Easter 2013

So, It was a wet, stormy Easter Sunday this year..at least most of the day! Greg was on call so we had planned to have my family over here for the egg hunt, etc.. However, in light of the weather, we cancelled the get-together and just went to Chili's instead! We did hide a few eggs in the house for the kids..and wouldn't you know, soon thereafter the sun decided to appear. Go figure! Here are a few pics from the day..

Spring 2013

So, here it is summer and I haven't even blogged spring yet! I mistakenly thought spring would be much less busy this year since the kids chose not to do ball. Wrong!! We have been "runnin the roads"! Greg started back with his bi-weekly cycle group rides in January and has logged 750 miles so far! He's really enjoying that and has gotten in great shape doing it.
I try to fit in walking/running when I can but stay really busy with the kiddos. The homeschool co-op meets weekly but also keeps us busy with field trips, play dates, and other events. Lauren has participated in American Heritage Girls this year (like Girl Scouts but more faith-based)..and has earned several badges. She and Greg attended the father-daughter square dance and had a great time. Lauren and the boys are active in the children's ministry on Wednesday nights also.
Back in march, we took a week off school and went camping at Greeson. It was beautiful..here are a few pics from that trip..
Greg's mom took us to her "fishing hole" and we caught enough for a fish fry that night.. The kids were so excited!

Growing up too fast!

Little things happen everyday that remind me how fast my babies are growing up. Sadly, most of the time I don't stop to document these small milestones. When Tucker was born, one of the gifts I received from one of my best friends, was a book called Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury. To this day, I absolutely cannot read it without tearing up. It talks about how we document the "firsts" but not the "lasts". The last time you gave them a bottle, the last diaper changed, etc...so true! Anyway, Tucker lost a tooth this week and I was again reminded to cherish every moment. In the blink of an eye they go from getting baby teeth to losing them to the tooth fairy! So, I'm going to try and be better about documenting these things!! Here is a pic of Mr. Snaggletooth....he got a whole $4 for that one! 😉

Time out for the parents..

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year but I always find myself truly exhausted afterwards!  This year was no exception.  So, when Greg's mom offered to take the kids for a few days, we jumped on it!  This meant some much needed rest for us and fun times with grandma for them...it was a win-win.  Now, they have stayed with grandma before while hubby and I went to Dallas for the weekend...but this was for 3 nights.  Of course, the fact that they had several inches of fresh snow in Arkansas had them beyond excited!  They couldn't get there fast enough!!  Instead of going anywhere, Greg and I decided to just stay home and hang out for the next few days.  We haven't gotten to do that in over ten years...since Lauren was born.   It was WONDERFUL!  We stayed up late watching movies,  slept in late (which never happens because Tucker is such an early bird), had conversations without interruptions, went to dinner without worrying about how much the sitter was going to be, and just got to be lazy!  I actually feel rested for a change.  Of course, we missed the heck out of those three kiddos. We called them much more than they called us and Tucker actually wanted to stay another day.  They had a great time and so did we!  Below are a couple of pics of the boys building snowmen..

 

We also did a little baking while the kids were away.

Here is Greg baking cinnamon rolls from the Pioneer Woman cookbook that I got for Christmas....oh my, they were AMAZING!!!

Nutcracker at The Strand

One of our favorite family traditions is to see The Nutcracker at The Strand theatre in Shreveport.  Of course, Lauren danced around like a ballerina for days afterwards!