fail

Here's a fail post for two reasons.

Number one : blog neglect.  Isn't that a felony in some states?  

I can honestly say my kids are getting lots of attention, not to mention my laptop...work has been crazy.

Number two: picture fail.  By picture fail, I mean my camera has felt little to no love lately.  Couple that with the fact that it was Easter, and I literally took NO pictures of the kids together, and the attempt at a family picture is a sad one.

Exhibit A:

I'm sorry, but it looks like I took about three boxes of Peeps and shoved them in my cheeks.  Fin is ANGRY, and the boys are the ones that look OK....NOT NORMAL.  And it wasn't for lack of trying, Grandma Sandy put her best efforts into grabbing a nice pic.  Fail.

There was this cute one...because Aunts are simply the bomb.

After church we played outside and soaked in the sun as much as possible....

{and thank you Mom for sending these pictures over...}

Lots of baseball...

And maybe even falling asleep mid-swing session.

Although it looks MUCH warmer than it actually was, we thought it would be fun to take our coats off.

I mean, it IS April.

Looky who found her brother's baseball marshmallow!?  IN HEAVEN.  Oh yeah, and the sucker gel she decided to style her hair with is pretty hot as well. She's got full-out hockey hair at the moment.

And just to prove that we do sometimes look like we like each other...my Mom found this one on her camera as well from Gigi and Grandpa Merle's party weekend....better late than never.  And if it's an indication of how pictures of the four of us are going to go in the future, it may be never :)

Now you'll have to excuse me while I hunt and gather more Peeps to hide in my cheeks....and then they'll go straight to my thighs.

really!?

You'll have to excuse me, I'm busy flipping Mother Nature the bird today.

 Also, excuse me if I offended you.  I blame it on the snow.

puppy play date

Last Saturday, we were so excited to have a play date with this little fella:

Nicholas is Beth's pup.

Ever since Tate was a little 2 year old and we had them playing in the condo, we dreamed of him playing with my kids the same way.

Since Finster is so obsessed with puppies right now, we thought it would be perfect!

Little did we know Fin would be scared of the pup, but Jacks would definitely wear him out!

 {Fin, not so sure of Nik}

 I love this picture...Fin was at a safe distance to pet him up, Jacks looks like he's totally up to something.  Nik is making sure nothing sketchy is going on.

Just a day in the life, baby.

Thanks for sharing the afternoon with us, Beth!!!

sunday funday

So, the term Sunday Funday used to mean something totally different - like laying around all day, or spending the day at Blue Bricks!?

Well, it has changed, but I have to admit, they're much more fun now.

The kids and I had a full day...church, park, baseball at home, nap for the Finster, and a playdate for Jacks.

I had my camera in the car, so I grabbed it and shot a few at the park.

Let me say, the day started out with Jacks insisting he wear a long sleeved shirt under his track jacket.  I warned him it was going to get hot, but he didn't quite get it until about 30 seconds into the park....then he was all "MOM, I AM SOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOT.  Really, Jack...I had no idea.

Fin on the other hand, is obsessed with accessories (I have no idea where she could have gotten that from).

She insists on having necklaces and "pretties" on at all times.  Pretties are cute shoes. Seriously.

Saturday night my family witnessed her asking to put them on over her pajamas.  Obsessed I tell you.

The one thing this girl does NOT care for....walking on un-steady ground.  This includes wood chips, grass, hills, our deck, and the see-through stuff at the park.  She walks about .5 steps a minute.

Sometimes I swear she and Jack couldn't be more different.

As soon as we got home and put Fin to sleep, Jacks had his clothes changed into shorts and a tee.
Ready for baseball... in GREEN GRASS!!! Woop Woop!
He even told me I am the best pitcher in the world.  Man, he's a good self-esteem booster.

Brad was excited, it was the first Twins game for he and my Dad.

I'm sure he was just as thrilled I told him he had better take a picture for my blog :)

And to end our day...I have to remind myself every day that summer makes living in MN worth it.

This is Jacks at 6:00pm while we were grilling. 

Yes, that is a winter jacket.  And I should have taken a picture of the thermometer as well....
Because what was at a peak of 76 degrees within about 20 minutes turned into 45.  But felt like 20 with the wind...
Grrrrr to you again, Mother Nature.  Why do you not want to just STAY WARM!?

mc date

This week was one for the books.  Or not for the books, depending on how you want to look at it.

