Day at the Park

Yesterday was gorgeous...sunny and warm. It was in the 60's. Tyler decided to take two days off of work to spend time with the family. We had a great time. One thing that I absolutely love about our area are all are the fantastic parks. They are all beautiful and fun in their own ways. Yesterday we decided to go to, what is in my opinion, the prettiest park in town. We packed a picnic and headed out.

We have a favorite spot where we like to picnic. It is up on top of a hill. We like it because from our special spot we can see the street, the big sledding hill, the other side of the park, the playground area and the duck pond...all from one location. Every time we picnic we always go there...to "our" spot.

Ailey has two favorite foods right now...peanut butter sandwiches and cheerios. That is all she ever wants to eat. This picture of her eating her sandwich makes me laugh!

After lunch Tyler, Kameron, and Reilly were playing frisbee. Both Reilly and Kameron are excellent frisbee players. Tyler was teaching them how to play frisbee golf. He is so excited to finally have someone to play with. When Ty and I were dating he always use to keep a frisbee in his car and whenever we went to the park he would grab it and want to play. Let's just say I am not good at frisbee. Here is how that would usually go:

Ty: Let's play frisbee

Kris: Let's not

Ty: please

Kris: Your blocking my sun

Ty: please....(sad puppy dog eyes)

Kris: fine

Ty: Great! Here throw it to me

Kris : (throws the frisbee)

Ty: Um...try to aim it at me

Kris: I am

Ty: Try again

Kris: (throws the frisbee)

Ty: Sweetie...I am over here. Try again.

Kris: (throws the frisbee)

Ty: Can you see me???

Kris: You're rude

Ty: Ok...I will throw the frisbee to you

Kris: fine

Ty: (throws the frisbee)

Kris: Ouch!! That hurts.

Ty: How does catching a frisbee hurt?

Kris: It does AND it broke my nail.

Ty: Ok...let's go sit down.

(Sad I know...but true. Some day I will have to post about my experience with tennis...also a LOVE of Tyler's. But oddly enough...in my own defense...I am great at baseball and football...I can throw a perfect spiral every time. This impressed MANY suitors...including Tyler!)

After that we played many rounds of Hide and Seek. This park has lots of rocks, trees, and bushes...great for hiding. I was teaching the kids how to play "springdell style". The kids used to just hide and get found. There was no "home", no tagging, no being safe, no "olly olly oxenfree". Reilly asked me at one point..."What are you? Some kind of hide and seek expert?" To which I replied "Ah...YES...actually I am!" Don't mess with a Springdell girl and her night games!! Tyler also taught them the basics of "Kick the Can". It was fun.

Then we were off to the duck pond...or should I say seagull pond. The seagulls far out numbered the ducks and were dive bombing us!

After that we walked around the park. This park has several gardens you can go to...and we saw them all. I love this stone bridge.

Here are the kids in the Rose garden. Still pretty bare but beautiful all the same. In the summer it smells heavenly...so does the Lilac garden. We decided to take a few pictures.

Then we were off to the Japanese Garden. It is GORGEOUS in there and the kids love to look at the giant Koi.

Then we were off to my most FAVORITE garden of all. Duncan Garden. The man that it was named after used to have a cabin out on the lake and my grandma knew him. This garden is absolutely AMAZING in the summer...tons of flowers and a gorgeous fountain. It was time for more pictures.

Here are the kids playing at the fountain. Kameron was being a Jedi Warrior, Reilly was doing ballet and Ailey was doing her version of ballet too!

More pictures...Ailey was playing in her "house" she said...and a picture of Ty. Cute!!

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Sad

Wednesday night was a very sad night for our street. Our neighbor's wife passed away unexpectedly. It was horrible. They live right across the street from us and are our age. When we first moved to our house they were the first people we met. Tyler recognized Justin (the husband). Justin was a friend of one of Tyler's friends. Tyler and Justin even played on the same basketball team for Hoopfest (a HUGE 3 on 3 basketball tournament here). Justin came home from work and found her. He called the paramedics but she was gone. Her mom and dad arrived as the paramedics were informing Justin that she was gone. That was truly heart wrenching!! Her mom was out in the yard just screaming and screaming. I hope I NEVER hear that sound again in my life. Justin nearly passed out. It was truly awful.

