Can you guess what one of our recent outings was......

Jbird was on the move so had a hard time getting him to sit still. The boys loved feeding/chasing the ducks. Could not get any of them to eat out of our hand though. I have a summer schedule going! Mondays we head into town and I have a list of special town things that one of the boys picks. Tuesdays are our park days. After several conversations with some other moms, it was decided we wanted a park day once a week, so everyone can stay connected during the summer. Tuesdays are those days. Wednesday is our hang low, get things done around the house day. Thursdays are our play date days and fun bike trips around town, and Friday is hopefully going to be heading out to camp or hike. I have a list of play date friends and a tub of 'surprises' I can pull out when needed. Hopefully no more of the 'we don't know what to do' blues. A parent told me yesterday about a local pool that is small, has a slide, not well known and heated. (In our state, that is huge...most outdoor pools are pretty cold - especially for little ones and the indoor pools are cold for the lap swimmers.) Anyway this pool is kept at 85 degrees and they offer summer family passes for $75 a family. SCORE. It is a little bit of a drive, but by far a great deal and they are open 7 days a week from 12-6. But I can add weekly swimming to my boys life! Maybe by summers end Jbird will be totally proficient in the water. He has told me he does not want to take swimming lessons but wants Mom to teach him! We are already 'in town' twice a week, so we can add swimming to our stop. Nothing wears out a child quicker than being in the sun and swimming.

Look what my little boy can do.

He has finally figured out how to pedal a bike. He goes fast...faster than I can jog.  He loves his bike!

Yesterday was the last day of school!  B woke up that morning and cooked breakfast all by himself.  No one was allowed downstairs.  He got out the griddle, made up some pancakes.  Then he cracked the eggs and was in the process of scrambling them when he ran into problems.  He told me the eggs were not cooking because he could not get the oven to 350.  Panic set in.  I store things inside my oven.  Not sure what he was talking about, I tear off down the stairs.  The pancakes looked perfect on the griddle, toast was in the toaster oven and the oven was set to 550.  Fortunately, he alerted me soon enough and I got down there before the few plastic items had melted.  I then took the opportunity to tell him the about the different nobs on the stove.  I think he gets it now the difference between the burners and the oven.

Jbird insisted on helping but B said no.  So we compromised and Jbird made waffles that evening for dinner.  Amazed at how those little hands can perfectly crack eggs!

B ended up getting the coveted perfect attendance sweatshirt.  I think there were about 14 kids.  When you think about staying healthy for 185 days, that is a lot of days!  So thankful for good immune systems.  It is certainly not because we wash our hands before every meal.

One of my favorite sayings of JB's right now is 'otay Mom'.  The other word he says all the time, whenever he sees them, is 'peace' for police.  This past week we had his preschool meeting.  We met with the head of special education, the special ed teacher, physical therapist and two speech therapists.  No big surprises.  He tested normal in all areas except language.  There is some concern about his social interactions among peers.  He chooses more solitary play and I am sure it is because he cannot communicate with his peers.  It was interesting because they did not classify him as developmentally delayed.  At one point the director asked why everyone was requesting the preschool setting instead of continuing with private speech.  They simply explained that they did not label him developmental delayed but if you look at his standard deviations, he is at a minus two, which would qualify him for the program.  They really feel that the social interaction is very, very key, along with therapy, to progress the language.  So, he is officially accepted into the program.  He will be going 4 days a week for 2 1/2 hours.  They are also curious to get to know him more because they observed other peculiar things about him.  Things like when he would put the sheep's head on the sheep's body, he would put it on crooked, consistently, instead of putting it on the right way.  They were not sure if it was some other learning thing going on or just quirky.  I think quirky describes him perfect.  I know that he is so smart that sometimes he manipulates things just because he does not want to give you what you want.  I love that kid...always keeping us on his toes.  He has hit another milestone that I will try to get a picture of soon and post next time......one that I am very excited about!

Until then....

I am not sure how it has happened, but I have a worm lovin' boy.  Jbird gets so excited when he can dig in the yard and find worms.  We have a worm bin going.  Given all the fishing up here, I think there could be some money made in selling worms.  The overhead has to be next to nothing (just buying styrofoam containers), since dirt is free and worms create worms.  I was trying again to convince Jbird that he should try to sell worms and he finally looked at me and told me he would rather sell lemonade.  He was on the lemonade kick because big brother B had mentioned it. We just might have a lemonade stand this summer.  Now that B knows how to count money, could be really good for him.  I can only imagine how long they would sit outside at a table selling something.  But if I can build an entrepreneurial spirit in them young, why not.

