Spring Makes Us Happy!

It has been too long since I posted new pictures of Coee, so went outside today specifically to take some pictures. Coee is enjoying her "first" spring, especially loves doing anything Trey and Dillon are doing; walking in the creek, jumping on the trampoline, playing basketball, going down the slide, swinging and just being outside!

She is learning new words as fast as we can think of them to teach her. Some of her repertoire is: Daddy, Mama, D (Dillon), Trey, puppy, Dynamite, Momo, Bop Bop, Meme, eat, drink, truck, dirty, cookie, candy, night night, bappy (paci), hot, duck, aya (said forcefully with a kick, product of watching Trey and Dillon's Tae Kwon Do class), and go. Speaking of go, she thinks she is ready to go. Whenever the grandparents come to visit, she accompanies them to their car when they are leaving and tugs on the door handle, saying go.!

She is growing by leaps and bounds, as she should be with all that she eats. Her Bop Bop says he has never seen any kid eat as much and enjoy it as much as she does. She is passionate about most any fruit as well as the egg drop soup from a local Chinese restaurant. Going to eat there with her is more entertainment for us than anything else. Remember when Dillon was worried about her hitting her head on the bath tub faucet, which she fit underneath when we first came home? Well, she can no longer fit underneath said faucet! Enjoy the pictures!!

What they say about kids and boxes...

It's true. I've always know it's true. I knew that kids love boxes way back during Trey and Dillon's first Christmases and birthdays. They would cull the toy and play with the boxes. I knew it when we moved so many times and they would LOVE playing with and in the moving boxes. I knew it when they slept IN a couple of decorated - complete with windows- moving boxes for an entire summer when they were six. But four nine year olds on spring break...

Who knew they would fit and the infatuation doesn't end by 3rd grade? That's Landon, Dillon, Kyle and Trey. Just so you will know that Trey is not throwing an obscene gesture here, I have included a sub-par picture below to show that he is really saying....

"Peace" with the four of us here in this box! That's a 36" x 20" box.

Chocolate Bunny, Reading spot and an aha!

We have a "sweets" corner of our kitchen. I usually have some type of baked goods there; cookies, cupcakes, muffins, cakes, and recently Hershey kisses. Coee has figured out where the good stuff stays and goes to that part of the counter and reaches. Her chocolate Easter bunny was residing there until she got to bite its' ears off over the weekend!!

Yum!!

She crawled under the buffet to take in some 3rd grade science.

What would you like to know about? The Solar System? Soil? Plants?

And here is our AHA!! She has been fussy, whiny and clingy; had a fever and runny nose; has been slobbering and HAS NOT BEEN SLEEPING SOUNDLY! I found it!! The tooth! The tooth! See? Your left. Coming in at several different places now. Ouch! At least we now can have some idea of what we are dealing with.

In case you are wondering, the method here is to put her upside down on my legs and tickle her under the chin; all the while holding the camera at the ready in my right hand.

Happy Easter!!

Coee has experienced her first Easter. She enjoyed the chocolate bunny immensely, and wasn't such a big fan of the Easter egg dying or dressing up in summer wear in 50 degree weather. On top of all that Meme (Michelle's mom, Cecelia) was in the hospital over the weekend. What a bummer that was!! We went by the hospital after church and before lunch to see Meme on Easter day. She got out of the hospital on Tuesday after discovering that her problems were a result of an ulcer. More and different medications and hopefully she is on the road back to recovery!

Easter, our family of five.

Very cool Easter cake Momo made!! (Coee liked the whipped cream!)

Coee and Aunt Tonya dying Easter eggs. Notice the furrowed brow from Coee = not a fan.

Dying Easter eggs brings out the craziness in kids!

Welcome Home Greg!!

Greg is home from Iraq!! He arrived in Paducah on Wednesday , March 19. He had a police escort when he entered our county all the way home, as well as being escorted by three line trucks from the power company where he works. We were among about 75 friends, family and co-workers /that waited to welcome him back to his home. We had American flags and the kids made and held signs. It was so exciting to see him back home safe and sound!

Many of the area businesses put words of welcome to Greg on their signs.

Coee particularly enjoyed waving the American flags.

Judy, Cliff, Pam and Phyllis watching for Greg, Mona and Gavin

Welcome home Greg!

Sledding!

Although the forecast was for four to six inches of snow, we ended up with just a couple of inches. Since it is March, we are assuming this is the last chance for a decent snow, so we made the most of it. Sledding and snow boarding around our house once again quickly turned into mud boarding, so we took the boys to a park about 30 miles away. We had a lot of fun while the snow held out today, but we definitely will be making a bee line there the next time we have snow!!

Trey snowboarding beside our house.

Mommy & Coee

The aftermath of a brotherly snowball fight.

Trey jumping a snow ramp. Terrell and I really believe we will be visiting him in Colorado in 15 years!

This snow and sledding is good, but having cookies in the car with mommy is where it's at!

"Old" Friends

We went to St. Louis a couple of weekends ago. We lived right outside of St. Louis in Illinois for a bit over two years from 2002 to 2004. Our first stop during our weekend was to visit with Andrea and Amanda and their parents Jimmy and Ellen. They were our neighbors when we lived there and these four kids had LOTS of great times together. If they were home, they were together; either outside or at either one of our houses. They did everything from make a club house in the pine trees to play on the swing sets to catch lightning bugs to share a cat!!! Well, four years later... they have certainly grown up a lot but they immediately jumped in like they had never been apart! Can you believe these nine, eight and twelve year olds have "old friends?"

Dillon, Andrea, Amanda & Trey

We brought them to the hotel with us to swim. We then found out that the Hyatt-Union Station has no indoor pool. So, we improvised with a hotel room party!