Where is that Easter Bunny?

Easter is finally here! And can you believe that its not raining? I swear that all of our Spring weekends have had some sort of precipitation. Lucky for us, today was beautiful weather- perfect for an egg hunt! My aunt Barb and Uncle Bruce were nice enough to have everyone over to their place this year for the holiday. Kaitlynn and Kyra loved it because they got to see all the animals. I loved it because I got to see Bruce's cool room that he has totally dedicated to hunting. I don't know much about it but the more I see and hear- I think I have to give hunters a little more credit than I have in the past :) Except for you AJ. Moving on- after we munched our incredibly yummy lunch the kids made their way outside to search out some eggs. My cousin Michelle is at an almost awkward age as a grandchild because she is old enough to talk to us older cousins about "adult" things but she still wants to run around with the little ones... its kinda cute. The little kids all found a ton of eggs filled with candy and begged me to let them have some. I try to watch their sugar intake just because they get CRAZY with too much sugar but Kyra assured me that they would not overdose... we shall see. We looked at all the animals (which Katie loved) and visited a bit before starting the long trip back to Green bay. On the way home is wasn't do bad- but we intentionally did not go back they same way we came... my Daddy didn't raise no fool :)

Owen took Kaitlynn on a ride around the yard... she loved it!

Mason was born only a few weeks ago it seems but Olivia is a total chunker next to him- and he was 10 pounds!

The girls and their Grandpa

Over to Hills to Grandmother's House

We headed over to Sparta today to visit Dad's side of the family. We actually had to take two vehicles this time because we don't all fit in one anymore... that chubby baby :) So we moved our caravan across the state S-L-O-W-L-Y. Typically it takes about four hours or so (this is giving a break for bathroom runs etc.) but for some reason everyone decided to travel today around 12 so we ran into a whole lot of traffic. Lucky for me I had just bought a new CD so mom and I had some quality conversations and listened to some awesome tunes. Dad on the other hand had Kaitlynn and kyra in his vehicle so that was a much different story. Not bad he told me- but those girls certainly have their volumes set at full blast :) (side note: Dad's hearing aids should come in the next few weeks here so hopefully he will be able to hear not only the vacuum but mom calling him now and then0 I am sure she would like that). But the traffic was horrendous! About an hour into the trip we were stopped for about 3 miles with creep-along-trailing that lasted and hour or so. We elected to stop at the cookie factory to munch our frustrations away and load up on some unnecessary sugar. After our bellies were satisfied and the girls were thoroughly wired we got back into the cars and kept going. This time I took Bella and Via because you never know what will happen... and wouldn't you know that we got stopped again- and only 45 minutes from Grandmas! So that was another hour or so and when we finally parked in the driveway it had taken us a total of 6 and half hours to get there- whooyee. The best part was while we were visiting in the living room I looked at how happy my girls were and how much my dad was smiling and realized that no matter how rough the trip over was... it was totally worth it.

Getting Ready for Rummage Season

I am SOOOO ready for rummage season! I was planning on having a sale last weekend but with the crummy weather we decided to push it back a bit. Which is totally okay with me because then I can get some more sorting done. Last year I was so sick with Olivia that I never went through any drawers or cupboards for the sale. This year however, I am trying to go through everything. I found that when you add another body to your household you also add a whole lot of stuff... this should have been in the handbook! So the girls and I have been cleaning out closets and finding "treasures" that we can live without in the hopes that we can make some room for the new treasures we most certainly cannot live without :) Kaitlynn is the best little helper but she likes to pull the tape off the clothes after I price them. She just doesn't understand that we have to price them in order to sell them at the rummage sale. She just kept peeling off the tape and saying "no Mommy, you make dirty!" I had to laugh because she was serious about it... being a parent is awesome.
Livi had fun too keeping me company--- and balancing out my bins when they were starting to get empty. We stopped by the church to borrow some tables and we brought down all the rummage stock from the loft a few weeks ago... so now we just need the weather to cooperate and we will be good to go (but I don't think I am not going to hold my breath).

Snow... Again?

What is with this weather!?! I was totally tricked into thinking that winter was over and spring was here to stay- YUCK! I guess its a good thing for our lawns which should be incredibly green, but it is hard to believe that the snow was all gone before this storm. We got just about a foot and I cant even imagine if this would have been rain. Especially seeing last week we had all those thunderstorms and our sump pump decided to stop working. So not only did all my floors in the basement get a great scrub down but so did all of my towels--- lots of laundry. I wouldn't be too salty about it except that we kept all of our extra paper towels and toilet paper in the basement and it all got wet. I hate "literally" throwing out money. I guess this teaches me to be a little more cautious and aware of things in my house... and yes the sump pump is working again- thanks dad! We have four days to melt this snow before the Easter bunny will be hopping around out there- come on mother nature!!!

She's Got Talent

At least that's what they tell me. Kyra had her talent show this evening and man- was it an experience! She has been looking forward to this for months now and so have I- terrified but looking forward to it. I have wondered why she was not like her other little friends and pick a trendy song like "Ke$ha"- nope- Kyra has to be original and pick something ultra sophisticated... phantom of the opera. I have to say that I was mightily impressed with her ambition but was so nervous with how it would play out... but she did great! Her clothing choice was nice and conservative- maybe too much but I would rather that than the alternative of tank tops and mini shorts. She had all intentions of wearing her black opera gloves to complete the look but unfortunately after waiting two hours to go onstage... can you imagine that our little Kyra forgot them- oh well. I am just so proud of her for even getting up on that stage at all. Especially seeing the competition and the kids that came before her- all 46 of them. Lucky for me Tim was my buddy for the show and we kept each other entertained- it probably wasn't the most appropriate commentating- but it was funny nonetheless- we cant all be well behaved adults. They dimmed the lights and it was finally time for action. I kept trying to remind her to "project" her voice so she didn't sound so timid... it is interesting to watch the video because she definitely goes back and forth- and make sure to take your sea sickness meds--- she's a rockin for sure!

Getting Some Girl Time

Today we got some girl time in- literally. Andy and Paula came over with their two daughters Kalli and Cassie and we had ourselves a little girly party. It had been a while since we had seen them- these long winters can do that... so we decided it was just time to get together just because we missed each other. The girls had a great time visiting and even had a dance party in the baby girl's room because Kyra's is off limits due to the impending move (more to come at a later date- don't worry- not a big deal). Paula got some quality cuddle time with Livi and Katie decided to read her a story- or 12. It is so cute to see her discover things and then show them to you... its like she has found the most amazing thing ever and just HAS to make you see how AMAZING it is- I have to say... she does not lack enthusiasm... now I know why every parents thinks their kid is the best!