and still more trip

 

This is what was going on the day we arrived at my parents to visit.... My sister and another brother with his family was there. They were making homemade rootbeer - that's my dad with his foot on a bucket of dry ice so the top won't pop off. Oh and my Dad with the gun..... they put dry ice in plastic bottles to watch them explode (something I learned about in my first year of college :) )- but the bottles were taking too long so Dad shot them - that sped things up a little! Maggie and Jackson worked on turning the ice cream maker. We were there for two weeks. Matt was with us for a few days but then flew back down to Florida before rejoining us for the drive home.

More trip

 

This is the one time I took pictures while visiting my Gma...... we went out to the beach while the tide was out and found a bunch of baby crabs. The kids loved catching them. However, Maggie was very unimpressed with getting her sandles muddy. She loved the crabs and would catch them and hold them but she hated that mud. My brother, Jason, went with us. I really should have taken more pictures on that visit.....grr. We also made a quick stop to visit one of my college roommates who has 5 kids of her own. It was great to see them but the visit was way too short. Next time we will have to plan in more time and obviously more pictures since I didn't take any there either!

Trip

 

Whew! We are finally back from our trip. We were gone for three weeks visiting family and friends. It was great to fit in so many visit to see people but we are glad to be back! We had A LOT of driving.
These pictures are from our first stop to visit one of my best friends who just happens to be married to my cousin. Very conveinent - I get to see her at family reunions too :)We went to a splash park with her little ones. We stayed with them for a couple of nights and then we headed off to visit my Grandma. Somehow I didn't take pictures while visiting with her - I don't know why - I am always taking pictures!!

Preschool Graduation

I can't believe that Jackson is heading to Kindergarten in the fall. The years are starting to go by faster and faster. I know that the kids are still young but to have a 5 yr old - wow! He has grown up a lot in the past year. He is starting to read, writes fairly well, loves to draw and can build amazing things with legos. He loves his sisters (most of the time), loves to play with the neighborhood boys, wants to learn to ride a bike by himself, absolutely loves to be the center of attention and also loves to give us hugs and kisses especially if he knows he's done something he shouldn't......
The kids love the preschool graduation - which is really just a mini carnival - with a little graduation flair. They get to cross the stage and collect their "diplomas". They do it every year whether the kids are actually going on to school or not.
So, those of you with school age kids, what should I prepare myself for? :)

Outside Fun

I love the picture of Jackson and Hailey looking at each other through the trampoline. We have been enjoying the nice weather by playing with water in our backyard. Let the summer fun begin!!

Someday.....

Matt is in FL for business - three weeks! - ugh. He took the laptop which is the computer I use for photos so..... no pics this time. Which is in fact why I haven't blogged for a little while. I like to add the pics :) Someday, I will hook the camera up to our other computer so I can post anytime. Someday, I will actually sew/mend the pile of clothes I have been adding to for months - okay, years! Someday, I will catch up on scrapbooking the thousands of pictures we have - or not. Someday we will have new furniture - ok, I will settle for even one piece of furniture that Matt and I actually picked out together for our house. Someday, our house will be clean again or at least close to something resembling clean. Someday, I will list the things we need to sell on ebay or Craigslist. Sheesh, I could go on and on but this TO DO list is getting depressing! I will post some pics soon :)

Maggie is 3!

Maggie loved her birthday party. She even wore her princess dress since she wanted everything to be princess. We went to the store and picked out a princess balloon, made a castle cake with princesses around it....... she got a lot of princess presents. However, one of the favorites was a small jewelry box of rings. It has been going everywhere with her so she is always prepared to accessorize!