Off on an adventure, I think!

Tomorrow, the kids and I are heading off to Sioux Falls, SD on a little adventure with my friend, Kelly, and her three children. We were supposed to leave today, but since it is still March and we live in MN, we had to squeeze in one more snow storm. The weather got a bit nasty for awhile, so we decided to play it safe and postpone our trip for a day. We plan to leave bright and early Tuesday morning. We'll be loading up a huge Yukon with a five, four and one year old in the back row of seats, a two year old and three year old in the middle row of seats and two mommies in the front. We are hoping that we don't have to take too many potty stops on the way as it will probably take us a good 15-20 minutes to make sure everyone is secure in their carseats each time we load up again! Hope Kelly's parents are ready for a lively house full--Here we come!!!

It's in the mail...

Mailing a letter should not be so hard. For the past two weeks I've had a letter composed and ready for the mail. I just couldn't bring myself to mail it. The letter is to the school district and the contents state my intent to resign from my elementary teaching position. Currently, I am in the midst of my fourth school year on a leave of absence from full time teaching. I've still been teaching reading M-Th a few hours each afternoon, but that won't keep me on the seniority list in my district. It has been pretty nice to spend most of my day at home all the while, still keeping my foot in the door at my district. However, my leave options for next year were pretty limited so the time has come to make the big decision. Mark and I are in agreement. As long as we can swing it on one income, my time is best spent at home with our kids.

I wrote the letter but have been having a hard time actually putting it in the mail. Today, I decided that I've tortured myself enough and it is time to let go. Ella walked the letter out to the mailbox for me before her nap this afternoon. It's in the mailbox and the flag is up! I think I am relieved. Mailing this letter will change nothing in my day to day life. Mailing the letter more so changes my state of mind. It is nice being home enjoying life as a mom having the secure knowledge that I could easily return to the classroom if I wanted/needed to. Now, should I choose to return, I will have to start over. But, it is all good for now and I'll cross the "return to work" bridge when I come to it. I will not regret having this time at home with my kids. I feel blessed have the option to be home!

I just went and peeked out the window the the mailbox flag is down and my letter is on its way. Since James' babbling in the monitor has now turned into a sing song chant of "I've got poopy in my butt." I best be on my way, too!

EASTER

We enjoyed a rather quiet and relaxing Easter Day. The kids were super excited to see if the Easter Bunny made a stop at our house. They explored the contents of the Easter baskets before church. Then, we headed off to church for the Easter service. Ella's choir and my choir sang at the same service. Mark had his hands full with James during the service.... Thanks goodness he had a little help from Grandma and Grandpa. After church, we went to a very nice Easter brunch at a downtown hotel with my parents. We also saw our friends Josh, Lisa, Aiden and Kiera there. More importantly, the Easter bunny was also roaming about and the kids were very excited to give him hugs and say thank you to him for stopping at our house with baskets of goodies. After brunch, we all relaxed and watched Ella's new movie, Enchanted, that the Easter Bunny brought her. Here are a few pics from our day...

Ella discovered that the Easter Bunny left behind some nibbled on carrots.




When Ella discovered this movie in her basket she was super excited.

James got right to work opening his eggs and eating his candy. We think Easter may be his favorite holiday because of all the candy (his favorite food) he was given.
Ella hugging her new puppy.



Since Ella wasn't wearing her Easter bonnet, James decided to try it on. He liked wearing it!

Happy kids with the Easter Bunny.

After the brunch we spent a few minutes chatting with our friends. Here are Ella, Kiera, Aiden and James showing off their fancy Easter clothes.

Saturday's Easter Dinner

We happily crammed 25 people into our kitchen on Saturday for my family's Easter dinner. Actually, with a little rearranging and table borrowing, everyone fit quite comfortably. The Grown Ups

4 and 5 year olds

The 2 and almost 2 year olds



Cute Trista models her pink dress!

There was time for a tea party,

an indoor egg hunt,

and an attempt at a group photo. We didn't try very hard for a group pic since I think it would have been nearly impossible!!

An indoor egg hunt wasn't enough! The big kids enjoyed hunting for eggs in the snow...only in Minnesota! Then, it was time for sledding and snowball fights for all!

James is getting so big! He can pull the a sled up the hill all by himself. When the really big kids finished with their snowball fight they couldn't resist sledding either. Here's one of my brothers taking his turn on the hill. Sledding has always been a big part of my family's holiday activities. Although, we usually aren't able to sled at Easter!!!

(On a side note, my big bad husband gave my big brother, Lance, a bloody nose by hitting him with a snowball. Mark claims he aimed to defend me after I was hit by a snowball. Thanks Mark! Really, I think Greg should have earned the bloody nose. He gave me a snowball bruise! )

Easter Egg Hunt!

Our church host and annual Easter Egg hunt. Thankfully, since we have about five inches of fresh new snow, it is held indoors. We went a bit early and enjoyed a pancake breakfast, but I think the kids were too excited to eat. Ella was really excited to see her friend, Sierra, when she arrived.



Posing with their baskets after the hunt.

Got to love Mark's excited smile!

Happy Spring, Easter Eggs and a Snow Storm!!