We talked to Justin for awhile yesterday. They don't know what happened. He talked to her earlier that day and she was getting ready to go to work (she works later in the day). She seemed fine. He stopped by her work to give her a ride home and they said that she never came in. He then headed home and found her. As of yesterday they still didn't know what was the cause of death. Justin is such a nice guy and we are keeping him and his family in our prayers. They had been married for several years but didn't have any children.

So sad!! Hug your family today and tell them that you love them.

Hanging Out!


I love hanging out with my kids. I get tired of all the schedules. I love just bumming around and not having to be any place special at any particular time. Unfortunately the weather has turned cold and it hasn't been very nice outside. It's rainy and it has actually snowed twice at our house...once yesterday and once today. Just little flakes...but snow all the same. I had the kids make lists of things that they thought would be fun to do over Spring Break. They are so darn easy to please...make cookies, make play dough, go for a walk, go to the library, go to a movie etc. Yesterday we did go to a movie. There was a special showing of Charlotte's Web at a local theater. There were 50 million kids but it was fun and our kids had a great time. Check one thing off their lists!






They also wanted to go to the library. I was happy to oblige. Off we went after our movie and came home with stacks and stacks of books. Ailey even got the animated video of "Once Upon a Potty" which is apparently quite fascinating to her...and Reilly and Kameron. It has been watched quite a few times already. Check two things off the list!


Ailey has been so funny lately. She always wants to play the piano. She plays nicely...no pounding...but whenever she plays she wants me to DANCE!! "Dance Mommy!! Dance!!" she will yell. I keep telling her that she should sing as she "plays"..."NO!! I want you to dance!!" So because I love my little tyrant I must spin and twirl for her amusement! There's a visual for you. :)


Yesterday when we got home from the library Ailey wanted Kameron to unhook her out of her car seat...not mommy!! After she was unhooked she looked at Kameron adoringly...batted her eyelashes and said "Oh Kam...you are SO Dwong !! (her word for strong) So so dwong!!" Kameron replied very seriously..."Thanks Ailey...yes I am!" I had to bit my lip to keep from laughing.


Here she is driving her "car"...apparently Britney Spears style...with her baby "Sister Holland" on her lap!!






Today I decided to do something I haven't done in a VERY LONG TIME...I went to the Temple. I usually go with the YW for baptisms etc. but I haven't done a session in an extremely long time. I am one of those people that while I lived in Utah and was surrounded by temples never went once. Horrible! I went today with Jayni bright and early...our session started at 6am!! It was one of the best things I have ever done. There weren't very many people there and by the time I was done...I was able to go and sit and reflect in the room ALL BY MYSELF...for close to 15 minutes. Wow! I had such a special and spiritual experience. I can't wait to go again.

My wonderful visiting teachers, Carolyn and Jewell, sent me a gift card in the mail!! Thanks so much! I can't wait to go and get a hot chocolate and muffin. That was a fun surprise!! I also got to meet Tyler for lunch today which was another fun surprise.

Spring Break...Dave Ramsey would be proud


It is officially Spring Break and where is our family? HOME! That's right at home. We always go somewhere for Spring break but this year we are saving the cash and staying home. Despite our initial gloomy attitudes we have been having fun! We had a great weekend with some fairly good weather. If you're wondering if we spent time this weekend with my family you are RIGHT! I can't help it they are seriously fun.





