Easter!

We had a great Easter.  The kids picked out their outfits, we had a yummy dinner at my parents house and a lovely day at church.  

One thing I love about my dad is how he plays with my  kids.  He always does the tickle competition, which he did with his kids when we were little.  They can't smile while he tickles their faces.  They love it, and have never won.  

I love my little family.  I can't wait until Lincoln is here for next years Easter.

Lincoln's Room

Lincoln's room is coming together and Olivia loves to be in it. I love this picture of her. 
 

Sisters

I saw a photo challenge on FB and the title was "sisters."  Everyone was posting all these cute pictures of sisters together so I thought I'd do something a little different.

I told the girls he wouldn't shoot them, but when I couldn't get the shot I wanted I whispered to Austin, "shoot them." The girls heard me, screamed, "MOM!" And took off running. And that's how I got the shot.

Gorillas and Alina

Alina just read a book about gorillas and came up to me very upset and said, "people are killing gorillas!! And I'm pretty sure it's boys, so if I find one who is I'm going to kick him in the crotch!"

Alina loves animals and insects.  We call her the bug whisperer. 

The Lillie's Moved

Our neighbors the Lillie's moved yesterday. We've known them for 5 years and Brooklin was Alina's first friend. They used to have so much fun when they were younger. They always had a hard time keeping their pants up, would run around naked in the streets, and steal packages off people's porch. They were quite the mischievous pair. 

As they've gotten older they've still been friends, just not as close. But now that Brooklin is gone Alina has been a little sad. I took a picture of them yesterday so Alina could have a memory of her. I remembered that they had a picture that was similar to when we first moved here. It's so fun to see how much they've grown. 
 

Alina

I had a photoshoot today so I took Alina and Greta with me. While we were waiting I followed Alina around. We've had such nice weather that the kids got to wear shorts today and that meant Alina got to explore. I love how dirty and unafraid of bugs she is. She finds such joy in being outside and always turns it into an adventure. 
 

Olivia

I had a prenatal appointment today and I took Liv with me. She is always so good going with me to my appointments, she's so excited for Lincoln to come. 

Right by my dr's office is a grove of trees. I've been taking advantage of all this sunlight to practice with my new camera. I only had to bribe her a little bit, she kept saying her knee was hurting. A piece of gum fixed that and she smiled like a pro. 

After she chose to go and see grandma and grandpa over Arctic Circle, that means she must love them A LOT! We had a good visit and then headed home to get the kids. Only 8 more weeks until Lincoln comes, we can hardly wait!

Greta and Alyssa

I got a new camera! I've been so excited to use it. I took Greta and Alyssa out and I love these turned out. These girls are both stubborn, strong willed, and are the best of friends. They write dances and practice together all the time. I love watching them and I'm very grateful they are friends.

Knowledge Bowl

Austin did the Knowledge Bowl this year for the 2nd time. The subject was the arts and he's spent the last 4 months getting ready for it. His team won 1 and lost 3, they did great. He's not sure that he wants to do it again next year because it's such a big time commitment. After we ran some errands our friends the Garretts came up to spend the weekend with us. It was nonstop playing and having a good time.

Battle Of The Books

Greta and her team did awesome for Battle of the Books. Between the 4 of them they read about 20 books and had to memorize title and author of all of them. Then they went up against other teams where they were asked questions about the books and they had to answer with the title and author to get points. They won two of the four competitions and came in 3rd place. Greta was so fun to watch compete. She was the one with all the answers and her facial expressions were the best. I'm glad I caught them all on camera.

We are very proud of Greta and how she continues to always do her best. She's a very smart girl who loves to learn. She has the best handwriting I've ever seen for a 3rd grader, she is always on the hardest spelling and math lists, and she read as well as I do. She's going to achieve great things. I know this because she's already accomplished so much in her short life. She has overcome so much shyness that it's amazing to her dad and I that she has the confidence needed to participate in things like battle of the books, the spelling bee and everything else she does. We sure are proud to be her parents.

Here they are, Eliza, Jamie, Greta, and Oakley.

Summer PLEASE Come Soon!

We had the best day ever according to all the kids.  All we did was stay home for a Saturday.  The weather was so beautiful.  The kids played outside all day and even got sunburned.  Cam and I completed so many little house projects including getting Lincoln's room almost completely done!  We ended the night with picnic food that consisted of homemade baked beans, potato salad, and bbq chicken.  It was so good.  One of my favorite things to do with Cameron is cook with him.  He enjoys cooking and I love that it's something we can do together.  I'm a lucky girl, days like today remind me of that. 

Dr. Seuss Day

It was Dr. Seuss day at school for the kiddos and Alina (who is in first grade) was the only one who wanted to dress up.  She REALLY wanted to be the grinch, but we didn't have anything to make that costume work.  I talked her into being Cindy Loo Hoo because she loved the grinch.  I think Alina makes the cutest Cindy Loo Hoo ever.  I love my Alina Mae and how she loves having fun.  She wouldn't care if she was the only one who dressed up, she's comfortable in her own skin.