I have been reading in the evenings with the boys.  A friend let us borrow some books from a Christian Heroes: Then and Now series.  We are currently reading about Nate Saint, who died in 1956 while trying to reach a savage Indian tribe with the Gospel.  Such amazing books to see the hand of God playing out in the lives of others.  The younger two are not really into them, but B sure can't get enough.  Also opens up great conversations about how God works in our lives and His plan for our lives!

This past Friday B's 2nd grade class had a sleepover in the classroom.  They had a great time.  Two parents helped chaperone.  From what I heard, the best part was a flashlight dance party.  I was at the school today because the B got to celebrate his birthday in the classroom.  His birthday is not until late June, but he had the option of celebrating early.  I took root beer floats up there.  The birthday person gets to sit in a special chair all day long.  Then just before we had root beer float they circled up around him and sang happy birthday and one other song.  I was so tempted to break through the circle and give him a kiss on the cheek - just to watch him blush.  I decided against it...

I love seeing how excited the boys get about them growing up.  We have a spot on a wall upstairs that shows their growth progress.  Periodically one of the boys will walk up to it and have me measure them.  They get so proud to see how tall they have gotten.  J can reach up touch my shoulders without standing on his toes.  B can now reach the temperature dial on the stove.  (Speaking of stove, today we walked into the house and the oven timer was going off.  I had set it to remind me to change the laundry when we got back home.  JB heard the buzzer going off and became very concerned.  He then went to grab a wooden spoon.  I was a little puzzled until I realized he had seen one of his brothers use the handle of a long spoon to turn the timer off.  Like big brother, like little brother!)

Off to curl up in bed with a book!

I am glad I was not the optimist and was hoping for nice camping weather this weekend. It was overcast, rainy, cold and tried to snow several times! So, we moved the camping inside. We started by roasting marshmallows over candles.

Then we set up a tent in the living room. B tried it all by himself.

Of course he needed some help from JB.

It proved too much with the small space, so mom stepped in. Then they kicked back and watched a movie from the tent.

I find it interesting how they all managed to switch places within the 5 minutes the pictures were taken.

I got it wrong last post. B moved from being a Cub Scout Wolf to Bear. This year he will learn how to handle a pocket knife and once he gets his Whittling Card, he can officially carry a pocket knife when he is wearing his uniform. He will also, next summer be able to start participating in overnight regional cub scout camps! JR has picked up some side jobs. One of which was clearing and hauling out stuff from a foreclosure unit. One of the nice things about this is that he scored a lot of barn wood (great from woodworking projects) and tile. We are hoping to use the tile in our upstairs bathrooms, since the pergo/woof floors are starting to buckle. Seems like it does not matter how hard we try to keep water off the floor during showers, it just does not work. Because of this 'loot', our garage was getting full. So he has been working this weekend on rearranging things. Jbird jumped at the opportunity to work along side his dad. He learned how to use the drill and made several airplanes. One for JB and one for me.

Off to Burger King to let the stir crazy kids burn some energy inside where it is warm.

Last night was the Cub Scout graduation. The tradition has become that the Cub Scouts have a cake contest....with the idea that they cook and decorate the cake by themselves. B came up with the idea and pretty much pulled this off by himself.

I was quite impressed with some of the other cakes!

This one obviously was not done by just a 7 year old....it took him and mom 2 days to pull this off!

Here is one last picture of our Bear before he crosses over to Wolf. Starting year 3!!!

OCongrats my precious B!

This past Tuesday was Jbird's preschool graduation. He looked so sharp and I was so glad we did not have a 'fight' over what he wanted to wear. He dressed himself.

Then the next day was the last day of preschool.  They had a fun day but because of the weather, it was moved inside.  They ran an obstacle course that concluded with jumping on the mini tramp.  One of the parents commented on how fast he was....the kid cruises.

Then we quickly moved outside to shoot/blow bubbles and watch a 'volcano' explode!

Looking forward to seeing what great things God has in store for this little guy! He is so excited for the fall and going to school like his big brother B.

Yesterday JB's therapist said she will start introducing some new words.  He has mastered the consonant, vowel, consonant words that begin and end with a closed mouth (mom, bop, etc).  He is responding very well to the cuing technique.

