Happy Mother's Day!!!

I hope all you moms out there had a very Happy Mother's Day:)  I know us moms work hard each and every day, and sometimes we may be so busy with everyone else we forget about ourselves.  Well I hope you took some time "off" and were able to enjoy the day relaxing!

We started off the day with yummy donuts and some gifts.  The kids made me some really precious things at school that are so special to me:)  (I remember making similar things for my mom when I was little and I always just loved seeing her open/read them.)  Kassidy even painted me a neat cup for the bathroom with polka dots and MOM on it.  

We had just enough time for a quick pic before church.  Captain America even stopped by!  

We taught our Kindergarten class at church and had fun making special cards for their mothers.  It was especially sweet seeing the boys write I love you or You're the best Mom:)  After church we headed to lunch (just like everyone else).  The wait actually wasn't very long at Macaroni Grill and they even had a nice set-up in the bar area with coloring books/crayons, puzzles, and books.  

My wonderful hubby Keith:)  He surprised me with the cutest Coach purse/bag.  It's big enough to carry a book or magazine and a snack, but small enough to carry on my shoulder.  LOVE IT!!!  And spring colors of course!

It was a super fun and relaxing day!  It was so great to get a break from doing wash, cooking, cleaning, etc etc etc.  They all did a great job taking over:)

Again, I hope everyone had a GREAT day!!!!!  MISSING my mom and mother-in-law especially today:(  I love you both so much and it sure wasn't the same without you here!!!  Hope to see you soon:)

2 more birthdays:)

My lil' man turned 4 March 10th.  He was very excited about his birthday this year!  We gave him a choice for breakfast and he chose the new Krispy Kreme...wouldn't you?!  Since it also happened to be the day we spring our clocks forward we received a free donut in line:)  And yes...the kids wore their PJ's.

 Before church we opened up presents from the family.

 New Veggie Tales DVD

 Spider Man that actually climbs the wall

 Spider Man stuffed animal

 New shoes

 Spider Man shirt

 Decorate your own piggy bank

 Bat Man shirt

 Monster Truck that talks

 Iron Man mask...can you guess what he's really into right now?  Yup...superheroes!!!

 He did a great job decorating his new piggy bank!

 BIG breath to blow out the candles!

 My sweet boy:)

The next weekend Karson had his party at Play Nation...a very cool indoor playground equipment dealer.  They have several different wooden playgrounds and other things for you to play on.

 Me, Lindsey, Sarah, and Kelly ("The girls" as we often refer to them have been friends of our families since our kids were born.  We are very lucky to have them in our lives and the kids just LOVE them!)

 Karson had his party with his friend, Mason, who turned 5.  (Sarah from above pic is his step mom)

 Big sis helping out:)

 Karson and his friend Lucas from school and baseball

 Yea! More superhero toys!

 Jake and the Never Land Pirates sword

 Legos

At his 4 year well check Karson weighed in at 33 lbs (24th percentile) and was 39.5 inches (32nd percentile).  The Dr. said he'd probably end up around 5'8 or 5'9.  I'm not sure how she knows that, but we'll see!  Karson is a pretty good eater, but has picked up some of Kaleb's pickiness.  If Kaleb says he doesn't like it then Karson automatically says he doesn't like it.  But, when we get him to try it he finds out that he does like it most of the time.  Lately he wants me to make toad in holes (?) every day...egg in the middle of toast.  It's his favorite along with PB&J every day for lunch at home.

Karson has been going to preschool all day on the days I work.  He has tons of friends and just as many stories to share every day about what he did and what his friends did:)  He knows all of his colors, shapes, letters, most of the letter sounds, can write his name, cut with scissors, and count to 39 (he gets the 1-2-3, but doesn't know 40, 50, 60).  He is a TV junky and asks to watch it all the time!  His favorites are Mickey Mouse, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and Doc McStuffins.  He really likes to dress-up in his superhero costumes and "fight" with Daddy and Kaleb with their light sabers.  That's always the highlight of his day!

Karson has started to get more chores around the house like feeding the dogs, emptying the dishwasher (non-breakables only), cleaning his room and the playroom, and helping me wash and put away his clothes.  He's a pretty good helper when he's not too busy playing with big brother:)  He and Kaleb get along REALLY well now and can play together for hours.  I love listening to their imaginations at work!  He and Kaleb also love sleeping in the bunk beds together on weekends.  It's a special treat for them.

