Mary is excited.

 Mary and Miss Leigh

Daddy comes to graduation

Mom and Dad love their Mary!  We are really proud of her.

Mary
There isn't much to say about Mary at this time.  She seems to be a happy kid.  She is very verbose and imaginative.  My biggest battle with her since 3 has been fixing her hair everyday.  She isn't perfect.  She can throw fits and she can be selfish.  But she is smart and outgoing and happy and easy to motivate.   Isn't she a beauty too?

Here is a picture from Easter weekend that Jeff took on his phone.  They went to the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt together.

Jonathan
I wanted to include a few of Jonathan that show the cutie/handful he was at this time:
Here, Jonathan is telling some other little boy to go away in nursery.  Last winter/spring he got into pulling hair a bit.  But with time outs, we were able to get rid of that behavior fairly quickly.  Thankfully.

Jonathan also REALLY was into water at this time.  Here he is dumping a teapot of water onto the bathroom floor.  He is soaked from head to toe as you can see.

Here he is climbing into my in-law's dog's crate.

 Here he has some interesting face marking

And here he is just such a cutie!  I tell you I ADORE this little boy even though he is very active and a handful!

Fish Tank
Also last spring, Jeff completed his fish tank that he had been working on for awhile - actually it is more of a plant tank (like a garden) with fish.  I really like this new feature in our office.  The kids love it, it is interesting for guests to look at, and I love the beauty and interest of it too!  Of course, it is something that Jeff really enjoys as well and a nice thing for him to look at when he works at home.

That's all for now!

Easter

This was a nice Easter this year.  I always enjoy it, but this year was more fun because we decided to have everyone over to our house for dinner.  I finally felt that our house was ready for company and we have beautiful blossoming trees around that time, so it felt like the right time.

Of course there were a few little things that still needed to happen.  It's nice how having an event can help motivate you to get them done.  We needed some new lawn cushions, so I got some and also some bar stools.

Here are some pictures...

Traditionally, I like to try to coordinate Easter outfits.  It's fun!  We had a light blue and light green theme going this year.  You can't really tell from this picture I guess.  But here it is just the same.

Here is a bigger pic.  You can see the green color better.

Easter baskets of course!

For years, I've been wanted to do an Easter tree center piece.  I had all the ornaments this year, I just needed a tree.  One day, I spontaneously decided to go cut some branches off one of my flowering trees.  It turned out stunning (pic doesn't do it justice).  But it did - I realized later - really kick my allergies into gear.

Here are a few other little touches....

These Russell Stover eggs in multiple flavors were just so much fun, I had to get them.  Luckily I thought to give them as party favors, because after all, no one needs THAT much chocolate!

My Father-in-law surprised me with these beautiful flowers.  It was very nice and thoughtful of him.

Peep eggs from a play date with Stephanie and Sigmund....

And Stephanie made this too!  Super cute aye?

 Okay.... Here is the spread of food!  I only wished I had set it up in a different place so that the dirty dishes wouldn't show.  Oh well!

The Egg Hunt!

My family enjoying the patio.

That was about it.  Perfect Easter.  Of course we also went to church that morning too.

Winter Wrap Up

The rest of winter was fairly uneventful.  But I thought I might include a few things here that happened....

Shingles
One day in February, I found myself picking behind my ear.  I thought I had a pimple or something.  Anyway, it got worse and I couldn't quite figure what it was.  It wasn't too concerning, but I was more just curious.  So I made an appointment with my dermatologist even though it seemed to start improving.  I'm glad I did because what she told me was something I hadn't even considered.  Shingles!  I was quite surprised.  She explained that shingles outbreaks often happen near places with a lot of nerve endings.  And my outbreak place (right behind the ear under the jaw) was a common one.  As I thought about it, it did seem to come with the sort of stabbing pain that you hear about - though mine was never very painful - I knew how that felt.  I was glad it wasn't more painful.  It may have contributed to a really horrible stiff neck I got the following week however that really took me several weeks to recover from.  I've had more and more of those darn stiff necks this year.  It's become a bit of a problem (also had one at Girl's camp and one a few weeks ago).  Anyway, back to the shingles...  I was really glad that my kids had been vaccinated and that it wasn't more serious.  It can be caused by stress and sickness - both of which I had dealt with recently.  I need to get the vaccine this year which will hopefully prevent it in the future.

Jeff Turns 40!
Also in February, Jeff turned 40!  I guess we are getting older.  : )  He didn't want a big "to-do".  So Mary and I made 40 mini cupcakes for him, gave him a handmade card that said 40 reasons why I loved him, and ordered him a pizza - his favorite.   Well, something else too, but I can't really go into details.  ; )

Playdates With Stephanie and Sigmund
We had several fun outings with Stephanie and Sigmund - We won't get to see them as often this next school year because our kids are getting busier.  : (

 Jump Street and lunch afterwards in the mall

Lollipop Park again

Jonathan signs "UP" as the horse goes up.  

Peter-Pan
Mary and I enjoyed going to see Peter Pan at the Pace Center in Parker.  I didn't know anything about the PACE center before I moved here.  Seems like another reason we were meant to come to Parker.  : )  They have a fun play area outside the center with musical instruments for the kids.  Mary loved it!

 That was about all.  But here are a few extra pictures.  As I look at them, it is amazing to me how much Jonathan has grown since the beginning of this year.  He looks so little in these pics.  He's a pretty big boy now!  (And a handful! : ))

Gets tiring running around and climbing all the time....

Needing a haircut...

Funny Boy

Giving kisses

Valentine's Outfit

Valentine's Bath

Valentine's Baby (Aria)

Valentine's Momma

Mary discovered something great about getting sick.... Breakfast in Bed.  She actually told me today that she is looking forward to getting sick again so she can do this.  : )

Mary earned a new Elsa doll (came with matching outfit) for doing reading lessons with me.  We were going strong for awhile and then they got a little bit hard for her.  Now Daddy plays the Skittle game (reading) with her often.  She can read a little now.

Went to see my niece Emma in her musical, Horton Hears A Who.  It was super cute.

And I'm including this because it has been a major focus of mine this past year...getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  Only a few pounds left!

That's about it!  Thanks for stopping by!