Easter Sunday

 We had a beautiful Easter with David's family.  The kids enjoyed an egg hunt and everyone ate too much - a perfect holiday!

 Here are the kids before heading out for the hunt.  Uncle Dan was trying to sneak in on the fun!

Spencer looking goofy.

Gianna might have had some help finding all of her eggs - but she didn't mind!

 Here is everyone with all of the eggs collected.

 Before we left, we finally had a family picture.  My babies are growing up!!!

 When we got home, the neighbors were outside.  Jonas was out driving his car - Gianna wanted a photo behind the wheel.

 Out for a drive!

And while the little one's were "driving" around, the big kids took advantage and rode their bikes.

It was a great day!

Gold Belt

A couple of years ago, Spencer asked to take kung-fu lessons.  Then David was deployed and the whole idea was pushed to the back burner.  At the beginning of this school year, we looked into lessons - which were really expensive.  Then we stumbled upon lessons at a local rec center FOR FREE!  

David (a black belt in karate) and Spencer signed up immediately.  Within a couple of months, Gemma signed up too. 

 Fast forward to April - all three earned their gold belts!

Apparently it is not appropriate to smile and look happy after earning a belt.

Easter Program

Gianna had her Easter program at Church with the other preschoolers.  Unfortunately, this is the only good photo of the day.  She did a great job and was cute to watch.  I should note, we went to Dairy Queen after the service where she dripped chocolate ice cream all over the front of her dress....oh well, I should have known better!

37

Today I turn 37.  I still feel 17.  That's a good thing, right?

Science Fair - 2012

Way back in January the children participated in the science fair.  Gemma and Spencer decided to work on a project together.  David was rather relieved, since he is the official project assistant!  (Here are the posts for the 2011 and 2010 science fairs.)

The kids decided to do a project on Oobleck.  The did a great job working together.  

So great in fact, they won an award for "Best Research Project".  David and I (as always) are very proud of our little scientists! 

Science Fair - 2009

****This post was saved in my drafts and I just noticed it!  This is from the 2009 Science Fair!  Gemma was in first grade and Spencer was just a kindergartner!!!!***



This posting is about 3 weeks late due to technical difficulties...(I was having issues getting the pics from David's cell phone onto the computer). Anyway - Gemma and Spencer participated in the science fair this year. Gemma's project was called "Your Epidermis Is Showing" and Spencer's was "What are Fossils?"

David and Gemma spent about 5 hours one Saturday afternoon working on her project. Even though David was involved, it was totally Gemma's project. Her focus was on "prune hands" and what causes them. She did a great job and I'm so proud of her!

Spencer started out really excited about the science fair, but once it was time to work on the project...not so much. He was involved, but it was like pulling teeth! When it was said and done, Spencer said he was glad he participated. Next year, he and David are going to make a steam engine!

At the end of the evening awards were given for Best Question, Best Presentation (during the day each child had to present their project to a judge) and Best Overall Project. Gemma won Best Overall Project!! I was so proud of her! Prior to the awards being given out, two teachers told me how impressed they were with her presentation! Spencer however didn't win an award this year; he was a little disappointed, but I reminded him how proud I was of him and that he should be proud of himself too!
It should be noted that Spencer did score very well in the judging - 18 out of 20 points!

Where The Hell Have I Been?

So, because the two people who read my blog regularly, complain about my lack of posting, I thought I would surprise them and update the blog.

October was a busy month for us. And an expensive month. In lieu of a Disney trip we opted for new siding. Four days in Disney would have been cheaper.

November was an awful month for us. David's mom died rather suddenly. Dealing with the stress of a hospitalization, a terminal cancer diagnosis and her passing only 2 weeks later put blogging on the bottom of my list of things to do.

However, I think I'm ready to get back to it.

Here are a few photos from the past few months.

The before photo. Complete with pumpkins and Gianna!

After photo - only missing Gianna.

A beautiful fall day at the zoo.

Gemma earned a literacy award in October.

Finally had our family photos done (LOVE THEM), but have yet to order them.

Cousins - at Halloween

The entire clan - we had our last Sunday dinner just 5 days after mom passed.

Gianna being cute at her pre-school Christmas program.

Our annual Christmas tradition - the Macy's display in Minneapolis.

Gianna writing her letter to Santa.

Her adorable little girl hands.

David and the boys at the pinewood derby races. Joshua finished 2nd and Spencer in 5th place.

David and Judy at Amanda's confirmation. David was her sponsor.

Spencer earned a literacy award in February.

That will have to do for now - I promise not to take another four months to update. :)

The Navy Ball

Tonight, David and I attended the Navy Ball. David was the MC and I was his date. : )

It was fun getting all dressed up and going on a date.
Me and my handsome sailor as we were leaving for the evening.

Pumpkin Patch

We spent a nice fall afternoon at the pumpkin patch with Bamma. The kids didn't cooperate with the photos, but I was able to get a few.

Gianna loved feeding the animals. After she ran out of the food we bought from the machine, she picked up the little pieces of corn the fell on the dirt. Very resourceful!

My littlest pumpkin with a bunch of pumpkins.
Here we are on the hay ride. They don't look happy, but they really did enjoy themselves.
David and me - please note I have a black back-pack on. It's not a hunch back!
Gemma and Spencer had a silly string fight. They took it very seriously! : )

Action shot!

While the big kids were with the silly string, Bamma and Gianna were looking for gemstones. Gemma came over to look for some too.

My attempt at a family photo. It was a fun day and we're looking forward to more fall fun!

Cat Bite

Today we went to Gino and Linda's house for the afternoon.

Unfortunately, we had to cut our visit short when one of their cats decided to bite Gemma! I decided to call the doctor and was advised to go in to have the bite cleaned properly and to get a perscription for an anti-biodic.

So after an hour visit, we loaded in the car and went to the clinic. Gemma missed swimming lessons, but I felt much better having seen the doctor and getting the medicine.

Just another reason why I really, really dislike cats. : (