Poser

This is just a random bunch of pictures of Ellie. She was wearing this cute hooded cape that Aunt Beth made and only her underwear underneath. She decided that she had to do several poses if I was going to take pictures of her.

The Party

We used to have one big party to celebrate the kids' birthdays since they're so close together (March 9, March 19, and April 1). A couple of years ago, though, the boy and girls decided they wanted separate parties. Due to my obnoxious schedule I didn't have time for numerous parties. I begged the kids to let me do just one and they gave in.

We have a children's museum in town that's located inside the old Orpheum Theater. The architecture inside is beautiful. There are exhibits set up all around that capture the kids interest and are designed for learning too. I was thrilled when I found out that you can have a party there, so that's what we did. The kids all played with their friends and later we went to a separate room for cake and ice cream. That was the easiest birthday party I've ever done!

At the gym?

As a Christmas present I bought memberships for Brent and I to a local gym. During my winter vacation I found numerous opportunities to go to classes or just workout on my own. Now that school is back in full swing and I'm working more at the hospital, I can't seem to find the time/motivation to go. However, Brent has been there several times a week. He is beginning to look quite svelte, not that he was hard to look at before ;)

The gym has a small daycare center where you can drop off your kids during your workout for just a couple of dollars. This has been great! Brent frequently takes the kids with him so I can have an hour's worth of quiet to study or chill. The ladies that work there have mastered the art of entertaining my children. On one of the most recent visits they did face painting. Ellie was a "scary bear" and she had the growl to go with the face. It took a few days for Logan's ninja paint to wash off, he looked like he was really tired with dark paint circles under his eyes. Avery, of course, flower child that she is, only wanted hearts on her cheeks and a rainbow on her chin, lovely.

Avery's Birthday

Avery's birthday shopping spree was a little more coordinated than Ellie's. She decided to go to Wal-Mart instead of Toys 'R' Us. It was difficult to keep the siblings from sharing what they wanted Avery to get. Nevertheless, she got some things that she's quite happy with.

For Ellie's b-day we went out to Perkin's for dinner because she wanted pancakes and I didn't want to cook. Avery requested McDonald's despite Mom and Dad's repeated requests for something a little tastier.

He's a Thesbian!

My boy Logan was in a school play. A musical, no less. The production was the story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" set to music. It was absolutely adorable. The little girl who played the Hare absolutely has a future in stage acting, she was fabulous.

All of the children in the 2nd grade class were to wear black pants and white T-shirts. Those in the background made hats depicting various woodland creatures. The birds were my favorite. They all had feather boas or wings and crowns. They danced around and did most of the narrating. Logan was a fox. He made the hat himself. Most of the time he sang background, but because he's such a great singer, he had a solo too.

Ellie's Birthday

Due to Brent and I's ridiculously busy schedules I decided we would take the kids to pick out their own presents rather than spend the time choosing what to get them and wrapping everything. Yes, this was a lazy decision, but I'm stressed out. So, did this lessen the stress you ask? Hah!!! Imagine a 4-year-old let loose in Toys 'R' Us...I lived it!

Ellie had so much fun. She grabbed the first things she saw and chucked them in the cart. She did have a spending limit, but that only made sense to Mom and Dad. By the time we'd made it through the store, the cart was overflowing and we were WAY over budget. We took everything out of the cart, laid it on the ground, and made her choose her favorites.


She was thrilled with her presents, as evidenced by the photos. Avery's maniacal smile has to do with the fact that her shopping spree was on it's way in 10 days.

Spring Break!

I've never been one to care very much about spring break. Sure I like having a week off from whatever schooling I'm doing at the time, but I've never looked forward to it quite so much as I have this year. It's hard to believe I only have about 6 weeks left of school. This has been the longest two years of my life! Anyway, with my "free" time this week I'm going to catch up on some postings, as well as housework, but the postings are way more fun.