Easter Monday.

The kids get a four day Easter holiday so they were thrilled to find themselves home on Monday. Ava and Jack were so busy playing, I didn't see them all morning and Jemma was so excited to have them home that when it was time for her breakfast she hauled her highchair all the way down the hall to Ava's room so she wouldn't miss a minute of the fun (I seriously spent a good five minutes trying to figure out where the heck it was...I mean we lose the random shoe and hair clip here but a highchair??). Ava packed a picnic but since the weather was so nasty she thought a car picnic would be a better idea so we loaded up and drove around (ah to be so easy to please!) and we eventually landed at the library.

Later that afternoon, Kirsten (and Ava) headed to a birthday party for Samantha in their matching party dresses:

Happy Easter!

My little monkeys.

Ed frying up the "bacon" (seriously looked like the whole ham...that's why he loves his butcher!) for breakfast with my mom and dad.

Waiting oh so patiently to eat!
We had camera issues so no family pic, just me with the girls:

and Ed with the boys:

Stephen, hiding the eggs, for the big hunt. It was chilly!

After dinner the kids did an Easter show.

All tuckered out!

Easter Weekend

The Saturday before Easter, Ava and I headed to CDA to meet the newest member of our family, super tiny Abigail, and to shower her with gifts and eat yummy yummy food. And I once again have no pictures of this. grrr. After the shower, Ava and I went shopping and then to dinner at our favorite place, Bordenays. (where we ran into another cousin of mine...small world). And can I just say that I LOVE a day with my Ava. She is an awesome shopper and an even better dinner companion. She is sweet and funny and a fantastic conversationalist. It was a lovely day.

Then we hurried home to pop everyone in bed so I could start the Easter work...stuffing eggs, wrapping presents, setting the table, making sticky buns, ironing clothes, and writing a breakfast prep list for Ed so that I could sleep in!

My (handsome) boys

Good Friday

This is one of Ed's few days off so he started with some turkey hunting at the crack of dawn, I went for my long run when he got home (windy but sunny), Ed ran when I got back, and then we took the kids out for lunch, then a quick (cold) stop to the see the bears, and then to Ferdinands for some so good ice cream. Where we ended up buying some cheese and sausages for dinner. It was a good day...the sort that makes me think if summer ever comes, we'll be a pretty happy bunch!

Well, hello

We've been busy. And I don't even have the pictures to prove it. Last week was a bit of a blur...here's an example of one day (I can't even remember which): I woke up one morning and the only thing I was planning to do was go to a 7:30pm showing of an early preview of a movie that is coming out next month (this is extremely rare here to get an early preview, we're lucky if we get movies the month they are actually released!) and I came out to some lovely sun and decided to wash windows, which included washing all the wood blinds. Which made me want to wash all the slipcovers. Which led me to some trim that needed touching up, which ended up with me repainting all the window and floor trim in the dining room, kitchen, and den. Which made me think the dining, kitchen, and den curtains needed washed (and ironed). Then (actually mid-mess) I made a quick trip to Lewiston--Costco, Walmart, and Ross. Then I came home and finished the ironing and putting all the slipcovers back on the furniture. Then I made dinner and cleaned it up, and then hit the gym. And when I walked out of the gym all sweaty and tired, I saw a bunch of people heading into the movie theater next door and I looked at my watch and sure enough...it was 7:30. And I had to go home and finish putting away all the laundry.

Definitely felt a little like our old friend, Cinderella.

The rest of the week was eerily similar for me, though everyone else had a good one....big (good) news for Ed, fantastic mid-terms for the kids, pears (big hit) for Henry.

The big and the bitty.

Buzz and my puzzle kid, keeping busy.

My new favorite....

Henry.

Henry has been back to his sweet self for a couple weeks now and we are glad! One of my favorite parts of the day is after I put Jemma down for a nap and then I get to snuggle him for a few minutes before his nap and he just cracks me up. He loves to grab my face and kiss me and then he giggles and buries his head. Makes me laugh out loud! We've also been spending lots of time looking at old pictures to see who he looks like and I'm happy to report that he looks an awful lot like his big brother. They have the exact same smile, which if I think about too long makes me cry. One of the best things about Jack is his big happy smile (even strangers comment on it regularly!) so to think Henry has that sweet smile is just too much goodness for me.

I'll post the proof when I get my camera back but for now you'll have to take my word for it.

Happy Friday!

Spring!

In other news,

Jemma found her shadow. Cutest.thing.ever.

That memory is now filed in "Things never to be forgotten." I love two and a half.

Porcupines!

Super cute and yet another reason I don't homeschool.

I am sad to say, though, that one of those little guys had a big bite out of his underbelly the next day. I'm not naming names but I will say a certain little Pudge has never met a marshmallow (painted or otherwise) that she didn't like!

dollar scoop night

is my go-to fun night during Ed's busy season.

So I figured why not take a few extras:

(eight little kiddies, totally underdressed for 40 degrees and ice cream.)

All the way there Sara kept saying, "wouldn't it be funny if they had purple ice cream? Do you think they have purple ice cream? Have you had purple ice cream? I would totally laugh if they had purple ice cream"

And guess what:

Oh Baskin Robbins, you're a dream come true.

It's April...

which means it's snowing one minute, bright and sunny the next, and then we'll have a downpour of hail (Jack says, "look, it's raining snowballs!"). But regardless of the day, at just about 5:00 every night, the wind stops, the sun shines and it's just about perfect for a walk.

The Casebolt kids were at their grandparents' on Saturday and Ed and I both had a ten miler planned for that morning so we got a sitter and actually ran together. Which, thanks to the four little monkeys, is a rare treat. And then we walked the kids to the park where I noticed that three of my kids (and their daddy) were in shorts and flip flops cause it was a whoppin' 50 degrees out and that's apparently summer to us!

Spring, you came!

and we could not be happier!

Day 1 (of the longest week ever)

Ha! Not really.

But it is day one of my week with eight kids. 2 eight year olds, a 7, 2 fives, a three, a two, and a zero (as my kids like to say). Truthfully, my noise standards have relaxed a bit in the last five years so this isn't too bad. And we happen to like these kids so lots of big plans in the works!

The one thing I always forget is how much longer eveything takes with extra kids. Today we were off to pick up Jack and Sara after school and I laid Ben and Jemma's clothes out on the floor and told them to get dressed while I ran to brush my teeth. I came back and sure enough, Jemma was dressed and just buckling her last shoe but little Ben was still sitting there in his pjs and with a big smile and a wave over his clothes, he says, "Hi Kelly! Dis isn't working!" Boys.

And I'm going to post this one cause next week when the shininess of the situation wears off a bit, I'll want to remember it:

Jack and Sara held hands all the way out to the car and Jack says, "I love you Sara" and she says, "I love you too Jack." And he says, "we can do whatever you want when we get home!" and she says, "no Jack, you pick...it's your house." And they both giggle with the goodness of it all.