Stacey drove up to the BIG CITY this weekend for a little shopping. We had a great time. We hit lots of stores and even got fitted for bras. That was quite an experience. I have apparently been buying the wrong bra size for years...my last bra fitting was at ZCMI and I was in 6th grade...I am happy to report that I am a now a 32C...unlike my previous fitting of 32 AA. I did get a little nervous as the lady was measuring me and saying..."It looks like your a 32..." and I was praying she wasn't going to say "A"!! We also had a Headband Palooza!! Apparently headbands are quite "in" right now. No one can say that Stac and I aren't hip...I bought two and Stacey decided to ease herself into the headband world with one but we tried on what felt like THOUSANDS! :) Do note my cute black and white striped headband in the above photo.


Stacey found lots of cute things and I tried to control my jealousy as my sad Dave Ramsey budget only had cash for two EXTREMELY CUTE headbands and dinner at the Olive Garden. The above photo is us actually posing...the one below is us after about 2 seconds of trying to be serious! Yeah it didn't last!! (FYI...I wish one of my dear sisters would've told me my garments were hanging out!)





I felt quite sorry for our poor waiter who had to keep attempting to take our picture. We could not stop laughing!! The picture of me is about one second before a serious snort!! Look at serene Stacey...if you only knew that she was telling us (through clenched...yet smiling teeth) to "SHUT-UP!!" and to try to be normal!! The night was full of too much food, lots of cackling, and I believe we all had to unbutton the top button on our jeans!! Good thing Kelley just joined my gym...we are going to have to work that feast off!


Oh-we also hit Kelley's favorite shopping haunt...the hospital gift shop!! She works at the hospital and buys pretty much all her gifts for others there. They do have some cute things!!


Tyler and I have also started a new weekend tradition. We get up very early and go for a LONG walk with Mrs. Beasley our homely little pug. Sadly we spent ALOT of time talking about how next weekend we need to walk somewhere for breakfast! Here is a picture of "The Bease".




General Conference was great! I loved the Saturday morning talk on not being negative and whiny...oops...I think that talk was for me. I have also eaten enough Rhodes Orange Sweet Rolls to turn into one. Those are SERIOUSLY good.


After being cooped up inside for Conference we decided to go for a bike ride. Tyler tuned up all the bikes and we were off. My butt is bruised...what are bike seats made of?...they are TORTURE devices. The kids had fun. Kameron hasn't been that big on learning to ride a bike. He got a bike for Christmas and has been avoiding it like the plague! We finally got him on it...training wheels and all...and he has done really well.

Now according to my family this picture is not authentic...I took off the bike helmet...my vanity just wouldn't allow it...the bike shot is bad enough. Thanks Reilly for taking the picture.

I forgot to take of shot of Reilly on her mt. bike and one of Tyler on his bike dragging the bike trailer with Kameron and Ailey in it and all of them leaving me in the dust!! Literally! Tyler likes to set a "brisk" pace. I am more of a "lookey-loo" bike rider.

We've also had a movie marathon, eaten WAY to much parmesan popcorn, made orange julius (I have cracked the recipe), practiced lots of T-ball, jumped on the trampoline, played with remote control cars and even had our first mosquito bite of the season. Who needs to go out of town!!

Jordi...we missed you on our shopping excursion. Glad things are going so well in Kansas City. It was great chatting with you! Kelley...I'll see you on Wednesday...be there or be flabby!! ;) It is Dancing with the Stars tonight!! Oh...and a lot of our cackling at our Olive Garden dinner was about The Amazing Race...and Mirna and Schmirna. I am officially declaring my support for them. They are TOO funny!! When they were in their swimming suits a few weeks past and had that poor man in the taxi and Charla was SITTING on his lap...I almost peed my pants...it was THAT funny!

Book Review #4

I finished this book last month. It was our book club selection for March. I just kept forgetting to do my "review". This book according to my "movie" style reviewing gets a rating of...OK.


