April Fun

When the rain let up a bit, we made it out to the park.

Ascha loves hanging out with Daddy...

She also loves to swing.

Aric loves to ride his bike and has had lots of time to practice during the last school year. He's really getting good.

Taylor enjoys the sunshine and the free time.

We all take a little hike and love soaking up some early spring sunshine.

Ascha is getting so big, and she seems to want to measure her progress by lying on the bottom step. In April, she could touch both ends.

She's such a girly-girl. Here, she's preparing to take her bear for a ride. First, though, she must get the straps just right. A perfectionistic princess...a girl after her mommy's heart. :-)

Easter with Grammy and Grumpy

My parents came into town for Easter. We met them at Multnomah Falls on the drive over, and Ascha still asks where "Bumpy" is whenever we drive over the I-205 bridge.

(who's the one ruining this otherwise lovely shot? :-)

There. The zoomed out version is much more presentable for things like blogs. :-)

.................................

We took the kids to an Easter egg hunt the day before Easter. The boys loved it, but Ascha was not convinced. This is her "I don't think so" face.

She refused to touch any eggs because they were lying in wet grass, so I snatched up this egg and wiped it off sneakily (if you've ever picked up an egg in the "3 and younger section, you know it feels a bit criminal) before shoving it into her hand and insisting she put it in her bag so it didn't get wet again.

The boys were pleased with their haul.

Of course, time around Grumpy wouldn't be complete without lots of horseplay.

Since we were all dressed up for Easter, I insisted that we try for a decent family photo. It didn't turn out too bad.

Grammy/Mimi and Grumpy/Bumpy with their grands

Before and After

Let me just announce publicly yet again that my husband is an amazing, talented, incredible man! I am awed when I look at what he's done with our home.

(For orientation, look at the stairs going up and down over the next few pictures)

Dining Room and Stairways Before:

Formal Living Room During:

Dining Room After:

Formal Living Room After:

Reverse View of Formal Living Room After:

Kitchen Before:

Kitchen After:

Master Bath Before:

Master Bath After:

Ahhhhh! Looking at these pictures makes me very thankful...and relieved. :-) Now we're working on transforming the outside. In a few years, I'll try to remember to post pics of that transformation. :-)

January, February, and March Update

Q.: What do you do when mealtimes frequently end like this?

...or how about when Mommy finds you with an empty lipstick tube, looking like this?

A.: You spend a lot of time like this.

All Clean! (That hair clip stayed in for about 15 seconds, but I managed to record it.)

During the winter months, we spent a lot of time indoors. However, we managed to go on several fun outings despite the rain.

We went bowling.

Aric's technique is called "the throwdown."

Can you tell from this picture that our firstborn is a perfectionist? Hmmm...which one of us does he take after?

Ascha loved bowling, too. Specifically, she loved the "hair dryer" effect.

We went to the Children's Museum with great friends.

When we had breaks from the rain and cold, we went outside every chance we got. We have really enjoyed biking with all the kids. On this adventure, we rode trails by Moulton Falls. Apparently the back of Mom's bike is as good a spot as any to take a nap, but it was a little scary for me to ride the bumpy trail with Ascha slumped forward, her head cradled in my hand behind my back. At the end of the day, she was none the worse for wear.

We also finally started letterboxing together, which is something I've had on my to-do list for a few years. We go out and find hidden stamps to put in our "passports" and leave our mark with our family stamp in the log book that's hidden with each box. It's great fun!

Taylor also played basketball with a bunch of his friends during the winter months. Surprisingly, his never-make-a-scene dad was one of the most vocal parents. I enjoyed watching both my guys during the season. :-)

Taylor earned some bragging rights when one of his (very loose) bottom teeth got knocked out during a game.

Taylor's class went on a field trip to a local restaurant, the post office, the fire station, a bank, and city hall when he finished up his classroom unit on communities. Aric and I accompanied him.

