summer snaphot - week 1

here's what went down around here during the first week of summer...

andrew learning how to pan fry chicken nuggets.

he thinks he's ready for master chef now :)

ella making banana bread.

john and ella building blocks and playing endless games of uno (john's favorite).

andrew and christopher's book collection: their own combined with ones from the library.
christopher showing andrew the books he checked out from the library.
ella and john getting a little taste of coffee while i do my grocery shopping.

john john picking out a popsicle and toy after getting stitches on his chin.
shooting the basketball endlessly in his room with his new set.
christopher and john playing many games of yugioh.

andrew trying on the shoes he has been eying and then buying them with his own $$$.
the socks he's been wanting, he bought this pair to match his new shoes.
scooter/bike rides in the neighborhood with lady.

christopher getting creative at lunch one day.
the kids waiting for me to get called in to see the ultrasound of the baby.
andrew's play from the camp at school he was at in the afternoons.

 

ella going horseback riding with her girl scout troop.
john john working diligently on a father's day card for chris.
ella making smoothies for everyone for an afternoon snack.

a bridal shower

a few months ago, i hosted a bridal shower for my future sister-in-law.
the weather was beautiful so we held a garden luncheon outdoors.
worked out perfectly since our house was still under construction due to the plumbing problem.

the outdoor ramada we have has been great for setting up food for parties in the backyard.
when we bought the house and gutted the kitchen,
our contractor had the wonderful idea to reuse the old kitchen under the ramada.
the granite counter tops have been put to good use many times since we have lived here.

i didn't get a chance to take a picture with all the food set-up on the counters.
so, i took some after the shower of what still remained out there.

i did snap this one of the hors d'oeuvre table we had set up in the middle of the ramada.
chris' aunt cathy made the adorable sign.

we have a wonderful tree at one end of our yard, so we set up the tables under it.
my mom was such a big help with the decorations and details.
she made these darling chair covers for the bride and mob to sit at while opening gifts.

we put white table cloths on the tables with yellow tulips.
her wedding colors were yellow and navy.

this was the dessert table...we had lots of yummies under that wonderful canopy thanks to my mom, mother-in-law and chris' aunt who all made wonderful sweets.

some of the younger crowd at the shower...
ella was a big help with getting everything ready.

i love using these recycled starbucks glass bottles for drinks.
and the straws are always so much fun - had to get them in her colors for the shower...

here is the beautiful bride opening her gifts.

and here she is with her sweet mom.

it was such a lovely afternoon and so fun to host such a special event.

spring break

i love having spring break the week after easter -
with no school on holy thursday or good friday it makes for a nice long break.
we had some nice relaxing days at home, and had a few fun outings too.
one day we went to the zoo, we hadn't been for a long time.
we just love that place...

i finally got the kids into the dentist, for their long overdue check-ups.
i love how into reading they are until it's their turn...

and since we had sick kids before easter, we finally found time to dye easter eggs.
we decided to try painting some this year - we liked that practically more than dying them.

i don't think christopher dyed a single one this year, he was so into his book.
but at least he was out there with us while we were all decorating them.

it was so nice to have some time off from the craziness we've been keeping up with.
four baseball teams, one basketball team and one dance class = super busy afternoons.
to say the least - but it has all been fun and thank goodness for all my carpools...
i am so thankful to have so many school friends nearby - have all the activities close too.
otherwise there's no way i could get everyone where they need to go,
it truly does take a village.

easter 2013

only got a couple pictures this year...ella got sick on good friday and lc on easter.
they ended up with strep throat, luckily no one else got it.

we still managed to have a very nice easter.
it has been our tradition for years to go to the school courtyard mass,
we always look forward to it (you can tell who's not feeling well in this picture).

still playing catch up on this blog, will be for awhile...

an announcement

anyone who reads my blog already knows the news, but i thought i should make it official.
i am happy to announce that we are expecting our fifth child.
this ultrasound picture is from just nine weeks, a new life is truly amazing.

we took advantage of having both sides of the family together to tell them all in person.
it was a celebration for christopher's 13th birthday at our home.
here's how we told them all:

this is only the second time i've posted a video, so i hope it works.
we are all very excited about this new little one on the way.
and i can't believe how fast the pregnancy has already gone by, i am half way there!

why I've been slack'n

We have been dealing with a major plumbing issue since mid-January.

A 23 foot pipe had to be replaced -

That means 23 feet of hard wood flooring had to be taken out, the foundation under it too.

This picture shows the craziest night...

It took them all day one day to trench everything out-
the new concrete wasn't poured until the next day.
so we had this huge long hole in our house overnight.

The surrounding areas were isolated by plastic,
that evening getting to the kids' rooms took quite a bit of  maneuvering.
John sleep with us that night- i was worried about him getting around it all in the middle of the night.

We have been living thru dust, and noise, and plastic for months.
Our floors have been in the process of being redone the last week and a half.
We are almost back to normal, waiting for some cabinets to come in that got damaged.

Life has been sooo busy this school year-
from moving, to finishing the remodel, to selling our other house, to this.
we are almost thru it all - i hope to be blogging more regularly again soon!

a wild birthday

ella's 9th birthday was a couple of weeks ago (i am really behind on the blog this year!)
the third grade went on a field trip to the wildlife zoo that day, perfect timing :)

she was so excited for this special day-
woke up so happy and ready to go have a fun filled day outside.

she is so much more comfortable around animals than i ever was at her age.
it was so fun to see her feeding them and enjoying being around them.

she brought her ds and ran around taking tons of pictures.
all the girls would run up to her to see the shots she had taken.
they were all so excited to be there running around together.

here she is with one of the smaller girls in her class, she is sure a tall girl...

we had just the grandparents over for dinner since our home is under construction.
she decorated her cake...

9 things i love about ella:

1. you are a good friend, you are so kind to everyone in your class
2. you are super thoughtful, always making little gifts from household items for your friends/family
3. resourceful and crafty - describe you to a t
4. you are a quiet leader, your peers are drawn to you and your calm demeanor
5. you know how to have fun with your friends without being bossy
6. you are very smart, but you do not boast or brag - you are very humble
7. you are a wonderful 2nd mama to little john, carrying him, reading to him, helping him.
8. you are so good at helping me get ready for a party, i don't know what i'd do without you!
9. you love being silly with your brothers and hang'n out with them no matter what they are doing.

WE LOVE YOU ELLA - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR ONLY DAUGHTER!!!