Easter Monday

Easter Monday had to be the most beautiful day of the year.  It was gorgeous!  The weather was warm, it did not snow, the sun was shinning and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.  With such a perfect day we headed downtown to the Nations Capitol.



Jay and I both had off work so I skipped school and and pulled the kids out of school and took the whole troop to the Smithsonian.



Our main Smithsonian we wanted to see was the  Museum of Natural History.



This museum is so incredibly awesome, well all of them are.  Another reason we wanted to go that week was by the end of the week they are closing the dinosaur exhibit for the next 5 years.  Yes five years.  They are doing a complete remodel of it and that is not easy.



Our kids are not that into dinos but they do like them.  If they did not have the chance to see them now they won't for quite a while.  And Smiley he is having a dinosaur birthday in June so why not get him hyped up now.  They had fun, so much fun.



Baby kept running up to us and yelling RAAWW!!





People used to tell me how much these two look a like.  I saw it but as their mom I always thought they look different too.  And the past few years I thought they were really growing their own looks.   However this picture, I do see their close looks but more so I see how much they are growing up.  It is not baby looks but I can see the teen looks developing.  Wipe the tears from my eye!



one of those two for a throw back Thursday.

It looks like the dinosaur is going to get them!



My little LOVES!!



Even though the dinos were cool the boys are into gems, rocks and stones.  So after we saw the dino bones per their request we went to the gems and Hope diamond.



They loved it here.



The kids did so good this day.  They were well behaved and such a pleasure!  Well minus the tongue sticking out.

A beautiful day!



We made our way over to the Air and Space Museam too.





They had fun there too.  And were able to touch so much more stuff.



There were all these tepees on the Mall.  Protesting for something and I only know that much cause I saw a stop the pipe or something sign on the ground as we were trying to figure out why they were there.  Rule one of a good protest, let people know the cause.  Oh well the kids had fun running in and out of them.









Why don't we go down there more often?



Its close, there is so much to do?

Maybe we will.  We had a great time and it was so worth it when the kids said so too.

March is over!

Whew we made it through the March birthday madness. We still have both mothers birthdays coming up later in April, but that feels like such a nice break till then.  Whew.  I am glad it is over and...just glad it is over.  My daughters birthday was the last of the March ones.  We had a bunch of things planed but the kids were just not their best.  We had lots of running to do to, and that all conflicted with my perfect mental image of a sweet princess/ Angelina Ballerina birthday for her.  However, she was BEAUTIFUL and still had a great time.  More than a few meltdowns from each child and I think at lest 2 from me.



She turned 3.  She is a grown up still my baby 3.  I am just as crazy about her now as ever maybe more.  This girl is AWESOME!



I know it is know almost a month past her birthday but that is because it is truly hard for me to find the time to blog anymore.  I try and try but..I am exhausted and always busy.  But that is why I love instagram.  You don't get the stories but you get a glimps about what is happening and really how many of you read what I right or just scroll through and look at the pictures anyways?



She wanted an Angelina Ballerina cake.  I could not find one, I did not have the time money or skill to make one, so I ordered her a princess Faith ballerina cake and she was over the moon she loved it!!  She still talks about "my Angelina cake with my head"  Although it was a bit weird eating Faith.



And the reason we now have back up plans/relighting plans for birthday cake candles.



They all laugh when it is not their birthday, but when baby blows out the candle on their special day oh they cry.  But each of the others did it when they were babies age too.

We went to watch Frozen again.  But this time in her new costume from  Ms. Ginny, she loves it and still wears it all the time!  Thank you.  And for the frozen microphone and Elsa doll they were perfect and she loves loves them.



I know this is not the best picture but here is baby watching her brother eat popcorn.  If you saw them she was astonished like oh that is how you do it.  And below is another bad picture.  Sorry it was dark in there.  My parents came to to see Faith on her birthday and help me out.  Can you believe they had not seen Frozen yet?!  How did anyone make it without seeing Frozen?



Yay know idea what my oldest is doing.



And a selfie of me and Smiley!  My love boy

The movie was great, again, again x8 or 9 times then.  It was so fun to see all the little girls dressed in their Frozen outfits.  Girls are such princesses.

It was a nice birthday even with some of the hardships.  And truly now nearly a month later I don't remember the stress, I just melt at the princess pictures.

