Mother's Day 2011

I was excited when my brother invited us to his place for Mother's Day. Although my mom, sister and I still ended up doing the cooking - it was nice not to have to worry about cleaning my house for guests! Kudos to Nate for thinking of inviting us!!!

It was the first time that my kids had been to his apartment, and the first time they met his cat (Dischord). They loved him, and were on the hunt for him the entire visit! (I am NOT a cat person, so they have had very little interaction with cats - and it showed!)
I love this picture of Quin and Nate - and she just loves him!!! She was beyond excited when she found out we were going to his place for Mother's Day!

We brought along a few of our riding toys to help keep the kids entertained. Easton showed Lincoln how to use the battery-powered 4 wheeler (it goes very slowly).

Lincoln learned quickly! Feet up, doing stunts ;)

We had a lot of fun trying out our new ginourmous bubble maker!

I couldn't believe that all four kids stayed still long enough for me to get them in the same picture - yay!

And... they even waited for Lincoln to join in the picture fun!

Ellery and Gianna also had a great time digging in the 'flower' beds. I was excited to see them get their hands dirty! Maybe they will be big helpers in the garden this summer (I can always wish, right?!?!)

A big thank you to Nate for having us over! It was so nice to be able to spend the day with my amazing mom and sister (along with the rest of our family)!

We Are Expecting...

?
?
?...
Another niece or nephew :)

I am so excited that my sister Abbey has finally decided to announce that she is expecting again - yahoo! She is due the end of September.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have been in a 'baby wanting' stage since the triplet's 2nd birthday. So, this is perfect! I don't have to carry the baby (I did NOT like being pregnant!) and I don't have to train another baby to sleep (I do LOVE my sleep).
I get to love on both that new baby, as well as spoil big brother Lincoln!!!
Unfortunately, I don't think Linc has a clue what is coming ;) This may be closer to how he feels about the baby once he/she enters his world!

A big congratulations goes to Abbey, Kirk and Lincoln! We can't wait to meet him/her!

Easter 2011

First - I had to share this adorable, and versatile, craft that Quin made at three-school! It is a layer of tissue paper on the bottom, different cut outs/glitter/streamer pieces... and then a layer of contact paper on top. Simple, but cute! She loved making it, and asked if we could make another one at home. I also like the opaqueness of the tissue paper - great on the fridge or in a window.
We had a wonderful Easter, spending quality time together as a family - always my favorite time!!!
Before breakfast we had our annual egg hunt. Competitive Quin was out for all of the eggs. She loved searching for them (loved it a little TOO much).

Ellery gave her a run for her money though! (atta girl!)

Ellery even found her own egg :)

All three of the babes kept clinking the eggs together, as if they were mini symbols... We had more than a few eggs with cracks by the end of the hunt.

To no ones surprise, the egg hunt didn't hold Easton's attention past the first few finds. He cared more about the baskets!

And, the shredded paper confetti in the baskets!

Gianna also found a few eggs before she discovered the books in the baskets. She was totally enthralled with the books, she forgot what the others were doing.

Later we made our way over to my parents house. I felt as though I took a ton of pictures, but only a few turned out well. The day had so much action and fun that no body wanted to look at the camera.

Easton spent a good portion, after eating, with his bib flipped around. SUPER EASTON!

Gianna and Ellery rocking together.

When we came home I tried {unsuccessfully} to snag a few bunny ear/flower headband pictures.

Quin

Ellery

Easton ('What?!?! You want these on my head?!?!? NOOOOO')

And poor Gianna was my biggest bust of the evening - check out those tears. Every time the ears would get near her, she would rip them from my hands and throw them across the floor. Hopefully she isn't traumatized by bunny ears forever :(

We will give it a go next year!

I hope you all had a wonderful, and blessed, Easter!

March of Dimes Update

We had a wonderful time last weekend walking to support The March of Dimes!
A big thank you to everyone who donated! We were able to raise $960!!! The company that Jason works for matches their employee's donations 3:1 (they match three times of the one donation). This definitely helped us, and our cause - what an amazing gift from them. THANK YOU!!!

Gianna and I before the walk :)
I didn't realize that a good portion of the 3 miles was on unpaved roads. It wasn't the most comfy ride for the kids (I will plan different stroller methods next year!), but they were troopers. They enjoyed people watching, but were a little tired of being strapped in at the end of the walk.

Check out the look on Quin's face! What could make one grumpy 4 year old, even more grumpy??? People dressed up as mascots!

Unfortunately, we didn't get any great pictures of the four kids together, but none the less... a great time for a great cause. Thanks again everyone!!!