A Frozen Easter

Happy Easter Everyone! Here is our family Easter picture-in the morning when it was like 45 degrees...before it started sleeting/snowing...
Look at those adorable children!
Cute Easter boys...
This picture is so sweet...It looks posed but really they were just standing there and I told them to turn and look at me...Grace looks so old!
Everyone mom's worst nightmare...her son coming out of the house to hunt for easter eggs at grandma's wearing a black and red batman costume.....ahh! He's in this costume for all the big family pictures with the cousins! haha...and we forgot the easter baskets so the kids had to use paper bags! Oh, well...they had fun...even though 2 seconds after this picture was taken it started to sleet!




Today I took the boys to the Newburgh, "Fortress of Fun"...it's a big wooden maze like castle in a park...By, golly-if it won't get warm around here, we are going to play out side anyway and PRETEND it's warm! Even if I have to bundle up and sit under a blanket while I watch the kids play at the park! The boys brought their swords and played "knights"...one of their favorite things to do...here they are crossing the bridge, ready to fight the dragon! OMG! I LOVE this picture...Anteneh had never been on a play bridge before and was scared b/c it was shaky-so, Luke put his arm around him and helped him across while he told him they were brave...(tear to my eye)
Looking down through the tire tunnel!

Grace's Birthday

Grace and her cousin, Joceyln... For Grace's Birthday, she had a sleepover! Well, not a REAL sleepover...I figured that the girls were a little young to actually spend the night so we did a make believe sleepover! Everyone came in their jammies with their sleeping bags...we did all the stuff you would do at a sleepover (including ice cream sundaes) but all the girls left at bedtime! Here is a picture of Grace in front of her ice cream bar, ready to party! (with my mom in the background)
Grace in her cheetah jammies with her pajama wearing friends! (and Shadow, who was the only boy allowed!)
This picture of Luke is from the next day at the family party...of course he got hot running around and took his shirt off...it's classic...I love taking pictures of him..
Look how pretty she is! My six year old!

I just love this picture of Anteneh and Shadow! He had his batman suit on and his blankie around his neck as a cape and decided to take a little break from fighting the bad guys just long enough to cuddle with his dog:) He even had a pillow propped up on him. Shadow is a good sport!
We have been mighty busy lately...here is a sort of 'before' shot of our kitchen...we ripped off the tile backsplash, removed these old countertops, and cleaned the mold out from under the sink (there was a lot of wood that needed to go)...
And here is an 'after' shot...I love our new countertop! We also replaced the really old nasty sink. We are still working on the new backsplash (as you can tell from the picture)...

Flying in Icestorms....

Well, I just got home from a WONDERFUL week w/ my bestie (that is the current hip word for best friend, I have learned:)) It was so great-Tracey and I shopped, ate out, watched TV (uninterupted which is a major treat for me), made homemade soy candles, and walked her dogs...3 days w/out my husband and kids...while I sure did miss them, it was so refreshing...I am so thankful for the opportunity to visit her! My husband is wonderful for letting me go (of course I arranged some helpers for him but he did most everything himself-and school was cancelled due to weather while I was gone so he had an extra hard job!)...he lets me do an annual trip to Tracey's house-it's such a blessing...and I'm so thankful to Tracey for being the world's BEST hostess (she actually bought my plane ticket, too!) I have been laughing to myself every day since I got home b/c the stories of my travels are so funny...I had to post them with the hopes that someone else might enjoy them, too:) Here is a summary of my week last week:

Sunday night: Get packed, tell everyone goodbye and my mom droves me to the Evansville airport...they tell me the flight to Detroit (where I am connecting) was delayed and it would make me miss my flight to Tampa so I'd have to come back in the morning...I AM SO DISAPPOINTED! I do NOT want to go back home for the night! It was going to cut my vacation short...I meet another young woman traveling on my flight and she is really bummed, too...our moms get to talking....so, I stand there for 15 minutes till the airline people say, "well, maybe you can make it..." so, I chance it! Now, the moms decide Jackie (this other girl) and I need to stay together in case we get stuck in Detroit (can I tell you by this time I'm feeling like a little kid b/c my mom is sounding so overprotective....does she remember that I've flown to foreign countries multiple times w/ my children? HA!)I'm on my way to Detroit on the flight w/ my new friend, Jackie and her little pug dog...as we are landing we exchange cell phone numbers...we have plenty of time to make our connections...till the airline holds us on the plane for 30 minutes b/c they can't find anyone to let us off the plane! We take off running! I arrive at the terminal as I see my plane shut the door...I'm stuck! So, they give me a hotel room at the day's inn and a meal voucher...great...but then my new friend, Jackie calls...she was given a room, too BUT that won't do for her so she decides to get herself a room at the Westin (attached to the airport...$250/night)...and she asks me if I wanted to crash there w/ her and her dog (she has to sneak in)...haha....I tell her I am fine at the days inn and that i don't have the money to split it w/ her...she says, "oh, who cares! just stay w/ me..."...so, I spend the evening w/ a complete stranger and her dog...who keeps jumping in my bed and biting my hand...I sleep in the most comfortable, plush bed I've ever laid in, watched a nice big flat screen tv....and while it is slightly awkward, it ends up being a decent night! They even have freshly brewed Starbucks in the room in the morning! So, we part ways and I fly out the next morning...arriving in Tampa exhausted and in dire need of a change of clothes (I'd slept in my clothes) and decent toothbrush!! I was sore for 2 days from running so hard in the airport...no kidding...I guess the last 2 months at the YMCA was a waste of my time!