The first time I heard about the author, Anne Lamott, was on a talk show with Ashley Judd (my favorite Judd). She was raving about the Anne Lamott book she was reading...I can't remember which book she was talking about...maybe this one. I had been wanting to read one of her books for a while to see what Ashley Judd so ga-ga about. When Karri picked this book I was excited to get reading. Anne Lamott is a former drug addict, alcoholic, liberal, dread-lock wearing, single mother...this is about how she found her faith. It started off as a very intriguing read. It was interesting to me to hear about her childhood and adolescence in the San Francisco area in the 1970's. Her parents were very liberal and were "yellow dog democrats"...I can relate...my mother is one. She, too, would rather vote for an old yellow dog than for a republican. Her "Utah Democrat" (is that an oxymoron) hat holds a place of prominence in her house even though she no longer lives in Utah. :)



I didn't grow up LDS. I was active in the LDS church until right after I was baptized and then didn't come back to the church until my senior year of high school. I was raised by liberal parents who felt that we should be free thinkers and decide for ourselves when we got older what religion we wanted to be...if we wanted to be religious at all. (My family classifies themselves as "spiritual but not religious") In high school I attended all kinds of churches with my friends...Catholic, Protestant, Baptist and even a Jewish synagogue. I was active in Young Life and K-Life (kind of like mutual...there were activities and bible studies with a youth pastor). I remember feeling like I was searching for something...just like Anne Lamott in her book. Thankfully I didn't take the road that adolescent Anne does by becoming a drug addict and alcoholic...I "rebelled" and became a conservative Mormon!! :)



During the dark days of Anne Lamott I kind of stopped being interested in her story. There were quite a few times when she truly annoyed me. But then I would read a chapter that had me laughing out loud...the spandex wearing mom from school and the chapter on her saddle bags (which she named "the aunties" are not to be missed)!! By the end of the book I enjoyed her again. It was a great reminder that there are all "types" of Christians...even dread-lock wearing liberals...we don't have to all fit the same mold to share the same basic beliefs and it also reminded me that we all come to God in our own way and at our own time...and that he loves us and is there for us even if we are drug addicts, alcoholics, or a teenager in Kansas City just trying to figure out where she belongs.

Parent Teacher Conferences...and Self-Defense Night

Parent Teacher Conferences are over...yehaw! I am glad to say that Kameron's went really well. I really like his teacher, Mrs. Smith, and there was no stiffling of snickering from Tyler and I. Kameron is a sweetheart, pleaser, hardworker and friend to all...according to his teacher...and I agree. Thank goodness we have at least one. Reilly...on the other hand...while smart, hardworking, and friend to all...is also extremely strong-willed and opinionated. When her teacher showed us some math that Reilly had trouble with Reilly pointed out to her that the reason she had trouble with it was because her teacher hadn't TAUGHT that particular subject matter to the class. Her teacher had no response. You see why we dread parent teacher conferences???

I am impressed with Kameron's Kindergarten experience. His teacher is warm and loving. Kameron is thriving!! He is already reading at a mid-first grade level...in Kindergarten!! (His teacher told us at Kindergarten Orientation that by the end of the year 90% of the kids would be reading at a first grade level...I didn't really believe her). She raises the bar for her kids and they are all rising to the challenge. Reilly wasn't truly reading until first grade. I am thrilled. It is so fun to see him realize that he can read now!! He surprises himself. He is so enthusiastic about school and that is worth a million dollars to me...not to mention the pain, agony and stress of getting the kids opted in to this school. It was SO worth it!

Wednesday night it was Self-Defense Night for our YW Activity. We had the greatest guy come. He teaches at the Lotus Self-Defense downtown. He is AWESOME! This is the second time he has come and the girls LOVE him. I have learned so much!! Since he had taught us the basics the last time this time he was teaching us more advanced things...fun things like...roundhouse kicks and other exciting techniques. We got to practice with a partner...unfortunately Jayni had her baby...Valynn and I had an evil gleam in our eyes at the thought of "taking her down"!! :) I was partnered with Nicole F. (which proved to be dangerous) while she practiced her "punching" technique she actually punched me in the chin!! (The last time Amanda E. flipped me!!) Our girls are dangerous!! I decided to partner with Valynn. Don't mess with her either ...she is a SCRAPPER!! I had some serious bruises from her!! All things point to the fact that I am a serious WEAKLING...SHOCKER...I know!!