I've been SUPER stressed out, Brad and Jacks weren't feeling well, Fin has been OVER THE TOP whiney with another two teeth on the way. I am emotional, work has been overwhelming, plus I'm mourning the move of one of the best people I have ever worked with
{I know you're reading this...please reconsider the move...!?}
Brad threw in he has to be in Vegas three days next week, and to top it off....
Yesterday I didn't realize until 3:31pm that I had my shirt INSIDE OUT the entire day.
Did I mention STRESSED OUT!?  

Yep, one of those weeks...yish.

Sometimes when all is feeling ill and stressed, you just need to get away, even if it's for just one minute.

So that's exactly what I did.

I drove to pre-school, kidnapped my little man for a Friday hookey lunch date, and sat and listened to how awesome of a kid he is.
'Cause that' what he is.  One.Awesome.Kid.

I'm pretty sure these golden arches never looked so good to either of us.
{Jacks was supposed to have beef stew for lunch...}

I'm pretty sure a little ice cream and a lot of giggles can cure the blues for anybody.

Plus - LOOK!  NO JACKETS!
And the sun was so bright Jacks insisted he could not look at the camera, his eyes needed to stay shut.

Our yard is going to get much love from little feet this weekend. {If the rain holds off, that is}
The windows have been opened, the heat shut off.  The smell of fresh air making all the sickies from the winter blow away.

And yes, I know...I have a LOT to be thankful for...I promise I need no reminding of that.
But thanks for reading the vent.  I truly feel better already.

mr. man

Yesterday was picture day for Mr. Man.

Remember the tie he cried over!?  Well, it was found...and he insisted he wear it for his pictures.

I'm not sure at which point during the morning process the glasses got thrown into the mix, but he was cracking us up all morning.

My little guy is growing up so fast all of the sudden.

Today on his way to school he told Brad how sad he was that they were cutting down so many trees to make the roads better...oh, and littering is bad.

And did you know that meat is really an animal!?

 Like...we EAT ANIMALS!?  Yeah, normal conversation around our dinner table.

 Fin didn't want to feel left out, so Jacks found her glasses too....

{and I'm pretty sure she's flashin' a peace sign!?}

That's another thing...he is SUCH a good brother to her.  What used to be a lot of pinching, pulling, and pushing his limits with her has turned into constantly finding her what she wants to play with, lots of giggles, and a true friendship.  

Oh, how I love them.

our miss alyss

It started with a simple conversation during the last round of birthdays.

Wouldn't it be fun to finally surprise Alyssa?

See, our Miss Alyss is our frequent traveler.

Living in Chicago, I'm pretty sure she's almost due for a free frequent flier flight with the miles she's racked up visiting us.

Alyssa's parents live in Madison, Gina is in Milwaukee, so it was the perfect meeting spot.

So with a little help from her Mom, a plan was in the works, and she was SHOCKED.

I told her Mom when we arrived our hope was for tears, and TEARS WE RECEIVED. 

I'm not heartless, I typically don't want to see my girlfriends cry, but if you know Alyssa, you know it's damn funny or very exciting if the tears come :)

{this was the only picture of the group of us....girls, does anyone have a better one!?}

I was going to crop Mr. Creepy out of this picture.  

Upon further review, it kind of sums up our evening out...creepers in the corner looking at us like we're crazy ladies.

Get us girls together that rarely see each other, and there's sure to be lots of giggles, a bit of squealing, and lots of {planned} ugly faces pictures.

This, however, was not one of the non-sharable ugly pictures.

Gross.  Seriously what took over my mouth in this photo!?  At least Ms. Birthday Girl looks pretty...

Birthday cake.  We couldn't even wait to get our coats off to start eating it, it was DELISH.

My coat is currently at the cleaners to get the bright pink frosting off almost every square inch....

It takes a village, people...even if it's only to get your boots off at the end of the night :)

wordless wednesday...hmph edition

the big 8-0

I'm not going to lie when I say I think I have some of the best grandparents EVER.

{I may be biased, it's OK with me}
I feel fortunate to have three of them still in my life.

Gigi and Grandpa have birthdays 16 days apart, and this year, they turned the big 8-0!

To celebrate, we decided we should surprise them with a lunch and the entire family.
Well, as surprises sometimes can go, there were a couple of complications, but eventually they came home and were definitely surprised! 

And with {almost} all of the grandkids, and all of the great-grandchildren.
We feel so blessed to have the two of you in our lives....

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIGI and GRANDPA!