Ice fest 2014

Icefest is truly one of my favorite "holidays".  It is local, gives our family roots in a community tradition as well as a family one, it is not at my house so I do not have to clean, my family comes, my parents brother and niece, it is really cool, amazing artist show off their talents, and their is a chili cook off, but sadly because of all the kids pallets we have not been to that part in a few years.  There is also an Ice Ball which I so very much want to go to, maybe one year when I can find a sitter, and they have special theater events, ballets, cake contest, bands, it really just keeps getting bigger and better.  The only down side is it is SO COLD!!  Yes it is right during our coldest times of the year.  It has to be to keep all the ice still ice but some years are worse than others.  With the surrounding weeks dropping down to the negatives and highs sometimes in the single digits we were over joyed when this years Icefest was in the sizzling 40's!!  It was a single day heat wave, the next next two days it dropped and snowed us in again.  But with warm weather we, the whole town headed out, some in t shirts and shorts, it was not that warm but at least I saw no flip flops.

This year the older boys each had art work in Ice fest.


Evan had an owl and chickadees


Gregory had a haiku and many snowflakes

Besides the kids awesome art the ice artist did fantastic jobs once again.


We all loved this guy from Monsters Inc.  Just to darn cute.  And Smiley scaring just to perfect.


This giraffe was my favorite.  The picture does it far from justice but it was...cool. haha


And my boys in front of a truck well that just fits doesn't it.


There is getting to be to many of them to fit on the biggest ice chair.  Awe I remember bring only 2, once upon a time.


Me and the kids by a dog and a golfer.  The ice sculptures line the both side of streets and some allies for  over 4 blocks.


My parents and the kids.  Yes that is Smiley licking the sculptures, smh.

However to the bigger kids nothing tops the ice slide.

The boys all love this.  The girls loved the s'mores station better.

It was fun and not so cold.  A nice chance to be outside in the middle of crippling temperatures that keep us in most days.

other years:
2008
2009
2011

And there is more but ... recently we lost an entire hard drive of pictures.  I need to print more out immediately.  Such a flaw of mine.

January happenings

Shortly after Christmas we went bow shooting.



The kids have really been enjoying it and they are not that bad.

Evan got a shot right between the eyes.  Although that is not where you want to shoot to kill it but I do not believe they would ever live through that either.





Even I have been joining the boys.  I am decent at this, but I have done it since I was a little older than Gregory.





We have not actually done much shooting the past couple weeks since it has been unbelievably cold.  And not the normal me whining about temperatures lower than 70 but truly very in the -20's FREEZING.



It was a polar vortex.  It was cold!  They shut schools down because the temps were single digits and under, for highs.  The kids have barley been too school this January.  They have had snow days, cold days, ice days a broken heater day, tomorrow is a holiday and Tuesday a teacher in service day.  And Thursday?  Guess What??  We are expecting a second polar vortex.  YAY.  Actually even with all these days off the kids are not that happy about it.  They would rather be at school.


Gregory

They certainly have kept me busy here and I am back at school for one of those super condensed super hard January classes.  A 15 week upper level biology class that has so much more chemistry in it I would have thought, all in in 15 days.  Yup a week a day and I should be studying.  But all those have once again left me to neglect this poor blog.  However, that class ends Friday and then back to the normal semester.  And hopefully back outside.

The little princess do go out and play for a few minutes.  But mostly they stay in.  They can not manage to keep their gloves and boots on, so they come in crying and cold.

Faithy dancing away



We are still watching the Nutcracker almost daily.  I bought her 3 different ones after Christmas.  One the real one with live people.  Gregory likes this one best he will sit and watch it with her most anytime.  She loves the Angelina Ballerina one.  Or at least she thinks she does.  She begs for it sings the songs loves watching them for a few minutes but then dances away.  Angelina's best friend in the shows, name is Gracie, too cute.  Lastly she got the wonderpets one.  I think that is the one the tiny team all loves the most.  They are all cute though.  And YES I did get a video of the kids all dancing the Nutcracker like I mentioned here.  I will get that uploaded to youtube sometime in the next month so I can show you.

And both of the girls have been playing with their baby dolls.



They are just such little girls and so much fun to have.  Completely different from the boys yet so much alike too.

When life gives Faith lemons

She loves it.  She takes them from everyone's water and pops them right into her mouth.



Oh yes sucking all the sour juices right out.  And only then stopping to think...



Maybe I should not have done that?



But that though goes right out of her head as soon as it comes in.  She then pops the next lemon right in.  I have a feeling that I am going to be watching this one repeat many lessons over and over.

After the Christmas tea the tiny team and me went out to eat with mema and pepa.



 I gave the boys the option of coming with us but they would rather stay at school and have fun there.  That was fine with me I am glad they like it so much.



These three are hilarious and it is like dinner and a show when you are with them. And it is always nice to go out and taking off making at least 1 meal.

Faithy loved their tree!




Awe what sweet Christmas moments.  I did not really stock up after Christmas like I sometimes too.  I was just to burnt out and the prices have not been very good.  I got a few stocking stuffers that are going make an appearance in the kids Easter baskets if I can remember where I had them come Easter.



My parents



And me and my munchkins with mema.