The other day he wanted his animals to have a snack.  So he sat them at the table and I heard him saying 'one, two, one, two, one, two'.  A while ago I was counting with him and after I said four I stopped and he said 'five'.  I love listening to him try to sing along to Old MacDonald Had a Farm.  He is producing the names of his brothers' friends consistently now.

Here is a picture of him with his animals at the table.

Was hoping to try to go camping this holiday weekend, but looks like rain and cool all weekend.  We did not camp at all last year, so really looking forward to getting out.  With the boys getting older, it can only get easier and easier.  I love being at a place to sit back and watch them interact and use their little minds.

Here is a picture of the bountiful basket I picked up last weekend.  It had lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, avocados, potatoes, bananas, apples, mangos, blackberries, pineapple, honeydew and apricots.  Definitely way more food than I could have bought at the store for 15 dollars.  There are in about 15-20 states - check it out on bountifulbaskets.org.  (They are in Texas).  I will probably order every other week or so.  Everything has been really good.  I finally got B to try fresh pineapple (they eat canned) and he loves it.  Ended up giving away some of the tomatoes and the lettuce was somewhat wilted when we got it so it did not last, but most everything else has been eaten.  We even ate the 8 pounds of strawberries that I got as an add on.

B had a soccer game today and he tore it up.  Scored 3 goals!!!  Yes, I know sports are to be fun and it does not matter if they score or not, just fun when they finally get to where they can compete with their classmates.  He took quite a few tumbles and always got back up.  The entire second grade at their school is doing a reading project right now.  For every 15 minutes they read, they score a 'run' in their baseball reading.  They have to score 4 runs by the end of this week and then they participate in a 'field' day the last week of school.  The teacher told the kids that they could either read or the parents could read to/with them.  That was all my precious little guy needed to hear.  Give him an inch and he figures out how he can take a foot.  He is convinced that I can read to him while he plays the Wii.  NOT.  He has to make 3 more bases before Friday!  Otherwise he will learn the hard way about procrastination.  His class is also having a sleep over this Friday in their classroom.  Sounds like a lot of fun - I volunteered to help but some of the other parents that don't get the opportunity to be in the classroom will be spending the night.  At Jbirds Mother's Day program I saw a lady that I recognized from the school.  She came up to me and asked if I was B's mom.  I said yes and she went on about how much she adores him, he is one of her favorites and how he has the best personality...always excited to tell you something.  The kind of interaction that just brought a huge smile to my face!

This week Jbird has his preschool graduation and B has his cub scout graduation - moving on up to the Bear rank.  Half way through Cub Scouts.  Not sure if he will go on into Boy Scouts but we sure do have an active Boy Scouts.  They camp once a month all year long.  Recently they had an outing where they invited the older Boy Scouts.  It snowed that night.  They started a 5 1/2 mile hike at 9pm under the full moon.  Not my idea of fun but I guess no better way to get them to be 'always prepared' unless they get out there.

Several days ago I took JB to a developmental pediatrician.  He still has some weakness on his right side.  She was great and spent about an hour with us.  As with everyone else that observes him, the weakness is definitely there but no one seems to know why.  Probably the most unifying theory is that he in fact did have a small stroke in utero in the left part of the brain.  Apraxia is also about motor planning and the lack of it.  So, whether  it was a stroke, bodily motor planning issues or something else, he has compensated well.  The weakness is not easily detected but very present if you know what to look for.  She saw no major flags and assumes he will outgrow it.  If it does get worse, our next step is a neurologist.

This past week JB started putting 3 words together.  Momma Help Me never sounded so good!  He still plugs away with therapy 3 times a week and seeing his improvement, makes me a huge proponent of early intervention!

We are down to the last 10 days of school.  Getting excited to not have to be out of the house early every morning.  The boys are also getting older and more independent that they don't require as much supervision when we go to parks, etc.  I can sit back a bit and watch!  B is still on track for perfect attendance.  He has worked so hard at staying healthy and so thankful he enjoys school.  I am sure it is more because of the social aspect than the learning aspect, buy hey, he enjoys it!

This weekend I am heading to the northwestern part of the state for a conference with some women from my church.  A quick trip but looking forward to some great music, fun and fellowship.  I think JR might take the boys camping!  I just need to make sure there is some food around to eat!

