Spring is finally HERE!!!!

This is what happens when you acclimate to Washington weather....the sun comes out and we all feel a little less like Southern folks and a little more like vampires!The plus is that it never takes long to adjust to GORGEOUS sunshine and BEAUTIFUL cloud free days! We took every single one of these pictures (plus a bunch more) in all of 10 minutes! You just can't help but bounce around the yard and feel blissfully WONDERFUL on a day like today! I can't wait for these days to happen more and less days of clouds and rain...okay...maybe a little rain...I want the grass to stay green and the water bill to stay low!I remember one day last year we had a Sunday much like today and we rushed home from church to take some pictures in the back yard while the sun was still a sunnin'. Lance was going through this phase where he would normally give this most serious face with not much of any expression when taking his picture. Well, this particular summer day he was smiling so big you couldn't even see his eyes!! I kept asking him to not smile so "crazy" and he answered, "But Mom, it's sun shiny today and it makes me smile BIG!" It's true...the sunshine not only seems to make our family "smiley" but the birds, the frogs, the flowers, and every other living creature around us. WE LOVE IT!!!Even Ashley was bouncing around the yard! Most of the time she was moving so fast I couldn't even get a picture of her! A ball of energy that little chi-chi is!!!I was like a kid in a candy shop watching my tulips pop up out of the ground. What a wonderful feeling to see life grow right before your eyes...Lance cracked me up as we had to stop and pose for this picture.....next to the "RED" plant so it would match his "BOOMER SOONER" shirt! The boy has Sooner pride BAD!Apparently we're past the "serious face" in pictures these days......Hey...so we may not have had the whole day to bask in this goodness but we did manage to stop and smell the flowers if only for a few moments. Oh how we enjoyed them! :)

I LOVE SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here in Washington the weather is still back and forth, back and forth, and back and forth AGAIN. But....our days are filled with more light and the air is getting crisper everyday! Today was one of the first days that I had a reminder on why I love this season so much. We had a little frog hopping around our front porch trying so hard to get in the potted plants. Lance, Michael, and myself felt so sorry for him that we ever so gently placed him in the pot; in the process scared the daylights out of the poor little thing I'm sure. A couple of hours later....RIBBIT...RIBBIT...RIBBIT...a sound I could so easily fall asleep to!!

On top of that, a couple more of my tulips have bloomed!!!! YEAH FOR SPRING!!!! :)

Easter Weekend Starts....

So we started off on Saturday afternoon with the city's egg hunt. It was COLD and CROWDED, but they DID have HOT CHOCOLATE and COOKIES so that made it all better! I can't believe how fast kids can clean up a bazillion eggs off the ground!! We waited about 10 minutes for the egg hunt to start and it was over in what seemed like 45 seconds! AMAZING! Good thing I had "the talk" with the kiddos on the way there...."Look guys this is not what Easter is all about. This just to have a little fun...not to fill your buckets to the top...just fun. And we're gonna be happy with whatever we get...right?!!?" (I bet every parent can hear that speach in the back of their brains)I think Lance was still trying to convince himself that he was "happy with what he got". Poor kiddo...it's hard to get eggs when he's clumped in with the 12 year olds! They both did well.

Come evening time we headed to church. We're the traditional Sunday morning people but last week the church asked the regular attendees to come Saturday so to leave Sunday open for our "Easter guests". It was a little odd feeling going to church in the evening but I must say.....I'll enjoy sleeping in on Sunday morning!!! The kids and I discussed the real meaning for Easter and talked about the baptisms that took place at church that evening. This was such a treat for me. We read the Bible, have studies, bible stories and such but there getting older. They're wanting more details of the story...and their starting to apply Christ to their own lives. It makes me cry inside with joy. I'm excited about this change...this understanding that there really is something bigger than what we're living right now. With age comes change....comes knowledge and understanding. I can't wait to see what lies ahead and I pray for the strength and guidance to lead them down the right path!

Stay tuned for tomorrow's egg hunt...... :)

Reason #1....

This is one of those reasons why we are snapped back to reality and don't want any more kiddos! They seem to cost a little money.....Apparently the word is, Celeste's mouth is too small on top.....you'd NEVER guess with all the noise that comes out of her!!! Thankfully this little girl is a champ! I though for sure we'd have 10 tons of drama....not yet any how! The orthodontist tells me that this is the most tolerated mouth device, better know as a mid-evil torture thingy, in children. Thankfully this is expected to be a short treatment! :)
Hang in there CHAMP! You're doing a wonderful job! :)

We got one....

A nice day of ball!! I even wore flip-flops!!! AMAZING....since we had snow like a week ago!!! This was a great day of ball...even won our first game...and Lance made a run!!!! YEAH PIRATES!!!! Way to go LANCE! :)