10 on 2sday

1.  This is my 3rd week in a row with a 10 on 2sday post!!  I think that's a recent record... Ya know why?  I started writing it in the to-do list section of my calendar...  I REALLY love checking things off my calendar...  even if it keeps me up past 10pm... (which is when I turn into a pumpkin...)

2.  We've had a pretty busy past week...

3.  I had a really fun family session...

4.  Evan graduated from preschool...

5.  I had the bizarre realization that we all matched what I dressed Evan in for his graduation 2 years in a row (2011 = blue, 2010 = red)  (Dan thinks I'm crazy for remembering this stuff... especially since I forget so much else...)

6.  We took a weekend trip to my parents' house in SW Missouri to celebrate my Grandpa & Grandma's 50th Anniversary...

7.  My parents actually live in Joplin, but thankfully just enough outside they weren't in the path of the tornado that hit last week.  We ended up driving through the town and witnessed some of the most unreal sights a person could see...  pictures don't do it justice...  but I will say, it is nothing short of a miracle that more people weren't hurt. 

8.  We said goodbye to Penny... she was my parents dog and part of our family for 12+ years...

9.  My Grandma E also came for a visit to my parents place, so we got another 4 generation photo... and the best part was my girls were NOT screaming while taking the picture!!!

10.  That's it.  It's 10pm and I'm turning into a pumpkin as I type...

10 on 2sday

A little more catch up...

1.  The last several weeks Brynn has decided she likes her bed enough to sleep in it now!  No more shoving a body out of the way when I open the door to check on the girls at night!

2.  Avery and Brynn love practicing their ABC's and 123's.  Brynn counted from 1 - 13, occasionally skipping 4 & 5, skipping 14 & 15 and hitting a random 16.  Avery's V's sound more like B's...

3.  I haven't taken the girls to get their hair cut yet.  As you can see, their hair can be a little unruly at times... but I'm ok with that for now...

4.  Avery has been such a little helper and a sweetheart.  She saw 2 skittles on the table, and asked for a special treat.  When I gave her one, she walked around, grabbed the other one and said "this one is for Brynnie".  And she actually gave it to her!!  Every time we have a snack, or do just about anything, she always wants to be the one that gives whatever it is to Brynn!

5.  Evan started t-ball a couple weeks ago, and had his first game tonight.  We had some nasty weather moving in, but we were able to get each team through a round of batting and field play.  I tell ya, getting a bunch of 5 year olds to focus on what they have no idea how to do is interesting... glad it's not me that has to do it!  Notice in the last picture where the bat is as Evan is running to home plate...

6.  We had our first smores grill out of the season last weekend...

7.  We've even been able to get the water play going...

8.  I've been working on clearing this out:

9.  To look like this:

(I have 1/2 a garden planted, but no picture of it yet...)  EXCITING!!  :)

10.  And this little man is getting ready to graduate from preschool...  watch out world!!  

 

someone...

...likes to play in dirt...

10 on 2sday

1.  I've been trying to figure out why I've had such a hard time getting these 10 on 2sday posts up.  Part of it is just being busy, but the biggest part of it is I'm just not motivated to write anything.  I don't feel quippy and I don't feel like anything I write makes sense... but here I go... a bit of catch-up to do...

2.  We left on Easter Sunday for our trip to Hawaii, and the Wednesday before, I got sick with strep.  At that point I was feeling so overwhelmed by my to-do list, that I couldn't imagine losing an entire day to laying on the couch praying the kids wouldn't get into too much trouble while I attempted to rest.  Instead I hauled all 3 kids with me to the doctors office so I could get on some antibiotics, only to be sent over to the hospital to get blood work done to test for mono.  I almost lost it when the doctor mentioned mono.  Thankfully it was just strep.  Just.

3.  The Friday night before we left (my family was all in town for Evan's birthday), Brynn started looking awful.  So Saturday morning I took her to the doctor and she got treated for strep too. 

4.  Everyone but me and Brynn got to go to our city-wide Easter egg hunt that Saturday morning...

5.  ...then we loaded up for chuck-e-cheese for Evan's birthday party, and I *think* he had a good time...

Oh, who am I kidding... he had a blast!

6.  Saturday night after the birthday festivities... we packed, said our goodbyes, and set our alarms for 3:16am... I woke up at 2:47am.

7.  My parents graciously offered to watch the kids at our house the week we were gone, and my Mom sent me pictures of the kids from her phone every day.  (one reason I LOVE technology)

8.  We've been playing catch up ever since.  Lots of spring cleaning, attempting to get our house ready to sell, enjoying the beautiful weather while we can before it gets too hot, hoping to get our fence fixed after the 2nd time it fell over because of wind...

9.  ...started cleaning out the raised garden beds, getting ready for Evan to graduate from preschool, trying to find the line of keeping the kids active this summer and not over-scheduling them with too many activities...

10.   ...and lastly, my Mom would be happy to know that we bit the bullet and got a new dishwasher this past weekend.  After spending a week at our house, one of her first comments after we got home (aside from glad to see ya, I need a nap) was how horrible our dishwasher was... yeah, it was that bad.  Dan emailed me one day with the subject line "there is soap in my salsa".  It was time.

Hawaii :: the Sunrise

Not to be outdone by the sunsets, the sunrise can be pretty darn amazing... especially when combined with some of the fiercest clouds I've ever seen, and they weren't even storm clouds (which was really good since this was the morning we went deep sea fishing)

Hawaii :: the Sunsets

I have never seen sunsets like the ones in Hawaii... and I have no way to describe the beauty in words...

Hawaii :: Part One of Many

Our trip has come and gone, and as expected I have a large number of pictures to sort through, but I wanted to share at least one before I let time get away from me without sharing any... this is the one my eye keeps drawing to every time I've looked through my pictures.  It's hard to pick a favorite, but this just might be as close as it gets...

A Teacher's Prayer

Did you know today is (was, I guess it is kind of late) National Teacher Day?

Add that to a nearly ending school year, and I've got a great gift idea for a special teacher in your life!

Pocket Prayers - A Teacher's Prayer



Check out this post from my cousin Kelsey's blog.  She writes a great story about how Pocket Prayers got started (by my Aunt) and the bonus is she is giving one away on her blog too!!  (But hurry over, it ends on Wednesday)

Hope you all are having a wonderful start to your week!