Off to grab B from school and help a friend pack up her house, who will be moving out of state in the near future!  One of the pinochle gals....:-)

The weather the last couple of days has been gorgeous!  The 'not a cloud in the sky' gorgeous.  With just a little snow on the mountains...beautiful.  Had a very quiet weekend.  Saturday was our 11th anniversary.  Had planned to get out Saturday afternoon/evening - something like hiking or bike ride.  However, our babysitter forgot and made other plans.  Oh well.  The older two boys and I were at a bbq so we were able to stay another 2 hours over there.  Then the highlight on Sunday was watching B tear it up on the soccer field.  That kid focused.  He had a drive I had not seen.  He even had a shot at a goal but missed, but at least it meant he was ahead of the pack and moving quickly down field!

Recently I took the boys to a Farm and Ranch show.  We were looking at the tractors and saw one of the 'jumping displays'.  Where they have small trampoline tires set up and they hook kids up to harnesses.  The boys were begging to do it.  I was not real excited about forking over the money, especially when you have to times it all by 3.  I told them if they were willing to take money out of their allowance to reimburse me for half, they could do it.  They quickly agreed.  Turns out you have to be 30 pounds so JB was just big enough.  The guy running it said they were very slow and they would give me a deal, all three kids for $15.  I said sure.  I gave him a $20, he handed me a $5.  He walked away and then came back to give me a $5.  I told him he already gave me my change and he insisted he had a $10 in his hand and had gone to get me a five.  He insisted, so I relented and let all three jump for $10.  They loved it.  JB was just heavy enough and he was grinning ear to ear.  Not scared in the least.  He probably went close to 8 feet high.  Jbird and B were having a ball, probably getting 15 plus feet.  Of course my camera was in the car.  After they were done they watched some older kids do and have told me next time they will try a flip!

Every time we ride in the car, JB is pointing to all the familiar landmarks.  Just amazes me how he remembers things.  We will pass a friends' house that we have not seen in weeks.  As soon as JB sees it, he is pointing and making noises.  The dentist office, the donut shop, Aaden's house, Joe's house, the doctor office.  Jbird has been going around singing the song 'I am sexy and I know it'.  Could not figure out where that came from!  I was talking with his friend's mother and she said her son sings it in front of Jbird.  Her son learned it from all things, an M&M commercial.  Really....???  Who ever thought to put a sexy twist to a candy commercial.

We have new neighbors.  Always scary until they move in...hoping for good, nice, clean, quiet neighbors.  They are!  JB loved supervising them as they were unloading the truck.  I don't know how many times I told him to shut the door and leave them alone.  No kids but a dog that barks a lot when they are gone.  The boys miss their little friends who moved!

This past week there was a Mother's Day Tea at Jbird's school. They gave us cards, flowers, served us tea and cookies and sang some songs. Here is my favorite song. (Unfortunately he was right in front of the window and by the most animated kid...)

I love this dirty face, especially since it means that we are now in a warmer season and there is dirt on the ground - as opposed to snow!

I am sure there will be lots more dirty faces appearing here and that is just fine by me. If I let my kid play soccer in the street with no shorts and red rain boots, what is a little dirt on the face.

Pictures from our day. The boys again wanted to go out and play soccer/baseball in the street. It was such a gorgeous day, they put on their shades. Here is JB, who likes to play soccer with his basketball.

My ragamuffin rockstar Jbird

I think kids hit a few milestones that really change their appearance. One of those being when their permanent front teeth come in. I tried to get a picture of B with his two teeth coming in, but oh well.

Random sentences.... Jbird is so proud of his recent accomplishments. He can do 15 bars on the monkey bars. He can ride his bike while standing up. He is writing his "J" the correct way, instead of backwards. He is beginning to read a few words -making those connections between sounds and letters. JB has sat on the potty a few times and gotten a sticker. He cruises like you would not believe on a scooter. People are always amazed at how well he rides for being 2. He connects two words together quite frequently! Lots of baby steps he is taking in his language journey. B is almost a 3rd grader. He is reading very well and getting better at carrying numbers in addition and subtraction. You forget what it takes to teach certain concepts. I just take it for granted! All last weekend the boys wanted to do nothing but play baseball. I am missing baseball this spring, but there is always next spring. B starts soccer today! It is neat to see sports finally start clicking with him. He might have more of a competitive edge to him than I thought. Our local community participates in what is called Bountiful Baskets. Every week produce is delivered from all over the country. You never know what you are going to get when you order, but it is about 50% fruit and 50% vegetables. I finally ordered my first basket for delivery this Saturday. I have a feeling we will have no problems with the fruit, but I might need to get creative with the vegetables. You can also order 'add-ons' and I ordered 8 pounds of strawberries for $11. The basket costs $15 and I am told you get about $30 worth of produce. Just excited to be getting it and maybe it will catapult me into the vegetable world. from what I understand it can be anything from lettuce, beets, corn, asparagus, cauliflower, brussel sprouts....the list is endless. Off to pick up kids and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Here is a picture of Jbird riding bikes. It is not the best picture, but I love how his hair curls around his hood when he is riding fast. He still does not want a haircut. It has been probably 6 months.