Valynn and I were talking to John about attending a Women's Self-Defense Class. He would like to put one together this summer. Valynn and I are really excited to take the class...all you locals should take it too. He combines self-defense, martial arts, and some kick-boxing. It is a great workout (I was exhausted after my "beating") and very empowering (when I wasn't being beaten up by teenagers)!! Plus...I've always wanted to be the kind of girl who could "kick some butt"!! Or at least take Tyler down...apparently I still need some further instruction... but by then end of the night I feltl quite confident that I could fend off a strong 14-year-old! Yay me!

Dancing With The Stars !!


I have a guilty pleasure...it is watching Dancing with the Stars. I love it!! I only watched the last show of the first season but by season 2 I was hooked. This season is proving to be a good one too. My favorite "star" is Joey Fatone. I have never been a NSYNC fan...not my style of music...but I really like Joey. He's the one I am rooting for this season. Now that Rob and Amber are no longer on The Amazing Race I have moved on to a different show!! ;) Are Mirna and Shmirna still hanging on? Those two make me laugh.

We had Reilly's Parent Teacher Conference this morning at 8 am. It went well but her teacher is SERIOUSLY BIZARRE! The stories Reilly comes home from school with are crazy enough but to see them live and in person is just too much. There were several times I couldn't even look at Tyler or I would've died laughing. She was previously the librarian and is now teaching Reilly's class. I am glad she left the library so that Reilly could get into this school but she is seriously a nut job. She told us that she will not be going back to the library next year but will likely move up to teach 5th grade. She said that she would love to have all her fourth graders move up with her to 5th grade. Reilly looked like she was going to vomit on the spot! Great...now I have to write a letter to the principal and try to avoid 2 teachers!! Reilly wants Mr. Osborne next year. I guess I will have to put my "creative" writing skills to good use.

What we've been up to...

The weekend got off to an early start. Ailey and I met my mom, Jayme, Kaiden and Kelley for lunch at our favorite lunch/coffee spot...The Rockwood Bakery. This is one of my favorite places to go. Tyler hates it. He claims he always leaves there hungry... you can't get filled up on pastries, salads and hot chocolate. I beg to differ. The kids love going and so do I. When Kelley first moved here and was job hunting we spent many a lovely afternoon sipping hot drinks and eating tasty things. Kelley and I arranged to meet up a bit early and we had a great time chatting and catching up on things.

Mom, Kristin, Kaiden, Ailey, Kelley and Jayme...hanging out at the Rockwood.

It was fun to visit with everyone. Ailey felt like a "big girl" and Reilly was quite perturbed that we had to go while she was in school (Kameron could've cared less). But they had fun because Dad picked them up from school which was a special treat.

Saturday was a busy day. We got up early and decided to head to the park...the whole family...including Mrs. Beasely. It was gray and drizzly but we figured we live in the Pacific Northwest and we might never leave the house in spring if we wait for dry weather. The kids and Tyler had fun running around and playing. I decided to go for a "run"...I use that term VERY loosely!! I am not a runner...I pretty much hate it...but I am trying to kick things up a notch in my exercise routine. Tyler is suddenly a the work-out king and I am trying to keep up with him. I usually go to the gym several times a week but running on a treadmill is vastly different from running outside.

After that Tyler and I went on a little "date". I had YW stuff every night this weekend so we decided to run errands together and go out for lunch...how romantic huh? I was excited about going to our new favorite lunch spot...The Staggering Ox. Lucy recommended this place a while ago and it is now a serious addiction.

They have the BEST sandwiches in this tubular type bread...called a "club foot" and then you pick a sauce that they pour over the sandwich. We have gone many times and are still having fun trying different sandwiches. On Saturday we got the "Slam the Taliban" (or something like that) and the sauce we picked was called "Camel Spit" (a cucumber dill sauce). Our favorite sauce is called the "Blue Horsie" which is a bleu cheese and horseradish combo. It is so good. As we were scarfing down our sandwich (yes, we split one...I didn't want that hideous run to be for nothing!!) Tyler said "I hope you have SERIOUSLY thanked Lucy for telling us about this place!!" So here it goes...THANK YOU LUCY!!

