February and March

At one point I had big plans to get all caught up on the blog, post about 10 posts about every little thing that has happened in the past few months, and edit about 90 pictures.

Well.  That didn't happen.  But I am going to go ahead and post a handful of pictures from some fun things from February and March and call it a day.  I'm sure there's a million little stories I'm going to forget because I never wrote it out anywhere, but life will go on.  Hopefully I can be a better blogger this month, because May promises to be a fun one!

At the end of February, we hopped up to my parents' house for a quick visit to go to a wedding.  The littles made cookies with MoMo,


looked for bugs with "Zane cousin",

and "held" baby Nora.

Baby Nora is going to be a big sister in September.  Have I mentioned that?  She'll just be a mere 14 months older than her little sister.  More babies for me to hold :)

The next morning, we loaded up and headed out to Laurel's first birthday party!

Laurel, who will also be a big sister very soon.  Her baby sister will be born in July.  And even more babies for me to hold :)

This past Spring Break, (yes, two months ago) Brandon took a group of high school and junior high students to Memphis for some mission work and BBQ. Thanks to a bunch of people who got the flu/fish hooks caught in their scalp/had car accidents/ruptured their appendixes, I had the privilege of working in the ER several days over Spring Break. Other people's misfortunes ensure my job security. And a small part of me gets EXCITED when someone has a heart attack.  It's a weird job.  As tradition has now dictated, Dane and Aidan spent a few days with my dad over their Spring Break. Before heading out to the Lazy S Ranch, they helped my dad take pictures of a baseball team.

And this picture of Aidan was taken which is one of my new favorite pictures ever.

I'd love to tell you about everything they did on the ranch,

but since it involved turtles, pond swimming, guns, candy,

bows and arrows, and Diet Dr. Pepper, I probably don't want to know.

A couple other little tidbits from recently...

Dane's front top tooth has been loose for about two months.  It has now turned grey, and sits at a crooked angle, yet he refuses to let us pull it.  At 8 1/2 years old, I think he's just determined to be the oldest kid ever to lose a front tooth.

Aidan had mono back in February.  We thought he had strep throat.  Then we thought he didn't have strep, but just bad tonsillitis.  Then we finally learned he had mono, and he ended up missing over a week of school.  Poor guy just felt so sick for about a week or so, then he was back to his normal Aidan-y self, but still had to sit out of PE and recess for a solid month.

I went to sign Emerson up for kindergarten (kindergarten!!) last week, and realized I have lost her social security card.  Of course.  The one kid that actually NEEDS her social security card, and it is no where to be found.  So I get to spend my day off this week at the social security office.  Fun times!  She started on swim team a couple of weeks ago and LOVES it.

Harper is still, well, Harper.  And the reason we have had to enforce the "no more boys peeing in the backyard" rule.  The other day Harper was playing outside while I was doing dishes in the kitchen.  After a few minutes, she comes inside and tells me "poo poo on the back porch!"  I think to myself, "silly girl.  There's no poo poo on the back porch.  It's probably just a squished bug or dirt or something."  Upon further investigation, as it turns out, there WAS poo poo on the back porch.  Poo poo that Harper had then STOMPED AROUND IN while wearing her pretty pink glittery shoes, then proceeded to track into the FRESHLY MOPPED kitchen.  Just so you know, there's no chapter in the "What to Expect" books titled "What To Do When Your Toddler Defecates On The Back Porch Then Stomps Around In It Wearing $9 Walmart Glittery Shoes Before Tracking It On A Freshly Mopped Kitchen Floor".  And because there is no chapter, I will tell you that it involves this:  a bathtub, bleach spray, a hose with a spray nozzle, and just THROWING AWAY the pink glittery shoes.  Trust me, they're not worth cleaning.  So now, Harper has a pair of hand-me-down pink sparkly sandals that she calls her "pink sparkle shoes without the poo poo."  This. Girl.

Hopefully will be back before the end of the month,