Quick Photo

Here's a quick photo from last weekend, my long weekend was very busy and I'm working on trying to catch up.  Have a good week.

Happy Birthday Miss El

Today is Miss El's birthday.  I called her tonight to wish her a happy birthday and tease her about being 5.  I've been teasing her about being 5 since she turned 6, she hates it.  So I say to her "Elly you're 5 today" and she says "Grandma I'm going to be 9 next year".  She's not even 8 for a day and she's already thinking about turning 9, silly girl.  

So last night I went over to her house to help her frost and decorate her cupcakes .... that's a hard job for a one armed girl :)  Here's the birthday girl with her colorful birthday fishes.  

Hard to believe 8 years ago we struggled to understand what was happening to our baby girl.  I remember my sister-in-law telling me as I cried my eyes out "it's a life Connie".  Yep she was right and she changed our lives that day.  Love you Miss El

Flower Shopping

This weekend my sisters and I went flower shopping and I remember this house from last year but I seen if after the tulips were done blooming so we took a field trip to catch it at peek time.  There have to be 5,000 tulips planted in this yard.  The owner came out as we are sneaking around and gave us permission to walk around.  It's raining like crazy but we still took about an hour tour of the whole place.  It's the husband that plants all these..... hummmmm I think I should take John over there for lessons.  :)

Anyone want to plant tulips this fall?

I will have many other photos from this place during the week, it was AMAZING

Family Sneak Peak

 Here is a quick peak at a few family photos I took today.  This little girl started out a little shy but at the end she was hamming it up.  

Gotta love those eyes

Little brother has the same beautiful eyes.  

She's broken ;(

Today I got a message on my cell with a photo from Shan, the photo was an arm in a cast.  I could tell it was Miss El and immediately called Shannon.  What happened, is she okay, when did she get a cast, is she okay, how did this happen, when did this happen, is she okay????  All I hear on the other side is "Mom she's fine, stop freaking out"  Okay so when did my daughters grow up to have their own children and take their children to the doctors for things like broken arms and not call their mother to hold their hand????

Miss El had a run in with another kid on the playground during a way to rough (heeheehee) kick ball game and she fell.  She's a tough cookie because she stayed at school and then at CLC she took another fall off the teeter-totter but still was fine.  She slept all night long and then in the morning thought it might hurt a little bit more than it was suppose to.  Sure enough xrays show both bones are fractured and she picked a blue cast for her favorite color.  Back to school she went and after school had to go back for a longer cast and then picks out green for her grandma's favorite color.  So here is Miss El sporting her blue/green cast.  The one of many that she will be having throughout the summer months.

We're not sure which fall actually fractured the bone(s) or if they both did but Elly didn't cry one tear until Grandma walked into the clinic during the second appointment and as soon as she seen me tears started on both her and I.  She's a toughy and she'll be just fine, it might take grandma awhile to recover though.

Closer

Just in case it wasn't close enough for you, I know it wasn't for me.  I like things close!!

New Growth

You have to love the look of a fern during these early days of spring.  I notice them growing in the ditches and could stop and take a photo of everyone of them.  Soon this look will be gone so get out there and scan the ditches, it just might make you smile seeing that pinwheel.  

Spring is coming

It's taken a long time but spring colors are starting to pop.  The first two colors to show themselves are green and yellow.  After the rain we have been having the green is really bright.  

I'm finally starting to not be tempted to throw a brick at the TV screen every time I heard that commercial 

"Look outside it's grow time".

Sneak Peek + Family

It's time for nice weather and photo shoots that can be outside.... but if it's not nice weather (cold, rainy and windy like on Winnie the Pooh) we can still have fun photos.  

While Miss "B" caught a few more zzzz's in the car the boys did just like their Mom asked.  They knew how important this photo session was going to be to her.  I'm not sure what she was worried about.... they were fantastic.

Miss "B" is the finishing touch to such a cute family.

Oh I love how stinkin' cute she is and mom was worried about her "stranger danger" stage.  She is a whole 1 year old now!!!!   No signs of any stranger danger, she was all smiles.

I love to capture the kids when they are being themselves.  From what you can see here they all love their little sister and fight each other off to protect her.  She was one tough little 1 year old, she fought them off just fine.

I'm sure mom will be quite pleased with the photos we captured even if we didn't have sunshine and freedom to run around outside.   The great thing about photos is you can stop the moment and have the memories forever no matter where you are.  

Thank you all for helping me continue to do what I love and filling my morning with laughter from all your silliness.

Garage Sale Time

Garage Sale Season has started and I haven't really been in the mood so I just pass them up, but today on my lunch I spotted this chair.  Better yet.....

Wait for it.......

It was $7

So even without a cushion I planted my butt for a drink on the porch.