After that we felt we could go on to phase II of our "date" the dreaded Wal-Mart!! It was hideous and horrible but a bit better that it was just me and Tyler...no kids. We then ran a few more errands and headed home. I had to be at the YW General Broadcast/Dinner that evening.

Sunday we went to church and then I had Standards Night at the Stake Center for the youth. It was really good. Our stake president is the most amazing guy. We are so lucky to have him. I came home with a great new catch phrase for Reilly..."Modest is hottest!!"

It was my sister-in-law's birthday on the 14th and I forgot to post a little something about her...Sorry Lori!! I always wanted a big sister growing up and she more than fits the bill. She is loving, funny, supportive, and caring...her biggest flaw is that she lives all the way in Arizona!! We miss you and love you!! Happy Belated Birthday!!

Lori and Tyler...too cute!!

Exciting news...Tyler's step-brother, Forrest, just got engaged! Congratulations!! The bad news is he is getting married in Las Vegas right when we were going to Utah for our family vacation. I guess we are going to have to cancel those plans.

Worries and stress...worries and stress...

Ok...things have been a little stressful around here this week. I am glad I have found the blogging world. I can now "stress read" rather than "stress eat". Last week I had one of the young women confide in me about a very serious situation and request my help. It has forced me to dust off my psychology and social work skills...skills that are much like CPR...you hate to use it on someone you know. So this past week has been full of worries, stress, phone calls, and prayers. How I miss the Activity Day Girls (my previous calling)!!

Tyler also had his check up with his doctor this week. Things look good. We are still waiting for some final lab work. Sometimes I almost forget Tyler has diabetes (he has since he was eight) ...ok...I guess I never forget it but it isn't always at the forefront of my mind. Except when it is time for Tyler to have another check up. Then the worry begins. Thankfully Tyler takes really good care of himself and his appointment went well. His A1C was the lowest I think it has ever been which is really good news.

Then to top the week off I have had to call poison control twice for Ailey!! CPS is going to be knocking on my door. My kids have all gone through this stage. Suddenly between 2 1/2 and 3 years old they decide to eat something odd. Ailey is in the throws of potty training. It is her life... it is her passion. She will do anything for an M&M and a sticker. She also loves to wash her hands...all the while singing "Happy Birthday to Me" for maximum cleansing. Anyway for whatever reason...maybe the soap just smelled too delicious...I have no idea...she decided to eat some. I'm sure it tasted awful and I highly doubt she ate more than a very small mouthful but the label said to call poison control IMMEDIATELY!! The soap she ate was antibacterial and contained some alcohol...which was the danger. She would've had to eat a LARGE quantity to have any serious issues. But I was informed by the very knowledgeable operator that this is quite a problem in prisons. The prisoners will chug hand soap and hand gel to try to get drunk. Who knew???

Then the other day Ailey decided to eat some Desitin...thankfully not dangerously toxic...she would've had to eat a large quantity for it to be dangerous. I think she took a small nibble...I mean it's really no longer in use so why not eat it?!?! :o I am now on a first name basis with poison control!! My hair is turning gray by the minute! Now I can add THIS to my worries...why is my kid so WEIRD??

Leprechauns, Bonners, the lake and polar bears...what a weekend!!

Celebrating St. Patrick's day started on Friday and ended Sunday night. Kameron came home from school all excited because they had gotten to eat green eggs and ham at school. He wanted to have "Green Eggs" for dinner too. We did. FYI: that was the first time I have ever made "green eggs" and they look truly revolting but taste great. We don't do the "green" milk because as a kid my mom did this and somehow the milk turned sour and it traumatized us all and led to me, Stac, and Kelley NEVER drinking milk again! Next year I will have to try Andrea's green banana milkshakes.

