Good-bye Mullet and a Playdate

Yes, I know that is quite the title, but it really does describe what our little family has been up to lately. LOL

My sweet Hudson had his first official hair cut this weekend. Poor little guy had what we like to call "old man hair". You know---where his hair is REALLY growing in around his head, but the top---well---not so much. He's still pretty bare up there;)

The back was getting quite long, so I decided it was time for a little hair cut. It was so...hard trying to cut his hair as he was moving around. My sweet boy would not hold still for even a minute. Not only was I nervous about accidentally cutting him with the scissors, I was also worried about getting his hair even and looking somewhat decent.

Well, it's DEFINITELY not even, but it was the best I could do considering it was a moving target;)! I think it looks better though.

So long Mullet!!!
Another month or so and it will time to take him to the real barber for a trim!

This weekend we also enjoyed a play date with friends at the mall.

The kids LOVE going to the mall and playing on the indoor playground.

Of course, the mall is designed where right beside the kids free playground is an area with pay as you go rides. Each 30 second ride is about 75 cents!!! Now normally I tell my kids that we are only playing on the free playground, but before we left home, Riley emptied his little piggy bank and brought with him enough money to ride a few of the rides.

He was SO.....excited to ride and just as excited to share those rides with his sweet sister.
A fun-filled day was had by all!!

Spring Fever

Although the past few days have been rainy and drizzly outside, the beginning of the week was BEAUTIFUL! We took full advantage of the weather and spent as much time as we could outside! It was truly WONDERFUL.

I finally believe spring is REALLY coming. I just can't wait for it to get here,
and THEN stay for a while!!!

We started the week off celebrating with my sweet friend Serena, as her baby Zoe turned one!

First birthdays are so...much fun! The kids had a BLAST celebrating sweet Zoe too.

They enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs in the backyard...

and decorating yummy cupcakes.

Happy birthday precious Zoe!!! We all love you!!!

We spent the rest of the day Monday and ALL day Tuesday OUTSIDE enjoying the SPRING weather!

We went for long walks,



played on the swing set,

had fun on the slide,

colored with side walk chalk,

did some exploring,

and enjoyed a picnic lunch! It was wonderful!!
We now all truly have a case of spring fever.
Please come back, SPRING!!!!!!

Watch out Lance Armstrong!

As soon as Riley turned 4, he was determined to learn how to ride his bike with out training wheels. He so... wanted to keep up with his big brother and the training wheels seemed to be holding him back. So, we took the training wheels off several weeks ago and after about a week or two of practice (and many, many falls later)---he got it!

Rain or shine, Riley is ALWAYS begging to go out and ride. Every afternoon, when all the kids are out in the street, Riley coordinates the bike races.

He draws the starting line and a finish line with some side walk chalk. Then, all the kids line up and race to the end. Riley is getting super fast. (Makes this mama a little nervous though!)
He hasn't been able to beat his big brother yet, but it's only a matter of time.
Maybe we have the makings of the next Lance Armstrong!?!?
we'll have to wait and see---lol

(almost) Wordless Wednesday!

I went to down load some pictures and realized that my camera had been confiscated by one of my little monkey's yesterday! He had fun taking several self portraits! LOL

A visit from the tooth fairy!

Saturday afternoon Corban lost his first tooth! It had been super loose for quite a while, but every time Shane or I offered to try and wiggle it out---Corban would panic!!!! Totally freak out is more like it!!! Honestly, for the past few days, it was basically just hanging by a thread, but he wouldn't let anyone near it.

Well it FINALLY fell out during lunch on Saturday afternoon! He bit into a big piece of pizza, and out it popped!
Cor was so......EXCITED!
I think he was kind-of relieved too!

So the tooth fairy made her first ever appearance at our house Saturday night. When she went to her wallet to see how much money she should leave him for the tooth, she realized she only had a ten and a one dollar bill. Being Cor's first tooth, she wanted to be generous, but a ten just seemed a little too much. Well this tooth fairy was too tired to run to the ATM or the store to get change that late at night, so ten dollars it was. Corban, of course, was super excited when he woke up and saw a ten dollar bill under his pillow.
We made sure to explain to Cor in the morning that the tooth fairy was SUPER generous for his first tooth, but after that she will probably only leave a dollar or two;). We needed to set the expectation right. He has at least three other teeth that are loose right now too.
At ten dollars a tooth, this tooth fairy would most definitely go broke! LOL!

Let the games begin...

So...my lack of blogging last week was because our house took yet another hit of sickness. I feel as if that's all I have been blogging about lately. It's become quite redundant--I know. Believe me...I am so tired of sickness. Last Thursday evening Hudson developed a TERRIBLE ear ache. He was up the ENTIRE NIGHT!!!! Shane and I both agreed it was the worst night we ever had with ANY of our kids. Poor little guy. He screamed all night long. We called the Dr. during the night and he called us in some ear numbing drops in hopes that they would dull the pain and get us through the night. Poor Shane was at the pharmacy at 1am picking up the prescription. It helped a little. I, of course, was at the doctors office first thing the next morning. Well, my poor little guys ear drum ruptured during the night, but after a few days on the antibiotics he is feeling back to his sweet little self again!
Praise the Lord!

Now on to happier times...

Saturday was a day filled with---what else...

SOCCER!!!!!

Both boys are playing, and Saturday morning they each had their season opener!
What a day it was!!! The weather was BEAUTIFUL, and the kids had a blast.

They had been looking forward to game day all week long!

Shane is coaching both Cor and Ri's teams this season. Each Saturday, Ri plays first, and

Cor plays immediately after that.

So, yes...the soccer fields is where we will be spending every

Saturday morning now for the next few months.

I spent the entire morning cheering on the teams from the sidelines and chasing after this sweet little munchkin. This is a girl on the move. I think we have another soccer star in the making!

I already have a pair of PINK (hand me down) cleats waiting in her closet, ready to go! LOL

Keeping up with the babies on the field is quite the job!!

What worked on Saturday, is I put Hudson on my back in his carrier and then had my arms free to chase Sophie around the fields. Let me tell you, I was one worn our mama after the morning was over, but so were the kids! Sophie and Hudson both took GREAT naps!!! The outdoors and the fresh air wore them out too!!

Gotta LOVE soccer season!

What we've been up to...

This weekend was most enjoyable. For the first time in a while, we were all HEALTHY! What a blessing. Praise the Lord!!! We spent most of our weekend doing what I enjoy most---SHOPPING!!!!!! Not for me though---for the kids--which I think is MORE fun!!!

 Shane and I went through the kids closets and made lists of what they needed for Spring/Summer. We then loaded up and headed out to our local consignment stores. With our fingers crossed, we hoped we could mark several items off our list. Well, I can't say we were super successful, but we did find a few things for everyone and scored some great deals!
We still need to do a little more bargain hunting!

I did find a few BEAUTIFUL smocked outfits for Sophie. 

Oh, she's gonna look so cute in them this spring. I can't wait for her to wear them. Now we just need some SPRING-like weather!  The weatherman is actually calling for SNOW today. CRAZY--huh!?!? It's MARCH!!

Honestly, I kind of hope he's wrong!!

We'll just have to wait and see!

Because today is supposed to be cold and yucky,
we took advantage of the 55 degree temps yesterday.

We hung out all afternoon in our backyard, soaking up just a little sunshine.

We may be building a snowman later on this week;)!!

Oh, and just for fun...

the kids helped me make a really yummy dessert too.

Boston Cream Pie! Oh, it's delicious and super easy!!!!

Enjoy!