Morning Changes

We've had a change here in the mornings that has taken some getting used to.  John has been getting up at 4AM for 27 some years and last week his hours changed.   He was loving his new hours and couldn't wait for them to start..... me on the other hand was going to take some getting used to someone in my space.  I love to push the snooze and John is a non-snooze pusher, he hates to hear the snooze be pushed and we both have to get up at the same time now.  I sleep on the other side of the bed so I would have to climb over him to push the snooze or we could switch sides...... neither one of those options were going to work.  My hubby was loving his new hours so much that he decided to set the alarm and push the snooze for me and go downstairs to sit in the livingroom while I get to enjoy 9 more minutes of sleep.  It's really been working out quite well since I just throw my gym clothes on, pack a bag, brush my teeth and out the door I go while he gets ready for work.   

This is what I see now when I leave the house...... a light on, that's so weird.

Spider Scratching

So last night as we're watching TV out of the corner of my eye I see a movement, I quickly snap my head to see a big ol' hairy spider crawling across the carpet.  OMG I hate spiders, I'm okay with them outside but in my house is not acceptable.  I scream to John and point...... he says "what?".  Why is it that guys can see you're upset and pointing to the exact location of the object that is causing you to interrupt their tv show and they still have to ask "what?"  like they don't see anything.  It had stopped in it's tracks with my screaming so I scream to John, hurry get it before it crawls away!!!  Oh he's not gonna hurt you.  GET IT ALREADY!!  I don't have anything to get it with..... I DON'T CARE, USE YOUR FOOT..... PLEASE GET THE STUPID SPIDER ALREADY.  As he slowly gets out of his chair and moves across the carpet on his hands and knees while I'm hanging from the ceiling fan....  He fakes a swipe like he's going to fling it at me..... more shrill screams.  And then he squishes it, my hero!!

So moving onto a couple hours later we go to bed and I put the fancy pillows on the floor along side my side of the bed.  I'm trying to fall asleep and all I hear is "scratch, scratch, scratch"..... it's the spider and I piled the pillows on top of him and he's trying to get out.  I force my eyes shut and pray for sleep to happen fast.  Scratch, scratch, scratch..... I ask John..... do you hear that?  what?  Can't you hear that scratching?  No, he falls back asleep.  Scratch, Scratch..... oh boy I sit up in bed trying to hear where the scratching is coming from.  John get annoyed with my wiggling and trys to hear what I hear..... "you got damn good hearing, I don't hear anything"  I again try to fall asleep and can't do it, it's a noise I can't figure out and therefore I can't sleep.  I sit up again.......   WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU HEAR?...... someone's cranky.  After my CSI investigation in the dark I found that the window wasn't all the way locked and it was making a noise.... locked the window and wha.la.... sleep happened.

Easter - 2 weeks later

With the birth of Maxwell we didn't have Easter with all the kids, at home, finding their Easter Baskets, having a traditional Easter Egg Hunt.  So today 2 weeks later on Mother's Day we had Easter.  Elly comes into the house when they got here with her long sad face and says "Grandma is it Easter yet?"  "Yep Elly it's Easter at Grandma's today."  She squeals "It's about time"  

It was such a beautiful day we had the Easter Egg Hunt outside..... minus one egg.  I hid one in the bug shield of the truck and John took it to town (not knowing there was an egg hidden on it) and 5 miles later he got a bit of a scare as the egg came loose flew up and smashed on the side of the road.... money and all.  Let's just say some walker will be "finders keepers" some day.

Here all the Hunters all ready to start.

Garrett figured this hunt our quite fast.

Mallory needed a little help from Momma

Elly is getting so tall. 

Maxwell even found a few eggs while sleeping.... he's that's good already :)

Shawna, Mike and the boys came over and brought Mallory books..... that was it she was done hunting for eggs.   "Read Books"  That is the same thing Elly did, if we were at a parade and the church group handed out their books Elly was sitting on the curb with her nose in the book and the parade no longer mattered.  

This had to be my best Mother's Day ever..... the weather was great, the kids were so good and playing outside and with each other, Grandpa won Garrett over with the 4-wheeler.  Everyone took their turns holding Maxwell, and I got to enjoy everyone being there.  

Mother's Day are hard for those of us with our Mothers in heaven, I've had my share of tough Mother's Days and there isn't a day that goes by that I'd wish she was here to see my beautiful grandchildren.  I know she would be hunting for those eggs right next to them and doing something silly to make them laugh.  She is here with us everyday and today she helped make my day perfect, she made me who I am and she taught me how to be a Mother to 3 very important people in my life and I taught them to be truly wonderful Mommies.  

Happy Mother's Day to all of you.

Time for Flowers

I got a couple of nice flower baskets for my birthday and trying to give them sun and warmth is a little tricky.  It's to cold to set them outside in the morning before I leave for the gym.  They will have to be happy with the couple hours of afternoon sun before getting put back in the garage at night. 

They are doing well for now and make me crave for an all day greenhouse tour with my sisters. 

Color finally

Come on flowers you can do it..... finally some color is popping up in this very long brown season.

May Day

Happy May Day!!

Elly and G-Man came over today and we made May Day Baskets.  I was surprised Garrett wanted to help as much as he did.  He loves flowers.  They bought flowers on Friday for them to plant at home and on the way home from the nursery he called his flower his baby.  Then the sun came in the window and he shields them with his little hands and says "no sun..... no touch my baby".  He's such a silly boy.