WOW! I am a posting maniac! Now I can return to my regular activities of blog-stalking all my friends and family! Its so good to be back!!!!

Amanda. . . . .just so you know, your little sister loves her crayon cozy and uses it all the time! She carries it everywhere. Colson and Jacqueline really like theirs too I just forget to capture their moments in pictures!

This. . . . . .equals. . . .

. . . . .this. . . . .
Colson has been working on pulling this baby for the past week. Yesterday it was hanging by one little root and this morning he came running out of his bedroom, all excited, that his tooth just fell into his hand. What a cutie! My baby boy is sure growing-up fast! Now, onto the other tooth. . . . .there's nothing cuter than a boy without his front teeth!!

During spring break we took the family bowling. It was a blast! I took quite a few shots

of the family but this one stood out among them all. The boys all commented on how cool it

looked so I thought I would share a sweet picture of Den bowling!

What little toddler doesn't love to play dress-up? Here is Victoria all set to head out the door yesterday after dinner (notice the shoes they are mine!)

Oops I think she forgot something. . . .like her clothes! She just warms our hearts!

I was asked today what I'm doing now that I have so much free time on my hands since classes are over for the semester. I had to stop and think. . . . not for long, however, because life is always busy in this family. Colson started off with a cold and runny nose on Thursday, by Saturday he was coughing non-stop. Den took him to the doctor and was told he just had a virus. Well.....after an entire weekend of "literally" non-stop coughing and Victoria spiking a fever last night I took them both to the doctor this morning. Victoria, again, has strep and Colson was put on steriods because a) its not a virus b) it his asthma and c) I knew it wasn't going to go away without steroids or an antibiotic.

There is always something to take up my time, amidst the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. I am homeschooling Colson, who got himself a freebie today due to sickness, chasing after our little ticking time bomb who explodes everything she touches these days, and running after older kids and their activities. There's never a dull moment and rare are the moments when you find yourself without something to do. In the midst of sickness and doctor visits today I did manage to do the ironing, finish a book I started late yesterday, pick up perscriptions, pick-up kids from school in my new "harley" and even spend a few moments with Den in the car, albeit we weren't alone, because our little missy has goitis! and then home and rock and cuddle her since her fever spiked again; and facebook from my phone (gotta love that) and chat with my kiddo at the academy! It's all in a days work for me and I have to say that I wouldn't want to do anything else, EVER!

WHEW. . . .another semester under my belt! What a great feeling to wake up this morning and not have the pressure of college courses to deal with. I finished my last exam yesterday. It was extremely tough and, I dare say that, if I pass it will be a miracle. Den and I went over every point that I could possibly get, even a few extra credit points, and I wasn't at all pleased with the outcome. I told Den that its hard to let it go because I hate it when something "beats me" (competitiveness at its finest). What a sweet husband I have; he has helped me, with the class, all semester and said that my prof taught this class at a graduate level. He should know he does have his masters. Whats wrong with these people? Why would they rather see students fail than succeed? If there is anything, at all, driving me to complete my education it is just that, to see students "get it" and "succeed". Well, its over and now I am waiting for the final grades to be posted. A good friend of mine told me to not stress over the final grades because when you get a job its not the grades they look at but the degree. Ok tell my OCD brain that! What's done is done....... and now onto enjoying spring and summer!!!

Today my kids have no school! Thanks, in part, to "take your child to work day". Our school system has been promoting this the past few years, and since so many kids participate, they cancelled school due to low numbers. YEAH for us! I am sure that some do go to work with their parent but most, like me, let their kids stay home. I can ususally justify it because:

1. home is my place of work
2. my kids are willing to help me do whatever
3. with all of us pulling together the workload is minimal
4. minimal work = free day for them

Its a win-win situation for all of us! and honestly I LOVE having my kids home. We started counting down the days for summer break right after spring break! I know most people can't wait for school to start and dread the end of the year but not me! I want my kids back and it takes several weeks for them to acclimate themselves back into life and family.

So without further ado. . . . .I am outta here and gonna enjoy my kids and this beautiful spring day!

It's a Sunshiney Day...........mornings are always a little bit hectic getting kids ready and off to school. I take my older boys to school each day and we HAVE to leave by 7:15 an no later. We have a neighbor who leaves a little past 7:15 and he is extremely pokey to follow. If we pull out and he is pulling out we ususally take a different way to school and try and get in front of him. Once I drop the boys off I ALWAYS take a different way home than "the neighbor" and once again its a race to see if I can get in front of him. Today, I won! Yeah for me! I even took Brennan to the J/Hi too and still WON! When we pull to the end of our street the first words out of either Brett or Blakes mouth are, they're leaving or they've left! Its rather amusing. Crunching time in the mornings is a must because once I get home I have 1/2 hour to get Jacqueline ready to catch the bus and she, like our neighbor, is extremely pokey. No matter what time I get my girl up she still is pokey and I still have to prompt her about everything; sometimes its out of frustration, which I berate myself over. Today was a great day, maybe it was the beautiful sunshine that put us all in good spirits but she was ready when I got home from taking the boys. Once she steps out the door the race is on, once again to get the youngest two fed, bathed and dressed! WHEW! and today, well, we are gonna spend most of it outside because its supposed to be 72 and that calls for playtime, because as you know, it won't last here, so we MUST take full advantage of it, and last but not least TGIF!!!!