It always seems to happen in Minnesota. Spring arrives for a few days, and then BAM! -- winter returns. Today, Ella had a snow day from school and we got about 4.5 inches of snow. Since plans for the day changed because of the snow, our friends Kelly, Sierra, Carson and Zach came over to hang out with us in the morning. The girls played dress up, or course. We all spent a little time sledding and Mark attempted to build a snowman. Later in the day we dyed our Easter Eggs. Ella and James loved this task and amazingly didn't get too messy!

Tomorrow we will attend an egg hunt at our church in the morning and then host my family's Easter gathering. We'll have 26 people over for dinner--should be crazy and fun!!

Little Fairy Princesses

A sled full!

Mark hanging out with the little ones.

James dropping in an egg.

Egg Artist Ella

Happy Easter Weekend!

The Farm Show!

Everyone at our house was feeling much better on Thursday morning so we were able to go to the farm show. That was a good thing because if anyone would have had to stay home, there would have been tears. It is so fun for the kids to work in the milk wagon. It's kid of like playing store. Getting the milk out of the fridge and opening the cash drawer were the most favorite tasks of the kids. Of course, with several four and five year olds helping, it wasn't always service with a smile. Occasionally, there was a little arguing over whose turn it was to get the milk or open the cash drawer. All the kids did really well during our 2.5 hours of volunteering. Ella even earned a fifty cent tip for her hard work. And, with so many helpers, we were able to take breaks and enjoy the sights at the farm show.

Walking through the farm show....they only walked like this for a short time.

Happy James

Hanging out by a tractor tire.

Posing on a tractor.
James' turn!

Eager milk wagon workers!

Ella with her friend Sierra and cousin Trenton

Baby Chicks!

Gently petting a baby chick.

First Trip to the Park!!!

Ella has been begging for a trip to the park and James has been chiming in with his own requests. This past Saturday, with a tiny hint of spring in the air, we bundled up and took a trek to the neighborhood park. Mark pulled the kids in their wagon and it was pretty smooth sailing until we made it to the park entrance. The path to the park was still pretty drifted over, but we made it through and had the park all to ourselves. Ella headed straight for the swings and the puddles. James went down the slide all by himself just to show how much he has grown over the winter.

Ella swinging away!

Puddle fun!

Mommy and James

Down the slide with a smile.

James fancy mud boots!

James enjoyed tromping around in some shiny pink mud boots. Ella decided that her old boots would fit her brother just fine and once she showed them to him, he was very excited to put them on. Mark was a little less than thrilled with his son wearing pink boots...I thought it was pretty funny!

It is a good thing that we had some fun this weekend. We are not having much fun in our house right now. Ella started Tuesday just fine, but ended it feeling miserable. Thankfully, our clinic was open late and I was able to get her in for a strep test last night. She tested positive and we are waiting for the antibiotics to kick in. She has been miserable with a fever as high as 104 and an upset tummy. Hopefully a good night of rest will do her wonders! And...we hope no one else in the house gets sick as we are expecting a crowd on Saturday. Those of us who are feeling well tomorrow will be going to the Agri-News farm show to serve milk out of the Dairy Association Milk Wagon. I am hoping Ella is better or she is going to be really bummed out! She thinks it is fun to sell milk and she really likes to take money from people and put it in the cash drawer. She also has her outfit all planned out. She intends to wear one of her crowns so "people will think she is a dairy princess". James has been looking forward to the farm show all week. I know he will be excited to see all the tractors!

Finally...A Post!

I am the one to give my friends a hard time about not posting on their blogs frequently... Now, I am the one who has not posted a thing in over twenty days! Honestly, I don't know where the days have gone. Suddenly it's March...except we don't seem to be having March weather. I am getting so anxious for the snow to melt and the flowers to bloom!

I am typing right now on our new laptop. We decided it was time to invest in our own laptop since Mark had to give back his other one when he switched jobs. I am told that this computer is mainly for me. Mark seems to monopolize our desktop, so a computer for me is a good thing. Now with this nifty thing, we can both compute at the same time! So I can post, but I don't have access to my pictures on the other computer just yet. We have some networking issues to figure out. Then, maybe I'll become a more regular blogger again?

Here's a brief update on our recent adventures. After Valentine's Day, we managed a night away with the kids in Minneapolis at a fun hotel with a small water park. We stayed at the The Depot which was once a functioning train depot. The water park had a large train that the kids could crawl through and slide down. This was a huge hit for James and Ella. Mark seemed to enjoy himself too!

Ella finished her first month of gymnastics in February and liked it so much that we are back for the March session. James finished his swimming lessons and today he had his first parent/tot gymnastics class. I didn't get to take him as I had to attend a half day staff training session. I think Mark had fun taking James to the class and I know James was anxious to have his own class. He has been so patient waiting and watching during Ella's gym classes.

James is talking more and more everyday. He and Ella recently discovered how to argue. I think they think it is fun. James will identify something to Ella. For example, he might point out a school bus while we are driving in the car. Ella will then say that it's not a school bus and then James will counter with a very firm, "Is". And, suddenly, we are in the midst of an is/is not showdown. I really am not all that amused by it...so I am hoping that this phase will pass soon!

So many funny things come out of the kids mouths and I just have to share Ella's random comment from tonight. While I was driving Ella to church for our choir practices, she said out of the blue, "Mom, I'm thinking Arby's tonight. " Clearly their marketing campaign works!