Happy Birthday Nicholas!!

Nicholas turned five today!  It's really overwhelming to me how fast my kids lives are speeding along.  I honestly never thought I would ever have kids this old.  I got him registered for kindergarten a few weeks ago and he is so excited!  For Nicholas' birthday, I went out and got decorations and decorated the living room very fancily, I also bought him some balloons and a Batman pinata. 

 He got a pink cake because he wanted strawberry which I let him decorate himself.  Daniel watched but was not allowed to help.

 Next he went out with his brothers and some of our neighbors to break open the pinata.  Poor Batman lost the loop you use to hang it up from so Ben tied the rope around the neck and we lynched Batman.

 Then we did presents and cake and ice cream.  He got things like scrapbook supplies, play kitchen stuff, and sidewalk chalk.  He really loves drawing and making cards so it was a really good birthday for him!

Snowman!!

Recently we had a snow storm.  It didn't last very long, but it dumped a bunch of snow on us and then it warmed up and it all melted away.  Before it was all gone, Nicholas and Daniel were able to get in a quick snowman with their Daddy.  They had been waiting all winter to build one.

He helped them hoist the snowballs on top of each other and then we found an old scarf and some baby carrots and rocks so we could make it look all snowman-y.

Nicholas was the most excited and most proud of their creation.

Aloha!!

We recently went to Kauai Hawaii for a family trip. It was a lot of fun! We were only there for a day and got to see some jungle and the lighthouse before we spent the rest of our time at the beach. It was so nice to be somewhere warm and sunny for a change! While driving around the island, the kids got restless so Ben and I tried to think of things they could do to pass the time so it would be quieter like having them count palm trees and sing songs. Daniel then came up with a new song to the tune of "Jesus wants me for a sunbeam". It went, "Hawaiian, Hawaiian, Jesus wants to be a Hawaiian...". It was hilarious! I almost died laughing! Little kids are so funny!

Maddie Pie's Half-a-birthday!!

According to tradition, we had a party for Madelynn's half-a-birthday.  I know a lot of people think it's silly but it's an important mile stone to me and I think it ought to be celebrated.  I make half a cake (piled on the other half so there is enough cake for everyone who comes), light half a candle, we sing half the birthday song, and then eat the cake with half a gallon of ice cream.

It's also the first time the baby gets to try rice cereal and it's fun for everyone to watch the first bites.  None of my kids ever really liked it and Madelynn was no exception.  She hated it!!

Merry Christmas!!

This is a few days late, but I wanted to post a few pictures from Christmas. Our Christmas started on Christmas Eve with dinner and presents at my mom's house. Then it was home and off to Bed in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. Or something like that. We had a great day on Christmas! The kids let us sleep in pretty late as far as Christmas morning goes. Then we opened presents and had a lazy morning at home. Our Christmas present highlights included Madelynn's play mat, Daniel's train, Nicholas' Cuddle Bug, which is a scrapbooking tool that cuts out shapes, Alex's Leapster 2, my new sewing machine, and Ben's new shaver. We then went to Ben's parent's house for food and family and then off to my grandparent's house to see my side of the family. It was pretty laid back and family filled which has become my favorite. I used to wonder how old people could be satisfied with that, so I guess now I am old because I just enjoy being with the ones I love and hanging out.

Us

Ben and I have been married seven years. I can't believe it's been that long sometimes, time just seems to fly the older I get. We have 4 kids. Alex, Nicholas, Daniel, and Madelynn. They are my world! It's crazy to look at them and think that I made these four little people. I can't imagine life without them. I love my family! With three boys, every day seems like an adventure and I wonder what a quiet life would be like. I'll probably find out soon at the rate my kids are growing.