It just amazes me how little things excite my boys. They recently discovered how you can get old wood from the garage and make a ramp. They will spend lots of time out there circling around. They just hoot and holler every time they 'catch' some air.

Of course JB will not be outdone on his scooter. He stacks his own wood and goes for it.

Having a hard time with one of the boys sneaking things. So I have cow bells hanging on the kitchen cabinet that has all our snacks in it. I have also tethered myself several times this week to one of the kids. Just seems when mom turns her back, they get into trouble. Does not take long them to straighten up when they realize they have to follow me around the house and not leave my side! The apraxia conference was good. Learned more about speech and a greater understanding of how to best work with them and WHY you need to work with them in certain ways. Different games, books, songs, etc that can help facilitate learning for them. I was also excited to see some videos of other kids with apraxia. JB seems to be further along in the game and I know it is because of early intervention! Heading out on the bikes to the school.

JR obviously made it back from Honduras a week ago! He enjoyed his trip but was very glad to be back home! Tomorrow I am headed to a conference on apraxia. Looking forward to seeing if I can pick up some more ideas and techniques to work with JB and his speech. He is doing really well and those around him are seeing huge improvements! So fun to be able to communicate with him using words! This past Friday we finally got to see one of B's swim lessons. They have been going for the last couple of weeks with school. It was his last lesson. He had a lot of fun, although I think he was put in a group lower than he should have been. Oh well, they had fun and every time he is in the water he becomes more and more comfortable and swims that much farther.

This past Thursday the younger two boys and I went with B's class to the Special Olympics opening ceremony. It was fun, lots of noise and people, but the kids really enjoyed it. JB wanted to take some 'homemade' binoculars so he could see. Here is a picture of him.

I have more pictures to share, but tired. Just wanted to post some quick stuff since it had been a while.

Monday JB's therapist finished up her eval on him. She said he tested at a 'severe apraxia' but she thinks he might be more mild to moderate. He was placed at the 5th percentile. I liked her definition of apraxia...the inability to coordinate the oral movements necessary to produce and combine speech sounds to form syllables and words in the absence of oral paralysis. She also said that prognosis is very good with intervention, which I figured! He still continues to plug along and amaze people with his temperament and his comprehension.

Monday we met with some of the preschool staff at the local school. The speech therapist said he is comprehending about 6-9 months ahead of his age. She did not score him on where he is verbally, but I am guessing the 14 month mark. The PT was not able to complete all her testing. He went for a 'visitation' day today. He spent 2 1/2 hours there interacting with the other kids. They said he did very well, although he did not talk much. When I got to the school, the kids were just leaving the play ground and heading to the bus. (Most of the kids ride the bus home.) JB was trying to keep up. He turned around, saw me and then kept running to the kids. The aide told him he needed to stop. He looked so confused. I told him he did not get to ride the bus because I was picking him up. He got the saddest little puppy face and almost started crying. He wanted to ride that bus too like his friends. He will go back on Friday for his second 'visitation'. Then late May we will meet to discuss everything and about the possibility of him being there in the fall.

The boys have had a couple of later nights this week and does it ever show! They are so tired and poor little Jbird just melts down. Not sure how things are going to go when it stays lighter longer. I just wish they would sleep in!

Went to the dermatologist today to have a spot on my knee cut out. So thankful for the costly insurance we have. It appears it is basal cell, but it should be gone now. One of the great things about going for yearly check-ups, things are caught often. I will be kid free most of tomorrow, thanks to a friend, so lots of lounging, projects and then dinner with a friend (while her kids hang with my kids). JR will come back Saturday night!

JR has made it to Honduras. He left Friday morning and will be there until this Saturday.

The boys and I have gone wild. For the last two days our couches and table have been turned upside down and now a 24/7 fort. They have figured out how to create 'rooms' in the fort and have been sleeping there. Tonight it was a shelter from komodo dragons, which did not take over the fort because the boys had their guns. It is so nice to see them playing so well together!

