May

Baseball season and Isaac's getting in the swing of things.

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY, ALEX!

For Alex's Birthday we did a secret agent spy party.

First mission: deploy the bombs.

They're so loud.

Doing the secret agent cheer.

This activity was my favorite.

I created a laser maze with red yarn. The boys loved it.

One final bomb to deploy pinata style.

Happy birthday my special guy!

We celebrated memorial day and Liam's birthday with a pool party at the Smith's new house.

Check out that gorgeous pool complete with diving platform and water slide through the rocks.

Alex and his preschool buddy, Kaleb, after their final baseball game.

Cheap entertainment: chalk art and my $3 four wheeler find for Isaac.

Alex graduates from the TK program at playwise preschool.

Miss Jeanine and Miss Shannon

Spontaneous campfire in the woods. No need to head to the mountains. Just out to the back yard. Invite all the neighbors over and it's a perfect party.

April

I call this redneck hot tubbing. This is one of the kids favorite activities. Usually the water is cold but on cooler days in the spring they'll fill the bucket with warm water from the sink in the garage and... voila, red neck hot tub.

You wouldn't be a true red neck if you didn't have on shoes, socks and 2 gallons of water reserved in your diaper during your water recreation.

My hotshots. Isaac complete with binky and sunglasses.

Alex showing off his muscles.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Isaac!

Isaac love his truck and cars from Grandma Marilyn.

Make a wish.

Eating birthday cake with his buddies - all his siblings and the McGoverns. 

March

Wacky dress day for Dr. Seuss week at Alex's school.

Isaac loves to help mom make her green juice for breakfast. He'll even drink some himself. We add spinach, celery, carrots, cucumber, apple and lime. 

 It was one of those March days where the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold; when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade - Great Expectations. And it was one of those March days that demanded a picnic in the backyard. Dad was out of town and mom was in the mood to celebrate the nice weather.

Isaac's new favorite trick, "honking" noses.

Isaac loves his buddy, Maycie. She always know how to make him smile.

I love the daffodil. To me, it is one of the bravest of flowers. It pokes its sunny little head out when other flowers are still tucked safely in their bed of dirt sleeping off the cold. They come out to cheer us of our winter blues and announce that warmer weather is on its way.

                                      

I random moment caught Alex singing at the top of his lungs and playing his tupperware drum with pencils.

Baseball season is here.

Alex's T-ball team.

His best buddy, Noah.

Happy Easter!

We hosted Easter dinner to the Worths and Abbotts.

Thanks to pintrest I got crafty with peeps in white chocolate shells and carrot utensil bundles for the kids.

And egg shell flower bouquets for the adults.

We ended up having a roaring egg hunt with 16 kids. Excited with the prospect of retrieving the golden egg with $5 in it they were all so fast I didn't get a chance to capture a good picture of the hunt.

Counting the spoils after the hunt.

A Surprise Trip

On Valentine's Day we gave our kid's the ultimate valentine. We picked them up from school early on our way to Universal Studios in Florida. It was a bit of surprise for mom and dad too, considering we had just decided to make the trip the day before. Our dear friends, the Worths, we going down and invited us to share their condo with them. It was a hard offer to pass up so, we didn't. 

Needless to say, the kids were thrilled. Particularly Addilyn who had been begging to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for over a year. 

Addilyn with Kate and Emma in Hogmeade. 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was amazing. Everything was so realistic from selecting wands at Ollivander's wand shop to hearing Moaning Myrtle in the bathroom.

When entering Hogwarts castle all the pictures talk, of course. Here's the fat lady giving her little ditty.

One evening, Addilyn and I left the younger kids at the condo and went to explore Hogmeade on our own. Addilyn is quite the thrill seeker and couldn't get enough of the roller coasters. I, on the other hand, don't have much a stomach for that so after three rather rambunctious rides I lost a bit of my dinner and had to be done with the rides. Despite the incident, Addilyn and I had a great time together and it was fun to hear her say, "I never knew moms could be so fun."

I felt much better after having a cold butter beer and turkey leg at The Three Broomsticks. Mmmm! See all that frothy goodness on my upper lip.

Another Trip for Mom

January 29th - February 2nd

Gastonia Stake Temple Trip

I was so blessed to be able to attend the Washington DC temple with 56 other women from my stake for 3 days. We left early Thursday morning on a chartered bus and arrived in DC in time to attend a session then have dinner at PF Changs. The next day I attended two back to back sessions then did a tour of the National Mall. We returned in time to do some initiatories. The next morning, another two back to back sessions. It was such a spiritual high and one that I really needed.

My roomies: Andrea Cobb, Julie Beaumont, Me, Sandy Abbott

DC Temple in morning light.

A visit to the National Mall.

Sandy and I in front of the Lincoln Memorial

It was neat to be in a spiritual place (personally) then ponder on our fore fathers and the divine inspiration that guided them in laying the foundation for our great nation.

One of my favorite parts of DC was visiting the Smithsonian and seeing the original "Star Spangled Banner" flag - the one that inspired our national anthem.