Thursday: So, after a wonderful few days w/ Tracey, it is time to travel home...I am supposed to fly out at 12noon but since I see there is an icestorm heading to Evansville that day, we decide I should get up at 4am and fly standby on the 6:22am flight (Northwest Airlines)to beat the storm...(Tracey is a great friend and droves me to the airport at the crack of dawn!)...they let me go early and I am on my way...UNTIL...when I get to Memphis, they CANCEL MY FLIGHT TO EVANSVILLE! The ice storm had begun...so, they try to send me to Detroit...I decide that it's not smart to go further north...so, I go to another desk and they book me through Cincinnati...then I think, "this is crazy...that's where the storm is heading after Evansville...I"ll get stuck again"...so, then they rebook me to Atlanta (and switch me over to Delta)...I think I am good to go...so, I fly to Atlanta....then get stuck again! They keep delaying my flights...then finally they board us....we are going down the runway and I think, "I am going to make it!"...then they cancel our flight 2 seconds before take off...(lots of swear words are the only things flying-not from me of course), take us back to the airport and tell us to wait until the next morning! AHHH!!! I think I'll NEVER get home...I wait in a 60 minute line to get my flight rebooked...take a bus to the Holiday Inn..spend $60 on a room...walk in the freezing rain to some little diner, eat by myself, sleep, wake up and go back to the Atlanta airport...my flight gets delayed 40 minutes...then 10 more...then 10 more...then we get on the plane...then we sit on the plane for 55 minutes...then we FINALLY FLY HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 34 hours after waking up at Tracey's I am HOME!!! I could have driven to Evansville and back to Florida again in that time!!!!!!!!!!!!

The CRAZIEST thing was that when I got to Evansville, my bag came out on the carousel! Hahaha....it was like a miracle! I couldn't believe my bags followed me on that adventure! I'd switched airlines, and rebooked multiple times...I'd even been booked on multiple flights at the same time somehow at one point...

Well, I'm not sure why I just typed all that out...I guess b/c it's funny to me...if anyone actually takes the time to read all of that, I hope you don't feel like you wasted 10 minutes of your life-haha....

Lesson learned: start visiting Tracey in the spring or fall ...NOT the winter!!!!!!!!!!

February Stuff

As any parent knows, each of your kids has a special place in your heart and there are special activities you kind of save for THAT child...one of the things that Luke and I do together often is make bread-my favorite pictures of him are often when he's kneeding (actually PUNCHING) a big ball of dough! Here he is one morning, still in his jammies, making bread...someday his wife will be really impressed that he knows how to make whole wheat dinner rolls!This is a picture of the kids with their cousin, Jocelyn...how funny are her little high waisted jeans! Haha

A Holly Jolly Christmas!

Well, Anteneh had his very first Christmas and it was great! Here are a few pictures...Anteneh playing with his new tool kit on Christmas morning...My kids' new cousin, Jocelyn, at her first Christmas!Luke opening his tool kit on Christmas morning...Grace in her new cheetah hat and purse...she is SO into Cheetahs right now!

Tis the Season!

The kids had a great time making their gingerbread house this year! Too bad all of the pictures I took were of them with the back of the house-haha...notice Anteneh's curls...I'm letting his hair grow out a little and it's so cute! His little curls are so soft and pretty! My sister is teasing me b/c Luke needs a haircut and she says he looks like dracula! haha..His hair does come to a point on his forehead...it makes me laugh when I look at it...but he's so stinkin cute!
and here is a picture of the kids(still in jammies) in their new craft room(the converted sunroom) painting little wooden airplanes!I LOVE this room! It's great for the kids to have their own table so they can leave all their craft projects out on the table even when it's dinnertime b/c they aren't using the kitchen table anymore! They have all their play dough, paints, coloring books, and ABC posters, etc...in there and the floor is ceramic tile so spilled paints and such don't hurt anything...also, the table they are using was my dad's kitchen table when he was little-it's where he used to do his homework in the 50's! Of course, he wasn't too happy when he saw I'd painted it white to match the trim!-oops! And here are the boys one day last week making 'puppy chow'...while they were at preschool, I got all the ingredients out and premeasured everything and set the bowls up and even put the powdered sugar in the 2 zip lock bags...then, I picked them up from school and told them we were going to go home and make 'puppy chow' and they were SO EXCITED! Of course, Anteneh had no clue what I was talking about but Luke had been asking for me to make it for days...seeing Luke excited, Anteneh was up for it! Notice the chocolate on their faces! Haha
And a picture of Daryn and I on our way to the Young Life Christmas Party tonight!

Thanksgiving

Well, so much has happened! I am so bad about keeping up with it...I know I'm a bad blogger, Tracey:) Here is a picture of Anteneh with his new baby cousin, Jocelyn Elizabeth Clements! She was born September 21...I got to be there for it...amazing...after watching my sister go through labor, she finally had to have a C-Section but Jocelyn was healthy and everyone recovered well...now, with my sister on maternity leave, we get to see Jocelyn every day!This next picture I just LOVE...it's my sister holding Jocelyn while she looks at our grandpa...Grandpa Chapin turns 92 this summer! Dad picked him up from the nursing home so he could spend Thanksgiving with the family...Anteneh in his chick magnet suit. (Don't lose respect for me, BFF in FL)
And Grace decked out in her Thanksgiving pilgram garb that she made in her kindergarten class!And last but certainly not least is my adorable hubby reading Curious George to the kids...how cute is this picture?!