Happy Easter and Week In Review

It’s Sunday night and we’re in denial at my house.  Another 10 degrees is all we needed to believe it was summer break.  Alas, it isn’t, and we have to go back to school tomorrow.  This week gave us a taste of what’s to come, and we’re hungry for it now.

We had a beautiful balance of home and out, time together and time apart, and structured verses unstructured.  We did a lot of cooking.  We made every version of the birds nest treat you can imagine.  Chocolate, peanut butter, Rice Krispie, jelly bean eggs, and malted milk eggs.  Have I mentioned I sometimes get carried away with a theme?

 

 

While we were baking, Mark had a different kind of cooking going on.  He got a new grill and it’s like his new toy.  Works for me, the more he uses it the less I need to use the oven. 

The time, excitement, conversation, and attention this roast got this week had me thinking of it like the other woman…competition.

Sof went to school a couple days, so one day I took the big girls to get our nails done.  Culley girls like to do girly things:)

  

  

Sof got her time too.  She’s loving playing games and being outside.  She’s a whiz on her scooter and always wants a “big” push on the swings.

    

A highlight of the week was being reunited with the cousins.  They took a trip out East to see the other side of the family.  We went about 2 weeks without seeing them, and my kids were melting without them.  They were home about 2 hours and we were at their doorstep:)

  

   

We also had the opportunity to be reunited with Joni this weekend and meet her boyfriend Dave.  Anne and Rick had a house full of people, which only happens a few times a year.  It’s wonderful to see Anne surrounded by family, because she has to wait a lot longer then 2 weeks to have that happen.  Her cup runneth over that night:)

 

 

 

It just so happened that it was also a very special day for this little bug…

Our Natty Bug turned one!  Where does the time go?  She will have her big B-day party next weekend, but we couldn’t ignore the real day! 

    

Even though we were having so much fun, we had to call it a night.  The Easter Bunny was due to visit, and we wanted to make sure everyone was tucked in bed fast asleep! 

Sof has been talking about the Easter Bunny for weeks.  I really don’t know if she remembers last year, but by now she knows a holiday when she sees it.  She was up early and snuggled in my bed for an hour waiting patiently for her sisters to get up.  When it was finally time, she loved every minute of the baskets and egg hunt. 

           

      

After the festivities it was time to get ready for church.   

There’s been a lot of sisters loving sisters this week.   

After church it was back home to dye eggs and have more hang out time with the cousins:)  We more then made up for our 2 weeks apart!

     

After dinner we had another birthday to celebrate!  Mark’s dad had his b-day on Friday and we couldn’t not celebrate it today!  I’m certain we are going to go into cake withdrawl when we run out of birthdays to celebrate.

 

Happy Birthday CF!

It’s now way to late for me to be up on a work night!  Goes with my theme of denial.  Tomorrow will be a reality slap in the face!  Back to the hustle and bustle of our real life, and to the beginning of a countdown to summer.

Why Wait

It’s day one of spring break and we used every second of it.  We headed to the zoo this afternoon because it was the perfect day to be outside.  Sof has never been to the zoo, and girlfriend loved it.   

I loved having the day with just my girls.  Usually we meet someone, or they want to bring a friend, and I get that.  I always think the more the merrier, but once in awhile it’s nice. 

 

One of my favorite things that Sof does lately is her mama voice.  She uses it on her stuffed animals, Scratches, Baby Natalie, and generally anything that is smaller than her.  It’s a high pitched voice that says things like, “Hi baby.  You good baby.  Ahhh, baby.”.  It’s so incredibly sweet and she used it all day with the animals.  I love it because she had to learn that.  She’s learned it by being nurtured and being a part of a family for the past year. 

We left the zoo and headed to Dairy Queen for some ice cream because it felt like summer.  It made me so anxious for the days of no school, late nights, and outdoor outings during the day.

After a trip to the grocery store, dinner, cleanup, a walk by Mark and I, and a bath for Sof (phew!), we decided to let off a Chinese Lantern.  We all went out in the street with our neighbors, and Mark lit it.

  

I said to Mark before we went out, “Don’t you send a wish up with it?”. When we got out there our neighbor said, “Shouldn’t we say a few words?”.  It’s silly, but it feels that way!  So, we decided we would make a little wish for Ty to come home soon to his family.  It was the perfect night because it was so clear.  It went forever! 

  

It was a perfect day and a perfect night.  So glad we didn’t wait to enjoy our time off.  We can’t keep this pace all week, but we are off to an incredible start!

A Cottage Weekend

This weekend we headed to our cottage with our friends Barb and Jeff.  The big girls each brought a friend so we loaded in big blue(what we call one of Mark’s big work vans).  Two hours in the van with 5 girls made for a really happy arrival!  Mark did some work outside like putting the dock and boat in, but mostly we just hung out and had a good time!  The girls spent all of Saturday doing what they usually do, make overs and choreographing dances.  This weekend the big girls did the choreography and the little girls were the stars!

       

My Mom, Dad, and Grandma came out to hang with the kids while us grown ups went out. 

  

 

 

 

Sof learned she can now touch the pedals of her bike at the cottage too, and Grandma Jackie learned about the iTouch.

Can you imagine what Grandma thinks about all this technology?  Her lifetime has gone from horse and buggy to texting.  It’s mind boggling really.  How cool is it that she can remember every piece of innovation in between?

 

 

When we got home from our grown up dinner out we all sat around the table and played “The Game of Things”.  So fun!  Good for all ages:)

Today the kids spent the day at “Jungle Joe’s” with my Mom.  Barb and I happily dropped them off and headed to the mall:)

   

   

We ended the weekend with birthday cake and ice cream for Barb’s birthday tomorrow.  Sof was thrilled, because girlfriend just loves to celebrate anything.  She was more than happy to help blow out candles!

 

We had to use just regular old candles because I couldn’t find my 2 and 9 candles:)

Ahhhh, spring break.  I couldn’t be happier about not going to work tomorrow!  Please pray my partner gets her travel call soon!!  It really needs to come by Tuesday! 

Writer’s Breakfast

This week Lexi got invited to the Writer’s Breakfast at school.  Kids get nominated by their teachers to go and share a piece of writing they have recently finished.  Lexi has been writing legends in her class, so she shared her story, “How the Rainbow Got It’s Name”.  We were so proud of her, but more importantly she was proud of herself! 

Lexi with her teacher(who she loves!).

Principal Day holding the microphone so Lexi can read.

Great job Lexi Lu!  So proud of you!