Happy [Belated] Easter!

The kids woke up to find the baskets the Easter Bunny left...Henry screamed with joy that he got Angry Birds the second he spotted his basket- & Holden was beyond thrilled with his basket full of balls :)

We spent the morning with Ryan's family hunting for eggs and eating way too much food! Then we headed over to my parent's house where the boys hunted for more eggs and even dyed a few!

& here's a total picture overload of our day :)

Goodbye is never easy.

We lost my Auntie Karen last week. To say that her passing has rocked my world would be an understatement. Thankfully, I haven't had to experience family death in most of my life [my grandpa passed away when I was 4 so I don't remember any of it] but that has also left me completely unprepared for how I would feel and handle the situation.

Basically I'm brokenhearted. Karen quite literally the most intelligent, sassy and generous person I have ever know. She loved me and my sisters [& my cousin] like we were her own children and spoiled us just the same.

We went to visit her about a month ago & I can't tell you how glad I am that we made that 16 hour round trip drive. She was able to meet Hazel and I was able to tell her in person that I loved her.




& if anyone knew my Auntie Karen, they would know her love for gaudy, sparkly jewels and anything covered in sequins. So when my aunt, Jane, told me to take her big, fake pink diamond that had been resting on her dresser for as long as I could remember- I was beyond thrilled.



>

I knew I wanted to put it in Hazel's room & I'm not sure it's found it's permanent spot in there but for now it's perfect.

Minnesota Spring

For the first time in a LONG time, we have no snow on the ground in March. This winter has been crazy warm which in turn has given us a much warmer spring so far.

& the kids are loving it!







I didn't get a picture of Henry but he was busy playing baseball with Ryan :)

Happy Monday!

5 months!

My wee babe is officially 5 months old...only one month from being a half a year. Crap that went fast.

The boys are still obsessed with her & Holden is constantly yelling "A-zel" if he can't see her :)

She's a big girl...weighing in a couple weeks ago at 17 pounds & she's officially in 9 month clothes- even some of those jams are getting too small. Her personality is really starting to show- she's a pretty calm baby but so was Holden and he's a handful now...ahaha!

She loves jumping & apparently it's hard work... ;)









I swear we let her take regular naps ;) & I laugh every time she falls asleep in that thing because neither one of the boys ever fell asleep while playing.

My Lucky Charms

Life has been a bit crazy & thus the blog has been lacking. I hope to get back to my regular posting soon- in the meantime- here is a picture of my little lucky charms :)

Cool Kids Club

Henry is the youngest kid in his preschool class & actually most of the kids are 3 and up & the boys that he plays with are all over 4. So to say that they may be interested in different things is quite an understatement.

Recently Henry's teacher told me about Henry's interest in 'Beyblades' [http://www.beyblade.com/beyblades/beybladesandaccessories/5/beyblades]. The name alone sounded a bit dangerous & the age recommendation is 8+ so I was leery. But apparently they are these top like things that the kids think are the coolest thing ever. & of course ALL the boys in his preschool class have them.

I always told myself that I wouldn't be one of those parents who went out and bought the latest craze for my kids just because everyone had one. Yeah that was before I had kids.

So last week Henry asked if we could go to Target to get some Beyblades, naturally I told him to ask his dad...haha :) So when Henry asked Ryan, he told him yes and off to Target they went.

I have never seen him so excited over a toy before. & of course he wanted to take them with him to school. We labeled them up & stuck them in a baggie [Ryan said he couldn't bring them in the pink Coach purse that held them at home- haha!]. As he walked into his classroom, all the boys swarmed him. It was like they all had a weird Beyblade detector.

The proud smile on Henry's face as he showed off his new toy will forever be in my mind. He was a part of the 'cool kids club' for the very first time. Yeah you know I cried when I walked with Ryan to our cars.

Let's just hope the kids in his classroom don't show up with cell phones anytime soon :)

KONY 2012

I was just introduced to the unimaginable things that Joseph Kony has been doing to the children & families of Uganda. Horrified doesn't even begin to describe how I feel right now as I have tears streaming down my face.

Watch the video. Take the pledge. Share his face.



If not for yourself, for your kids & your kids' kids. They deserve a world free from people like Joseph Kony.