I think spring has finally sprung here in our part of the world and man did it ever take FOREVER! Today has dawned absolutely gorgeous with the most amazing sunshine. We are supposed to have mid-60's here which is, literally, like a heatwave! At least my kids think so, as they have all donned their shorts, well, actually they've been wearing shorts for several weeks(even wore them out in ND with 2 ft of snow).

I've been on the sick side of life since Monday, mid-afternoon. I am still not up-to-par but hoping the sunshine will give me a good dose of Vitamin C. It's hard to lay around when "stuff" needs to get done; especially with a toddler who gets into "everything" and a 7 year old I am homeschooling. Acutally, Colson's schooling is going well and he is really easy to work with. He is ableto do alot on his own, yet I still enjoy listening to him read, its truly music to my ears. I am so proud of him and am so thankful I chose to pull him and keep him home this semester. He is finally back to "himself". I honestly think we would have totally lost who our little man is, if he had stayed in an over-crowded classroom with huge restrictions. Its been quite a few years since I've homeschooled and I have to admit I was a bit leary to do it again, (alot of pressure on me to make sure he knows what he needs too) yet I know God kept prompting my heart to do it.

Well my morning is slipping away from me with much still left to accomplish! Don't forget to look for blessings from God, He gives them everyday, we just don't always look for them, because sometimes, like me, we are too caught up in "stuff".

It just wouldn't be Easter without coloring eggs. Megan brought over an egg coloring kit and the kids went right to work. How cute to watch and listen! I captured a few kodak moments!

Victoria holding her egg in one hand and the wire holder in the other.
Colson and his robins egg blue egg!

Jacqueline, Megan, Victoria, Colson and Benjamin

(even big kids enjoy coloring eggs!)

We had a great trip to the wild west and wild it was with snow, cold and wind, but it did have alot of sunshine too! In spite of the crazy weather, we had a wild and crazy time of fun with our kids. We didn't do anything spectacular but just hang-out and I think everyone would agree it was great! God always knows just when your kids need some special attention and it was Dan and Elizabeth's weekend to get ours. Ministry can be rewarding and challenging so it was perfect timing for us to go and love on our kids. The trip home was tough, we got a late start and traveled through the night. For the most part all the kids did great, but poor little Victoria she cried most of the night. It was so hard leaving her strapped in her carseat when I knew she just wanted me to hold her and snuggle. Once we got home it was within minutes and she was out and slept 6 hours; pretty much everyone slept except Colson and I. He busied himself with toys and I busied myself with unpacking. I took Dave and Casey's car (they were so gracious to loan us their car for the trip) and had the oil changed, washed and vacuumed and drove it over and swapped it back for ours. On my return home I needed to stop by Walmart, and had the oiled changed in our Saturn, washed and vacuumed it, arrived home to continue with some laundry, thankfully I had done most of it at the kids, and finished unpacking our luggage. Den was so sweet; he unloaded the entire car, after driving 16 straight hours, then he helped me put all the laundry away and took care of all the luggage. What a guy! Our trip was great, its been 10 years since this family had any type of vacation so it was much needed.

The rest of the week we have a few day trips planned, an indoor waterslide, shopping, dinner, and maybe a game or two of bowling. None of us are ready to jump back in the car and ride for any length of time either. It sure is good to have the boys home, my how we missed them! I posted some pictures, in three parts, so I hope you enjoy a few shots of my family and our vacation!

North Dakota Vacation

Part III

Colson taking a little R&R
Dan and Elizabeth are great huggers!

Scottie getting a long awaited kiss from Victoria

amazing amounts of snow!

(just couldn't get over how much snow they

actually had!)

North Dakota Vacation

Part II

Swimming with new friends
morning breakfast

big sister. . . .little sister snuggles

two happy little sisters snuggling with

their big brother after three long months!

amazing amounts of snow!

North Dakota Vacation

Part I

everyone watching the "final four" game
can you tell she was so excited to see Bryan???

see how deep the snow is?
Victoria thought it was so cool!
(and it was actually warm enough
to go without a coat)
Daniel getting loving from Victoria.
These boys are such good big brothers!

After 15 hours of travel, we arrived safely at Dan and Elizabeths. The roads were great the weather was wonderful and we drove up to the front of his house to 2 feet of snow, and a nice path shoveled for us to walk up too! I can't even begin to imagine getting all that snow in one day! Amazing. The kids were great traveling and with all the technology we had they were kept busy! We did have charger cords running everywhere! Victoria had a tough time the last few hours but she survived and we all went to bed somewhere around 1am our time. It was a long day but so worth it! The sun is shinning and I hope to capture a few pictures of the snow and the flooding. We plan on heading to Fargo to check out the flooding there. I hope people aren't angered at our gawking, its just we never see diasters of this magnitude where we live!

Branden and Bryan head out from Denver around 5pm tonight and should pull in around 5am tomorrow. We are all anxious to see them and they are anxious to see us! I am so blessed at the love our kids show each other and to Den and I. In this day and age when families become so disjointed ours seems to pull even closer together!

April Fools. . . . .and a cute little bit of foolery by Colson!
Blake went to pour himself a bowl of Sugar Smacks and out poured Rice Krispies, he then says, "what the heck?" I laugh and just say "Colson!" later I pour Cookie Crisp and out poured Reeses Peanut Butter cereal! "Colson strikes again!" I asked him how he thought of that and he said he saw it on TV, of course!