Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its Way!!!

We are getting into the Easter spirit at our house. We spent Saturday morning dying Easter eggs. Both kids had fun, but Russell is at the perfect age for this type of project. He was interested in every step and never left the kitchen from the time I put the eggs in water to the time we cleaned up. We will be heading to Aron's hometown on Friday to celebrate Easter with his family. The kids will participate in their first Easter egg hunt on the bluff in St. Joseph followed by an Easter parade! We are hoping for NO more snow!!!

Russell's Easter Musical

Last night we went to Russell's preschool Easter musical. He was so excited to wear his "musical" clothes! He practically inhaled his dinner and flew to his bedroom to start putting on his dress shirt and tie. After he was all dressed, he stood in front of the full length mirror so tall and proud. He said, "I look like Daddy!" I tried to get a good picture of him, but he was too excited to stand still long enough for me to catch the perfect shot.

This is Russell and his best friend William. They are only 1 day apart in age and have been together since they began walking. The two of them cause some major double trouble at times, but they love each other. I can't believe what strong friendships form at such a young age. The crazy thing is...William is related to my close friend Andrea who lives in Grand Rapids. We did not find this out until about a year ago. What a small world!!!

Sloane sat as patiently as she could waiting for Russell to perform. I think she actually sang and danced more than him. Prior to the start of the show, Ms. Rita, the daycare owner led the audience in prayer. After everyone said "Amen," Sloane announced her own happy tune, "AayMEN!" Everyone around us giggled!

Russell sat great with his friends during the program, but never uttered a word of song. This is strange for the boy who rarely leaves his guitar more than a few feet away at all times. Aron says it's because a true musician sings from the heart not for the audience :-)

A Day of Shopping

Every year the men in my family take a day trip to Dundee, MI to visit the outdoor store Cabela's. My mom and I take advantage of this day without the men by meeting in Birch Run to do a little retail therapy of our own at the outlet mall. Last year was Russell and Sloane's first time joining in on the fun. Russell hangs with the men looking at hunting and fishing gear while Sloane learns the ropes of finding the best deals in town! Sloane proved to be a born shopper. At noon I asked her if she wanted to keep shopping or eat lunch. She quickly and loudly announced, "SHOP!" She picked out water bottles for her and Russell and especially enjoyed finding new shoes. At almost two-years-old, this little girl already has an obsession with shoes! When I pick her up from daycare, she often has another child's shoes on. When shopping, she squeals with delight, "shoes, shoes" as soon as she sees a pair. Grammy spoiled her a bit this weekend by letting her choose two new pairs: white sandals with colorful flowers and sparkly pink tennis shoes. What can I say...girls will be girls!!!

Shop Til You Drop!

Enjoying a lunch break at Culver's....mmm...frozen custard!
The men (plus cousin Katie) enjoying lunch after their Cabela's outing.

Fun Friends + Cute Kids = Wonderful Weekend!

Fun Friends!
We had such a fabulous weekend! Saturday night we met up with 4 other families for a delicious Italian meal at Buca Di Beppo. Aron and I were a little worried considering our reservation was at 7:00 p.m. (this being Russell and Sloane's usual bath time followed by bedtime story and tucking in by 8:00 p.m.) but our children proved us wrong. They not only sat nice, ate quietly, and entertained themselves, but they did this for 3 hours! Yes, we had them out until 10:00 p.m.! We had so much fun! Thank you to our wonderful friends for getting us out of our house!

On Our Way to the Restaurant!

Juice, Pizza, Entertainment...Let's do this EVERY weekend!

The Guys... Aron, Russell, Sean, Graham, Declan, Dave, and Steve

The Gals... Jody, Tracy, Heidi, Mary, Kirsten, and Sloane

Cute Kids!

Russell and Sloane were absolutely adorable Sunday night. Russell so badly wanted to put his little sister to bed by himself. He insisted that he could read her a story, rock her, and sing her a song without adult assistance. I had tears in my eyes watching them. If only they could stay this age FOREVER! I pray that the love they show one another now, lasts a lifetime. I know they will disagree, pull hair, and maybe even slam doors in the other's face (sorry Keith) but please God let them love, forgive, and support one another forever.