Karson loves to go to school to have lunch with Kassidy and Kaleb and even helps me in Kaleb's room.  We do whatever the teacher needs help with and he's always such a good, quiet boy:)  When everyone leaves home in the morning on days I don't work he always says to me, "Just you and me today, Mom!"  I love the extra time to spend with just him.  It's truly precious to me and I'll miss it when he goes to big school.  Luckily I still have awhile before that happens!

Karson is my sweet little guy who's not so little anymore.  He is so grown-up in many ways, especially compared to Kassidy and Kaleb at that age.  I guess that's what happens when you're the youngest.  He loves to hug and give kisses and say I love you...even to the dogs:)  And he's quite funny, too!  Not all of his jokes make sense but the way he says it and with his silly looking face it makes you laugh!  He is such a delight to have and we are so thankful to have him.

The very next day after Karson's birthday is my birthday:)  I love that our special days are so close together!!!  My special Oreo ice cream sundae...my favorite!

We all enjoyed a yummy dinner out at Macaroni Grill the night of Karson's birthday to celebrate both our days.  They server surprised us both with our own ice cream sundaes!  They were so good!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped make our birthdays so special!!!  We are very blessed to have such loving friends and family!!!

My baby girl turns 9!

First of all let me just say that I really cannot believe my little girl is 9!!!  It just doesn't seem right.  And it makes me feel old, haha!  This year in 3rd grade Kassidy has worked very hard.  What a tough year it has been...multiplication, history of SC (let me remind you we from Ohio so I've learned a whole lot there!), a science experiment and presentation, and tons of reading.  She has coped real well with it all and managed to get all A's the first quarter and A/B Honor Roll 2nd and 3rd quarter (and most likely 4th quarter, too).  She really is growing up!  

Kassidy is a HUGE help to me all the time!!!  It's so nice that God gave us a girl first because she's awesome with her little brothers and likes to clean:)  She's become very responsible and in turn has been given more responsibilities.  

We started off her birthday with a quick donut and hot chocolate breakfast (I know, not healthy but it's a nice treat!).  Then off to school she went in her new outfit from Lindsey.

She convinced us to let her open one present from Grandma and Grandpa before school.  So cute!!!

After school on Friday was her party...a sleepover with 5 of her friends.  Since we went big last year with a trip to St. Louis we kept it low key this year.  Let me tell you...these girls had some energy!  But I must say they were all extremely well behaved and got along great:)  We had so much fun together I felt like a kid again!!!

We started off the night with blind folded make overs.  It was pretty funny watching them!

Next we played the M&M game...I cannot tell you how many times we played this at sleepovers when I was growing up...and it's still a hit!  You start with 10 M&Ms in one cup and have to move them all to another cup by sucking them up with a straw.  We played many rounds because they had so much fun:)

Next they made personal pizzas with whatever toppings they wanted.  While they baked they played Just Dance.

This next picture was so precious!  Without any prompting they all grabbed hands and said a prayer.  They each took turns saying something and thanking God for Kassidy's friendship.  It was so sweet:)

Silly pizza crust faces!

After dinner we got out all the dress-up clothes and had a fashion show.  These girls have some creativity!

Group shot...Autumn, Kristina, Kassidy, Sara, Mariana, and Ansley.

A few games of Twister to wear them out more:)

Present time!

Bubble Gum factory and scratch off picture 

Finger nail polish and Justice gift card

Journal, candy, and colored pens

Bath and Body gift set and zip-up case

Sketch book with colored pencils

 What a great group of friends who know Kassidy well!

It took a few tries but I finally got them to hold the pyramid long enough for a picture:)

Last but not least they made ice cream sundaes and watched a movie.  The birthday girl was the only one who fell asleep during the movie...(well I did, too, but I don't count!)

It really was a fun birthday party!  I got lots of little prizes from the Dollar Store and wrapped them in tissue paper.  The winner got to pick their prize which they loved!!!  I didn't have to do a whole lot of work because they are "older" now.  They even got their sleeping bags ready all by themselves and actually slept!  

Back to her actual birthday now...lots of great gifts from family.

Kaleb and Karson were in charge of frosting and decorating the cake...with a little help from Mommy writing the words.

Happy 9th Birthday Sweetheart!!!  You truly are a sweet girl with a very kind and loving heart:)  We love you so much and are so proud of you!!!