I mentioned to the kids that Dane was going to try to catch a leprechaun that night...great idea from Kristi Brooke's blog...I thought our kids (especially Reilly) wouldn't go for it. I was WRONG!! Reilly immediately set out to make a leprechaun trap all the while giving me very subtle and sometimes not-so subtle winks of the eye. Kameron was already planning what wishes he wanted the leprechaun to grant him when he was caught: a big screen TV and a monster truck. Ailey was just excited because Reilly and Kameron were excited. They decided that shiny pennies would catch the leprechaun's eye and tempt him into the trap. All piggy banks were opened and only the shiniest pennies were chosen. The kids decided that leprechauns were extremely tiny...so a VERY small box was chosen and decorated. The way the trap would function was pure Reilly...no physics or science was used...but hey we're trapping leprechauns for heaven sakes!! So I said not a word. Here is her design:

The idea was for the leprechaun to climb the Lego stairs, step onto the unstable platform, greedily grab for the coins and fall pulling the trap down on top of him. Well...alas...that wily leprechaun took the coins, tore up the house, put up shamrocks, and left a microscopic note saying "HA HA! You can't catch me!"

Tyler and I also dyed the water in the toilet green (again another great Kristi idea). Kameron got up, checked the trap, freaked out about the house, and then had to go the the bathroom REALLY bad! He started yelling from the bathroom "That leprechaun peed in the toilet and didn't even flush!! There is DISGUSTING leprechaun pee in here!!" Tyler and I were in hysterics over the "leprechaun pee"!!

We then headed up to my mom's house. We had a fantastic time! I love going up to her house. She lives in such a beautiful place. My mom and I went shopping at our favorite store in her town...it also now has a little cafe...we had a great lunch and some mother daughter bonding time. I explained to Reilly that even grown-up women like to have their "Mother/Daughter Days". My mom got the kids some awesome kites and they had fun flying them. We ate some great food and relaxed. My mom also just purchased a new vehicle and we had a great time driving it!! :)

Views from my mom's deck...you can see Canada from her front porch...it is gorgeous!!

Ailey was helping Grandma fill up the bird feeders with bird seed. The kids had such a great time running wild!! The next morning we went out for breakfast at our favorite weird little pancake place... J.J's Cookshack...the buttermilk pancakes can bring tears to your eyes they are so DELICIOUS! Then we were off to the lake.

It was a GLORIOUS day at the lake because the ice is breaking up...and moving out...there was some open water around the dock! Yay! Spring is here.

See the water with the ICE just beyond the dock...perfect for SWIMMING??? If you are INSANE!!


Tyler and Kirk...before the plunge...I'd like to point out the extremely attractive swim suit Kirk is wearing...it was my grandpa's!!. Tyler keeps a swimsuit at the lake all year for just these kinds of things. I had the "pleasure" of videotaping and documenting these two fools!!



Kirk and Tyler after...Do note the ice behind them...they were feeling quite smug that they were the first in the lake this year! Excuse me...Tyler was "officially" the first in the lake this year. For our extended family being the "first in the lake" is a high honor. But it used to be "in by Memorial Day", then in was "in by Mother's Day". These two are grinning like fools to be "in by St. Patrick's Day"...they have set a family record. There is also great honor in being the "last out". That prize is also held by Kirk, Tyler, my Uncle Dennis, and my cousins Jaymon and Kellen who took a swim 6 years ago at Thanksgiving!



Kameron and Reilly...having fun...yet staying dry! Reilly would've probably jumped in too if I would have let her!

Dane and Ailey watching from inside the house!! Dane didn't catch a leprechaun either!! :(

We celebrated Stacey, Kelley, and Tania's (my cousin) birthdays. We had a big family dinner. We had a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal of corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, lots of other good things and our favorite family drink: Green Punch. The kids were bouncing off the walls by the end of the night on a major sugar high!!

It was a gorgeous night out at the lake. After all the partying and feasting...the kids headed outside to listen to their echos on "Echo Beach" and to skip rocks!

We had a great weekend!!