Cuddles, Hugs, and Night-Night Kisses

St. Patty's Day Parade

Whoo, hoo!!! Spring is almost here!!! We are READY!!!!!!

We enjoyed a fun and festive day in downtown Royal Oak on Saturday. It was the annual St. Patrick's Day parade. The kids had a blast watching all the Irish floats, dancers, and dogs...yes, tons of Irish dogs! Sloane made quite a few furry new friends. She had to pet every one that walked by (and there were a lot)! Russell enjoyed just being outside with his friends. He is always wide-eyed when the fire trucks drive past. Afterward the neighbors came over for hot dogs, chips, and one of Aron's now famous pies :-)

"The parade is coming! The parade is coming!"

Sloane collected candy and beads.

We spent today enjoying the fabulous weather!!! Russell and Sloane were completely thrilled with playing at the park. It was as if they were visiting a long lost friend. Russell can now go down the fire pole all by himself and Sloane (thank heavens) now understands the fear of height and was much more manageable on the play structures compared to last year. Last summer she nearly ran right off the edge of every high platform. I literally would have to walk behind her holding on to the back of her shirt. It was so nice today to simply watch from below as the two kids giggled and ran around.

The sand table is out of hibernation!

This weather rocks!!!

Let's hope for many more days like today!!!

Quiet Weekend

It's been a quiet (and rainy) weekend. All of our planned events were cancelled due to Russell and Sloane not feeling well. Both kids came down with bad colds and I ended up taking Sloane to the after hours clinic today. She has croup. We are all desperate for spring to get here and this cold and flu season to be OVER!

Our little trooper giving herself a saline breathing treatment.

Russell loves the show Word World. Here he is "building words."

I have to take a moment to brag about my husband :-) Many of you know that he loves homemade pies. Well, last week he got it in his head that he wanted to make a pie. He got out all of the ingredients and went to work with the kids busy helping him. The pie did not turn out so well. I think between it being his first pie along with two extra hands over handling the dough it was destined to fail. Aron is very competitive and could not be remembered as a pie failure so after the kids went to bed he began the process again. At midnight the perfect cherry pie was complete! He ate the entire pie in less than 24 hours!!! Last night after I put the kids to bed I came out to the kitchen to find Aron at it again. This time he added details...a woven top, glistening shine, and a beautiful bubbling of cherry filling. Now less than 24 hours later, he has only two pieces left. He tells me that his next pie will be apple. I hope my Dad is around for the taste testing, it's his favorite (we will be sure to have cheese with it, Dad)!

Mmmmmm!

Weekend with Grammy Carlson

Aron's mom came to visit for the weekend. Russell and Sloane were so excited when she walked through the door Friday evening. They both ran to her and began talking a mile a minute telling her about their latest adventures. She was pulled in all directions to see toys, books, and everything else of theirs lying around the house.

On Saturday, we decided to take the kids to the mall. Russell has been asking for a belt. For the last week he has worn one of Aron's belts wrapped two times around his little waist. After making our single purchase, we headed to the children's play area. Sloane was a hoot to watch! Her little feet were in constant motion the entire time! I was delighted with how both children behaved. After our library incident last week, I was a bit nervous to take them out. They were gentle, patient, and cooperative with the gobs of other children playing, and they did not argue with me when it was time to go! Whew, maybe I am doing something right?!?!

I am thrilled that March is here. In like a lion, out like a lamb...right? Let's pray that lamb part will get here soon!!!

Playing baby dolls with Grammy Carlson.

Russell enjoys playing with his geotrack set.
Grammy helped keep the trains from crashing.

I have to brag about my great find! I stopped into a second hand children's store and found this awesome pirate ship for $8.99! Russell has wanted one for a long time. I intended on putting it away for another time, but that little smarty pants found it!!! He LOVES it!!! In this picture, he is "fixing" it :-)