March Madness

Well... March madness around our house, anyway... probably not exactly the March madness that first popped in your mind ;) We have been busy... here are a few high lights...

BIG BOY BIKE: Little man FINALLY got his own bike... he LOVES it... Jamie has been riding a bike w/training wheels since Christmas. Not little man... he preferred the tricycle variety and REFUSED to pedal... he was happy as a clam using his feet on the ground to propel himself. Well, this weekend, he hopped on Jamie's princess bike and took off. Needless to say, James quickly informed me that "The boy needs his own bike"... off to the store they went... and Jacob is now the proud owner of a Thomas the Train bike. My little man is growing up!

SOCCER: Jaycie had her last soccer game... she liked it, when the weather was nice... which was not the case often this season. It was a cold, rainy season... but she had fun and loved playing with Hunter. Here she is with Coach Troy, Coach John, and Hunter after their last game of the season.

FIELD TRIP: Jamie & Jacob had their first official field trip! We went to a farm... they saw chickens, newly hatched turkeys, pigs, horses, dogs & cats. They had a fun time. Their FAVORITE thing about the field trip was riding the bus. Jacob points the bus out at the preschool EVERY day now... "Mommy, there is my bus..."

The big bus ride.
Jacob & Luke pet a chicken...

the two kids most likely to have an allergic reaction, go figure...

Now THAT is a big dog... to put it in perspective...

the dog in the background is a Golden Retriever...

SERVICE DAY: I took all of the kids to service day at the local food bank. They had a lot of fun decorating food collection barrels, putting together boxes, and stocking food carts. Afterwards, we had a picnic at the park... then went home for a good nap!

Box Boy... Jacob LOVED stacking the boxes onto pallets...

The food barrel decoration crew...

Couples Weekend In Emerald Isle!

Last weekend we enjoyed a relaxing, long weekend at the beach with our best friends from home. It was so nice to get away. James' parents came to our house to keep the kids... it was their first time keeping all four and they did great... thank you! At the beach, it looked like it was going to rain ANY MINUTE almost the entire weekend... but it didn't!! We were able to walk on the beach, watch movies, read, relax, eat YUMMY seafood, SLEEP (a personal favorite of mine!), run twice... the girls went out for pedicures... the guys played wii and guitar hero... and we all headed to the St. Patrick's Day Festival. It was such a nice weekend... I loved catching up with my friends from home... we miss you guys so much!!

You HAVE to love a restaurant with this kind of parking!

(Riverside in Swansboro, NC... delicious!)

The crew... we love you guys!
The ladies... Jennifer, Janet, Wilkie, & Samantha
The guys... James, David, Matt, & Brad
They have perfected the clam bake!

Me & James!

Jamie's New Pillow Case Dress

My friend, Maria, asked me if Jamie would be her "model" for a pillow case dress she wanted to make... of course, I said yes! Jamie loves her new dress... and oddly... I had a bow to match perfectly! Check out Maria's other cute creations at http://3guysandachick.blogspot.com/

The Crew At The Zoo!

Friday was a teacher workday... so Maria & I decided to take advantage of the day off and the BEAUTIFUL weather and take the kids to the zoo! We had so much fun & all of the kids were SO GOOD! The zoo was not crowded at all... and all six kids walked the entire time with NO stroller! Climbing on the animal statues... feeding the lorakeets... climbing the rocks at the penguin exhibit... and riding the carousel were the favorites!

Moms In Front...

Boys In The Middle...

Girls In The Back...

a.k.a. The Zoo Bus!

Our six little monkeys...

NO SNOW FOR ME!

They were calling for snow flurries here again last night... in SC... in MARCH??? Okay... so I really enjoyed the snow the first two times this year... the kids loved it... Black Jack loved it... but I have had my fill. Fortunately... we did NOT get snow this time! We got the best possible scenario... a 2 hr delay for school! So, the kids and I had a relaxing morning... the twins did not have preschool b/c of the delay... and I have been able to get a few things done around the house. I will say... this is a picture of what Jessica keeps in our freezer in the garage... and this is the only snowman I need to see until NEXT winter. The snowman can stay in the freezer... but bring on the sunshine... I've got my flip flops ready ;)

Relaxing Weekend!

Mom & Jim came to visit this weekend and we had such a relaxing time! It rained ALL weekend... Jaycie still had a soccer game on Saturday morning, so James & Jim went to watch her play in the rain. Mom & I did a little shopping... and other than that, we just relaxed around the house, played with the kids, celebrated birthdays (the twins & mom), enjoyed sangria (thanks for the yummy recipe, Maria!), and read... it was very nice. Since it rained so much, Black Jack - our "outside dog" - ended up in the house quite a bit (I hear some of you laughing!)... he did pretty well, but had a hard time settling down around Baron b/c he wanted to play so badly. After the past few days, some sunshine would be nice... but it was nice to stay inside and relax!

New birthday toys...

apparently, it is not possible to have too many trucks!

Park & Picnic

Last week, we met Maria & Anderson at the park to play and have a picnic. The kids had fun... even though it was a bit chilly. Hopefully, it will warm up SOON! I can visualize Jacob & Anderson getting into lots of trouble together one day... but Jamie will be around to keep us informed ;)

Anderson + Jacob = Double Trouble!