On Friday night I went to a contemplative prayer and fellowship time at a friends house. Something I had never experienced before. There were 16 ladies and my friend who led it did a great job. Hopefully something I can go to every quarter, or how often they have them.

Yesterday a friend came over with her two boys and literally spent all day here! We were outside from 11 - 4:30. Great to just hang out.

This week there is a lot going on with the preschool JB will probably go to. Tomorrow I am taking him in so they can put him through all the tests...PT, OT, Speech, etc. Then on Wed and Friday I will drop him off from 8:30 - 11 so he can 'try' it out. They usually get a pretty good idea of how and where he will fit in for the fall.

I have a couple of friends helping me with the boys this week so I can get some 'down' time. That down time will probably turn into project time. Just tonight I was able to fill an entire trash bag of clothes. So nice to weed out more stuff.

This past weekend was a total blur. Friday afternoon some friends called us who live an hour away and said they were headed to the hospital for some testing. The dad has recently been diagnosed with MS and seemed there were some complications. The doctor wanted them at the hospital for short tests over the weekend (an hour or two each day). So, we entertained their two youngest for the better part of the weekend. The boys loved having a sister. She and Jbird are oil and water at times, so they act just like siblings.

On Saturday night JR and I took our three and two of their three to a local Pow Wow. Everything I read said it started at 6pm, so we got there at 5:45. Then we found out at 6 that it did not start until 7. They were running real late so the grand entry did not start until 7:45. So the kids were tired of sitting by the time it started. We left toward the end of the grand entry, which was at least 25 minutes long. Very fascinating, just wish I could have seen more of it. We did enjoy some fry bread though.

Saturday afternoon we went to one easter egg hunt at a nearby church. It had snowed the day before, so quite a bit of snow on the ground, but it was a beautiful day. It was pretty obvious from the pictures below which one of my children got dressed with no parental influence. (I wonder if it is a good thing that my children are so unconcerned about their attire. On one hand, it will probably save me lots of money, on the other hand, I just laugh when they go out like this.....note those are wool socks B is wearing.)



After the egg hunt the Easter bunny came out. JB initiated several high fives!



Sunday morning, because we had an extra child with us, we did not do our traditional Easter and the boys did not seem to mind. We had brunch with our friends and then headed to their hotel to swim. I had all five of the kids by myself, but they did wonderful.

Monday JB had his second visit with the new therapist. She is just amazed at how hard he likes to work! She did mention that most apraxic kids she has seen have sleep apnea. So, watching him for that, but currently he is not showing strong signs.

We have been getting out lately on bikes and going for walks. So looking forward to this summer, although I think more snow is coming later in the week.

This was yesterday.....The boys put on their cowboy hats and bandanas. We have a couple of cap guns that Jbird got for his birthday. However, he has deemed it too dangerous to use because he saw a spark when the cap went off. So they run around shooting the guns and providing their own noises. We also played some 'tennis'.



This is a picture of this morning.


Lovely spring weather. At least it is April, so the snow won't stick around long. However it is needed since a wildfire started earlier this week.

We were eating lunch today and JB said 'mo wa wa'. Yeah...'more water'. I think he is close to 70 'words' that he uses on his own and appropriately. He is also enjoying the one morning he goes to daycare and plays hard along side kids his own age.

Had an eye opening experience this week about the day and age we live in. (Too complicated to go into). It is amazing to see where we are as a culture...although I am thankful for the diligence of others, JR and I are the parents and have nothing but the best interest at hand for our kids. So thankful for the wisdom God gives us in how to deal with our kids and their different temperaments and personalities.

Not much on the calendar this weekend except celebrating our risen Lord!!! The youth group is hosting an egg hunt before church so I think we will deviate from our norm and do that. Also working on a scavenger hunt for the boys instead of the traditional egg hunt at home. Hopefully the boys will enjoy it because I love coming up with things like that. Oh the possibilities now that B is a full on reader. Love having a reader in our home! He laid in bed last night and read a story to JB while I had to finish up some stuff. Those are the memories I hope they will carry with them.

Yesterday our hospital had their semi annual Wellness Day. Since JR and I have a high deductible insurance policy, we decided to take advantage of getting low cost blood work done. They had some great stations for the kids too - Wii fitness, hula hoop, homemade granola, balloon art and face painting. B was the only brave one to get his face painted....Jbird and JB both got turtles on their hands. Here is the crew.

Here is a photo of two beloved items in our house.... a recent gun that Jbird purchased with some birthday money and JB's 'uufff'. His little dog is never far from him.