Super Family Fun Day

Jeremy had yesterday, Good Friday off. It was greatly needed an appreciated. He has been working very very hard lately, leaving work early before the girls get up and coming home just in time for a late dinner and to put them to bed. It's hardest on Nicole because she really misses him. We had been looking forward all week to Friday. I asked Nicole what she wanted to do when daddy was home from work all day and she said, "Daddy chase me, and tackle me, and chase me more" hahaha. She just wanted to play!!!!

We started the morning by having family circle time and reading about Jesus' betrayal and journey to the cross. We wanted to be sure that we spent time reflecting on the reason we celebrate the day. Then we headed over to Dunkin Donuts for a yummy late morning breakfast of donuts and breakfast sandwhiches. Nicole LOVED eating her chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles and jelly beans. Then, we took Nicole bowling! She has never been bowling before. We invited our good friends Bryan, Brooke, Peyton and Caulder. We had a total blast. We each played two games, which was just enough for the kids. Unfortunately, our camera battery died, so I only have two pictures:-( So bummed.



We went out to eat with our friends, came home and took naps (and played Wii). After nap time, we decided to have an impromptu camp out in our backyard (which we had been promising Nicole for some time). We needed to do this soon because it's getting hot and the bugs will become overwhelming soon. So, last night was the night. Hannah slept in her crib, and the three of us slept in the tent. (For those of you worried about Hannah, our tent was right outside the back door with the monitor turned to full blast. She slept through the night and there were no problems). So, Nicole, Jeremy and I sat by the fire till near 11:00. Then we slept in the tent. I say slept...but I only got a few hours, and I think Jeremy did too. Every little noise woke me up and we are both incredibly sore from sleeping on the ground. I guess we're getting old. But, Nicole LOVED it! And that's what really counts:-)

Even Hannah got in on the action:-)

So, we had a super family fun day. It was great. Relaxing, no major issues to deal with, and fun for everything. We really enjoyed daddy being home.

Amazing Jumping Rope video

I'm going to post an update on our super fun family day yesterday soon. But, until then, click on this video. It is AMAZING!!!! I've never seen anything like this before. This is a huge team of girls jump roping, but I PROMISE it's no ordinary jump roping. The video is a bit long (7 minutes) but you will be so amazed, you'll want to watch it all. Very very cool. I couldn't jump for 7 minutes, let along do all these crazy tricks. It blew me away. Give it a moment of your time to check out. It's very cool.

(Thanks dad for the link)

http://soonereyo.blip.tv/#1826380

Duck Duck Goose.

Last night grammy and gramps came over for the evening. Just before bed time we taught Nicole how to play duck, duck, goose. It was quite entertaining. We finally realized it would be good to have on video. So, we set up the camera and just let it roll. This video is a few minutes long, but it's worth watching (especially if your family). Even Hannah gets in on the action at the very end. Enjoy.

Hannah's baby dedication

Saturday, April 4th, we dedicated Hannah to the Lord, formally, at church. Obviously we had already dedicated Hannah to the Lord, long before she was even born. Here are a few pictures.

April Fool's

Yesterday Jeremy and, well....the other shall remain anonymous (unfortunately it wasn't me, I would have liked to be in on it, but I couldn't), forked his mom and dad's house. What does this mean you ask? 826 plastic forks, knives and spoons stuck up through the grass.

Found out last night that their neighbors were heckling them a bit. Greg paid a couple of neighbor kids to pick up all the plastic wear. Hahaha....

Anyone else do something fun on April Fool's?

Our first crop

Yesterday I pulled up our first crop....radishes. On the envelop is says to harvest them in 22 days. Yesterday was day 23, so I thought I had to pull them or else they would start to rot. I know....not the smartest kid on the block, I think. Here they are.

They are pretty pathetic. Not even big enough to do anything with them except compost I think. My friend Beth said I should leave them in the ground longer...much longer. Who knew? I thought I had to harvest them with the packet said so. hahaha. I have more in the ground, I'll wait with those.

Other than that, other veggies are looking good. Our peas, beans, zucchini and cucumbers look the best. We've planted corn twice, and both times about day 6 when they start to sprout, little holes are made every few inches where they were planted. I think birds come and eat them. I haven't tried again since the last time. Our lettuces don't look great, but I'm not expecting much from them this summer. We really want to plant sweet potatoes, but I can't get any sprouts from my sweet potatoes to plant. Any suggestions???

A few cool pictures to share.

A comment that really Bugs me...

