Spring Break

We started Spring Vacation with a family game night and potluck dinner at the church. I'm not a huge fan of large gatherings...nothing at all to do with the activity...everything to do with my anti-social tendencies! But this turned out to be so much fun.



And leave it to Aunt Jane to introduce a new game that we will soon own in our home! Quite possibly the funnest game I've ever...EVER...played! Wackee-6



We spent a couple of days at Grandma Janet and Grandpa Gary's house and had a lot of fun there. Grandma thought she was pretty funny making this doll for Meredi with a picture of Meredi ironed on for it's face!



Of course the kids LOVED the part where they got to go swimming!







In case anyone thinks Joseph doesn't have Grandma Janet around his little finger...here he talked her in to one more trip in to the pool after it was time to leave.



Later in the week, Meredi received a birthday card from Grandma Lee.



Mom & Meredi had some fun with the camera!

Scout Family of the Year

No, really! I'm not just saying that! Our district held it's annual Award Banquet this week and we were presented with the "Scout Family of the Year" award!!



We really were surprised! We've been working in scouting for over 8 years now - time sure flies when you're having fun!

Math Team

Last night was our second phase of Math Team '09. Megan attended her first competition and had a great time. Her little team didn't place, but they sure had fun. They all seem to be anxious to return next year now that they have the first-year-jitters out of the way!!



Part of the 4th Grade Team...(a few were straggling out in the cafeteria).

Delilah!

I didn't think to take a "before" picture...but here's the "after" shot!



I don't know why, but for the last week Malorie has been asking me to cut her hair. I don't know if a friend at school got her hair cut or if Malorie was just tired of a 45 pound pony tail every day - but Wednesday night we finally did it!



And of course, Jaynie needed to have her's cut too! She has had bangs, but we have never, ever cut the length of her hair since she was born. We honestly cut more off than we left on!

Happy Birthday Meredi

It's very possible that this past year was the fast passing year in history! Holy smokes! Where did it go? It honestly seems like yesterday less than a month ago we were meeting Meredith for the first time...



...and now look at her!! She must be a real kiddo now - she qualified for our family traditions and had a birthday complete with a card and gift from her great-grandmother Thomas, and phone calls and gift ($$ toward a swing-set this Spring Summer...shhhhh!) from Grandma Janet and Grandpa Gary. It's funny how the older children keep track of these things - lucky for us (or for the grandparents), nobody was disappointed! lol



She had a fun little party with the family last night.



Joseph, Melanie & Malorie were far more interested in unwrapping gifts than she was!




CAKE!



I followed a recipe from my good friend Michele's blog and it turned out great!



I had a lot of help from Melanie and Joseph making it...and on the off chance that it might actually turn out, we took a photo of the prep because it was pretty fun and very cool!

Seuss Olympics VIII

This weekend we held our annual Seuss Olympics in honor of Dr. Seuss. It's normally held on his birthday weekend, but you know...stuff happens and this was our first opportunity! It was late - which is why so many of us are in pj's and we had company, Ben and Aaren...who were good enough sports to play along!

The events included:

Hop-on-Pop (Each person is given 4 feet - they have to step on 2 and place two out ahead of them...step out to the two ahead, reach back for the ones they just stepped from...put those ahead and continue until they get to the end, which is a picture of "Pop" (Brandon) and they HOP on his picture!)







Yertle the Turtle (It helps to know the story of Yertle...and my husband's love for marshmallows to understand this event. Everyone is given mini marshmallows and toothpicks. The object is to build a "tower" of mini mallows (turtles) and then place Yertle (a full sized mallow) on the top. Who ever builds the tower measuring the highest wins.







(Judging is taken very seriously!)


Ring The Gak (This one is probably the most obvious of all the games!)





Tweedle-Beetle-Battle (In this one, the player is given a wooden spoon (the paddle) and they flip mini marshmallows at the muffin tin. If the mallow goes in to a hole, you win whatever is in it (this year it was toffee).







The Cheer Leaders (Other than eat the mallows, Gracie really didn't get in to Seuss Olympics much - so she and I practiced her back flips.)

Busted!

Friday morning we went through the ritual of going to the back door and helping the kids get off to the bus. It takes a few minutes to find 10 shoes, 10 mittens, backpacks, books, etc. When I finally said my last good-bye, I came back in the kitchen to find this:



FrootLoops and Spongebob...doesn't get much better than that:



There is no doubt in anyone's mind who rules the roost around here:

My first Eagle Court of Honor

No, you haven't missed Jason's Eagle Court of Honor...he's still getting his project lined up (but stay tuned, he's close). Last weekend we held my very first Eagle Court of Honor as the Troop Committee Chairman!! When we first moved here almost 2 years ago, a family had 4 brothers celebrate their Eagle rank together, but all of the work/planning was already done, I sat in the audience and enjoyed the show! This time, I got to be a big part of the planning and it was GREAT!!! (We counted over 100 guests!)

Last minute details before the Court of Honor started (You only forget and NOT check the microphone beforehand ONCE!):




I got to sit up front with all of the important people:



Surprised and honored to be the recipient of an Eagle Mentor Pin:



Here they are! My first ever Eagle Scouts! Aaren, Ryan & Jared!



Here I am with Aaren's mom and my dear friend, Sharon. She suffered stroke(s) in Jan/Feb and when I asked her what I could do for her and her family the only thing she asked of me was to make sure Aaren finished his Eagle...after that, she went on to have another stroke and a fall breaking her shoulder. This evening was one that will not soon be forgotten!

Cupcake = Eggs, Flour, Milk...

You know it's going to be a good day when it starts off with Gerber Graduate Cheese Puffs and move directly on to a chocolate cupcake! I don't know if it's because I've been a mom for almost 15 years now - have I relaxed or have I just thrown in the towel? Whichever it is, there was just no way to not give this baby a cupcake when she was watching the older kids eat one.

She looked pretty surprised when I handed it to her...



But once she got her hands on it, there was no going back!



Could you take a cupcake away from a girlie this cute??



No, I promise you couldn't!!