In addition to sitting in the driver's seat of a fire engine, both boys were selected for rolls on the mock city council. They grappled with the pros and cons of fireworks within city limits. It was a great hands-on exercise in government.

Taylor's Teeth

In mid-November, Taylor lost his first top tooth.

We really thought the second would fall out before Christmas, and kept encouraging him to pull it so he could sing "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth." However, it hung on a few days too many. He did lose it while we were still in Montana, though, and somehow the Tooth Fairy made her way there. Maybe that was the dead giveaway that convinced him once and for all that Mom is behind the title. :-)

I loved that toothless grin! It didn't last long. As of this (extremely belated) post, his top teeth are both nearly grown in. All the vestiges of little-boyhood are fading away too quickly for this mama.

Christmas in Montana

For the first time ever, our kids got to spend an idyllic Christmas in Montana with all their family and extended family. It was a fantastic time for all of us and I think it will be the Christmas that lives on in their memories forever.

On December 23, we spent the day celebrating an early Christmas Eve with Jeremy's family. It was a wonderful time. I didn't take any pictures. :-( Hopefully I can fill out this part of the post later with help from Grandma Janet.

On Christmas Eve, we got all dressed up.

Then we headed to Great-Grandma Jen's to celebrate with my huge extended family, just like we did every year as I was growing up.

This year was particularly special because all of my Grandma's great-grandchildren were there.

Four Generations: my Grandma Jen, my dad, me, and my kids

After dinner, all 40+ people gathered in Grandma's living room for a reading of the Christmas story and a time of caroling. It was such a special treat for me to be surrounded by so many family members and share in the familiar traditions of my childhood.

One of those traditions is the annual "appearance" by Santa and his reindeer on my Grandma's roof. No one actually SEES him, but as kids I'm pretty sure we all thought we just MIGHT have caught a glimpse of his sleigh heading out of sight. Every year, while we are singing "Jingle Bells," we hear stamping reindeer feet on the roof and a great ringing of sleigh bells. All the children race outside to see if anyone can spy Santa this time around. Each one finds a present waiting on the ground and brings it inside to kick off the opening of gifts.

Imagine the shock my kids felt, since they really don't believe in Santa. :-)

Does anybody see him?

Wow! A real, live, present from Santa Claus!

After the mass-opening of Santa presents, the kids all participate in a gift-exchange with their cousins and we all enjoy chatting and hanging out together.

As we left for the night, my brother's dog, Crockett, hopped in the van and plopped right down between the boys. They were thrilled.

We spent Christmas morning with both sets of grandparents at my folks' house. Taylor read the Christmas story.

Ascha had her first real experience with a stocking. She was pretty pleased to get an orange in the bottom of the stocking Grandma Janet and Grandpa Lyn brought her.

The hard part of our trip was when we had to send Jeremy back to Washington on Christmas Day. Although his trip was abbreviated, he had a wonderful time with family and friends, and even managed to fit some skiing in at Lost Trail.

On Christmas evening, we had my mom's side of the family over for another grand celebration. We played games and ate and chatted, and, of course, had more presents for these spoiled kids.

Taylor and Aric were the designated "present passer-outers" and spent much of the evening standing in the middle of the present pile.

Before we left for home, Taylor got a chance to try out the new whitefishing pole my parents had given him. My dad took both boys down to the river (Isn't it beautiful? I love MT!) where I grew up swimming and playing and fishing (or playing with the fish other people had caught...I've never had much patience when it comes to waiting for a bite).

Aric caught a fish fairly early-on, and I was hopeful Taylor wouldn't be far behind.

A few HOURS later, my dad told Taylor that he had 3 more casts until we absolutely had to go home, because it was nearing dusk and we were all cold and tired. On that third cast, Taylor caught his fish!

We had an amazing time enjoying our families and celebrating Jesus's birthday this year. We are so thankful we had the opportunity to share some of our favorite childhood memories with our children while they are still young enough to really enjoy them.