This morning we went to story time at a local library. Actually, I didn't know story time was taking place, we just happened upon it. Anyway, the librarian was reading a really cool pop up book in the shape of a hamburger. Each layer of the hamburger was made of something silly (like the lettuce was a yucky old sponge) with a bug in it....all kinds of bugs. When the librarian got to the ketchup (made of red poster paint), the bug that popped out of the flap was a cockroach.

Nicole said, "Hhhuuuhhh...mommy, just like at our house!"

Yeah, I just about died. Hey....we live in Florida, and I've never known a Florida home without la cucaraches every once in a while. And she saw me kill one a few weeks ago which I believe is why this is fresh in her memory

The Answer...The Question...and The Comment

The Answer...
Well, I have had some funny guesses to my mystery picture. Now to put some of you at ease (Jen K. :-) I did not intentionally take a weird picture. In fact, I didn't take the picture at all, Jeremy did. Here's a recap of some of the guesses...

humm ... looks like the inside of a light fixture to me??
I think your mystery picture looks like a yellow ball inside of one of the donut shaped toys you stack with
Your dad thinks the picture is a M & M in chocolate sauce. Hum, I think its an egg yolk in slim with brown food coloring.
It looks like an egg yolk
It looks like a bagel with an M&M in it, or it could be an egg yolk, but can't figure out why the brown is around it.
I THINK I KNOW WHAT IT IS! Sorry for the personal nature, but is it your crazy way of sharing your special news? Such as your specimen that was tested?

It seems like "egg yolk" was the most popular guess. But, you are all Waaayyyy off. Jeremy took a picture of his orange juice on Sunday morning looking straight down into the cup. It was a tall opaque blue cup with just a bit of OJ left in it. I was trying to find the cup to take a more normal photo for you, but I can't find it. It must be in his work van. So....no one gets dinner.

The Question...

So, what is this "special news" some have been alluding to both here and on facebook? I suppose it's time to let the cat out of the bag officially. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am pregnant:-) I'm not very far along, but for some reason we couldn't contain ourselves this time. I'm about 6 1/2 weeks and due in mid November. Obviously, I am still in the "danger zone" as far as miscarriages are concerned which was why in the past we kept it a closely guarded secret. I realize it could still happen, so all I can do it trust that whatever does happen, the Lord is in control and all things will work for His good and His glory. Obviously we are praying for a healthy pregnancy and baby. Everyone is asking if we want a boy. I guess the honest answer is yes....it would be great to have a boy. I know Jeremy would love to have a son. But, we both are quick to say though that we take a girl anyday because we know how fun and special they are. If the baby is anything like either Nicole or Hannah (and they really are both pretty different from each other) than we would be happy. This of course is why I haven't been feeling so great lately. I don't want to talk about it though, because I feel good right now and I don't want to get my head thinking I shouldn't, if you know what I mean.

The Comment...
All of my mommy girlfriends out there should head over (yet again) to the Girl Talk blog. They have been doing a nice little series directly specifically to mothers of young children. It's been both encouraging and convicting to me. It's well worth your time to read the past week or two in posts (and the posts are short, much shorter than mine!). I also finished two books yesterday... Stepping Heavenward by Mrs. Elizabeth Prentiss and The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis. The Magician's Nephew is part of The Chronicles of Narnia series and I really enjoyed reading it. I'm going to read all the books int he series, I think it'll be fun.

Answer coming soon

Hey ya'll...the answer to the mystery picture is coming soon. I haven't been feeling well, so it's just been low on my list of things I'm not doing to post it with a more recognizable picture. I'll try tomorrow.

Pretty in Pink

Last night on our way home from a birthday party, we got a phone call from our neighbor who said that someone was spray painting our mailbox....PINK! At first we were mad since there has been a bit of mischievous activities in our neighborhood lately, but who would do something in broad day light? Then, the person on the other line said, I think you might know him. Crazy something...Crazy Dan maybe? Oooohhhh...Crazy Dan. Jeremy's friend and co-worker. These two are always doing something to each other (as of late, Jeremy has been tossing fire crackers at Dan as he gets into the van). Anyway, here is our pretty pink mailbox (I erased our address numbers which is why there is a big white circle in case any creep-os happen upon this picture). So...what do you think?

Jeremy spray painted it black right away. I thought he should leave it at least for a day. We could see the mailbox when we first turned on the street....that's how bright it was:-)

And, here is a funny video of Hannah doing pull ups at the kitchen table. This kid is amazing. Oh, I decided to add a couple more clips to the video. As you know, last Friday we went to the beach with Grammy. Hannah was not thrilled with the sand and Nicole couldn't wait to "roll around" in it. So...here are the two contrasting and opposite sisters.


And a cute picture of Nicole and I.


Finally, if you can guess what this picture is, I may consider buying you dinner. Any guesses?????