Pure Awesome-ness!!!

I think I'm really feeling the effects of the whole Spring Forward deal...I'm so tired! We have been busy busy busy this week, and it really was pure awesomeness! Warning- this is bound to be a lengthy one!

Somebody had her very first venture on skis this week...I don't think I've ever heard her giggle and happy-squeal so much before! We headed out right after preschool- isn't she the cutest little snowbunny!?!?!

This picture is for my Mom- she made those adorable little socks for Isabelle!

Even falling down didn't suppress those giggles!

The reflections in the sunglasses look neat!

I've spent almost every afternoon this week working on costumes for Jonah's school play- it's a lot of hard work but I really enjoy doing it. Everyone is very excited about this play and the kids are doing a fabulous job!

Thursday night we attended the art show at our local mall and got to see Jonah's and Caleb's pictures. I am always amazed at how incredibly talented young artists are!

 silly boys!

Caleb's sunflower is second down in the last column- so pretty!

Jonah's bamboo is the rainbow one to his right- I love it!

 I feel so self-conscious in pictures...always focused on the things I'm most insecure about. I know we all do that.

I love the speical bond between these two.

I missed Ethan's last two soccer games, so I was happy to see this one. He is a great player- God has really blessed him with agility and SPEED! Both Bill and I have noticed a huge improvement in his overall mood since he joined up last month. It's not just the "running it off" but the comaraderie of a team, too.

Isabelle had just spied big brother on the field- one week she brought her sparkly pom-poms to cheer him on!  :)

Bill and I got to take a long walk with Ryder Saturday morning while we let the kiddos stay home playing wii and watching a movie. It was really nice to get out and talk without being interrupted by anyone, and enjoy the fresh air. We discovered years ago that we feel God's presence most when we're out enjoying His creation.

Jonah is the lucky kid in our household this week. He had 3 different celebrations for his birthday! Last weekend we had family over, on his actual birthday (Monday) we surprised everyone after dinner and whisked them off to...Friendly's for birthday sundaes. I chuckled when Jonah had no qualms about sporting the Birthday Sombrero into the restaurant, yet got completely embarrassed when they came around to sing to him. Go figure!  :)

Who doesn't love a Carvel ice cream cake?

Isabelle and Baby Naomi

I didn't get any pictures of Jonah with family- things just get so busy so fast! I'm going to start a new tradition of snapping a picture of the birthday person with each guest as they arrive.

I don't remember if I mentioned selling a couple of things in my etsy shop, which thankfully I did, and some more people have "favorited" either my shop or an item. That feels so good! I chose the name on the fly years ago when I bought some items, but since I've begun selling, I'd like a different name...and I cannot come up with a single one!

Oh, how could I forget yesterday's party...Jonah invited two friends to come swimming with us and we all had a fantastic time! I was a little nervous about active boys and deep water, but they did great! It makes such a difference when you know you can trust the boys to listen to you. Plus, they all have such wonderful manners so it's a pleasure to spend time with them.

This was not the pool we'd planned on going to (we were headed to the one with a big slide), but the parking lots was insanely crowded when we got there so we opted for the less popular one. It turned out even better that way! I was stressing out a little over how to handle the eating part of the party since there are no tables in the big pool, and there would be consderable running around. That's stressful! 

Pizza by the pool, anyone? No problem!

They wouldn't have been able to do this at the other pool either because there's no direct access outside...definitely one of the highlights of the day!

See Jonah's new water-proof cast? Thanks goodness for that invention!

He wanted a bright color but opted for glow-in-the-dark...but it doesn't really glow. Bummer.

This is what happens when you peg snowballs at your mother. You get locked out. Tee hee hee.

This was especially handy for keeping the cake nice and cool, too.

I planned to make cupcakes, but I couldn't pass up this near-expired gorgeous cake for 4 bucks! I popped it in the freezer for the week and it tasted great!

I'm not sure what she's doing here, but in all likelihood, she's probably bossing one of the boys around. The kicker? They usually do what she says!  HaHa

Birthday boy all smiles...

About 10 minutes before we were ready to leave our house, Jonah's wire on his braces popped off and was poking him in the cheek! We called the dentist (no one ever called back...glad we didn't wait around all afternoon!) and then took matters in our own hands, trying to push the wire back through,  or out, or something- I was getting confused! We ended up snipping it short and putting wax on the end. It hasn't bothered him since, phew!

This completely cracks me up- Transformers 2 was playing so everyone was glued to the flat screen. Maybe you just had to be there- it was like this loud, crazy swarm of boys invading the middle-aged men, only the men didn't budge. I must say I made several attempts at hinting to the fact that I wanted a turn in the hot tub as I counted down the boys' time in there, only without those two guys flanking the only entrance- that just felt too weird! Well, they stayed put, and I didn't have the nerve to go in by myself so I made Ethan go back in with me! The poor kid was nearly cooked through by that point!

I mean, look at how close they are in that picture! I had to parade my little old self right in between them and they didn't even move over or to the sides or anything! Awk-ward!

Finally they left. Ethan was relieved because he could get back out then, too. I closed my eyes for all of 3 seconds when Isabelle walked up to me.

"Mumma, I have to go potty."

Of course!  =)