Baby Aerobics - March 30

This scene just made me laugh! Somehow Zane got his favorite teether stuck on his leg while he was playing. The funny part was that he didn't get upset about it. He just pulled it to his mouth and kept chewing on it anyway!

Spring Dirt - March 30

It's springtime and our family is enjoying the warmer weather. Of course it wouldn't be spring in our part of the country without dirt - both the kind that blows through the air (something that happens when there are lots of bare fields around and very few trees!) and the kind that you use for planting. Today the kids helped Danny plant some trees in our front yard. Maybe someday (many, many years from now!) those trees will help block some of that blowing dirt!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! - March 29

I'm sure if I'd asked Danny 10 years ago what he would be doing on his 32nd birthday he would never have guessed this would be the scene! But here he is surrounded by two of his favorite things - his kids and mountains. Life doesn't get much better than this!

So Much Like His Daddy - March 26

Over the past couple of weeks I have been keeping a mental list of all the ways Wyatt is like Danny. For example, he wants to keep wearing his old tennis shoes because they are more comfortable (despite the fact that there are holes in the toes), he LOVES being outside (no extra toys or playground needed, just being outside is enough) and he can spend long stretches of time by himself. I can describe Danny using those exact terms!

I love this picture because it shows another one of their similarities - their love for place. Whenever we are driving somewhere Wyatt always asks, "Where are we?" He doesn't want a vague answer, but a specific location, which can be difficult at times. It is also interesting to watch Wyatt while we are driving. He is usually looking intently out the window (not reading a book or sleeping like his siblings) and often points out different trees or mountains that he sees. He is so much like his daddy!

Ruidoso - March 26-29

Here we are - ready for our four-day backpacking adventure! Danny has lots of pictures and more details about our trip on his blog and I also have a couple of stories on my blog. Click on the links to the right to check them out...

Easter Pictures - March 23

Some of our favorite Easter pictures...

Zane, Monique, Colter, Sabrina and Wyatt

Our five plus Abi

The Girls

The Boys

Colter, Danny, Monique, Wyatt, Sabrina, Jen and Zane

Megan, Cathryn, Jerod, Kim, Craig, Abi and all of us (do I really need to type is again?!)

Zane, Gummie, Robert, Wyatt, Sabrina, Colter, Monique, Dedaddy, Abi and DeJoyce

Our Easter Day - March 23

Our Easter Day in Pictures

The kids enjoyed the treats in their Easter baskets (not from the Easter Bunny - just from Mom and Dad!).

We arrived at church and took a quick picture out in the snow (it didn't snow much, but this is our second Easter in a row with some flurries!).

Here they are waiting for the Easter egg hunt at church. Aren't they cute?

Monique trying to find more eggs.

Colter showing off his Easter goodies.

After church we drove to Lubbock to eat Easter lunch with all of my family (everyone was there - Noni, Papa, all the aunts, uncles and cousin, and even both sets of great-grandparents!). We also took Easter pictures which are on another post.

Gummie (or "Gummie Bear" as Sabrina called her!) kept the kids entertained with stories while Daddy hid the eggs in the backyard.

Wyatt was excited to find his favorite egg!

Sabrina quickly filled her basket with lots of eggs!

It was a fun day for everyone!

Tootsie Pops - March 21

A visit with Gigi would not be complete without Tootsie Pops! Whether we go to Colorado, meet them somewhere in New Mexico or they come to visit us in Texas the boys know Gigi will come with Tootsie Pops in hand. She even sent them with G-pa when he met the boys and Danny for a backpacking trip last summer! Wyatt and Colter had fun sharing this little tradition with their sisters during Gigi and G-pa's recent visit last week.

Happy Spring! - March 20

Some "signs of spring" in our backyard...

sunglasses...

hats...

sidewalk chalk...

balls...

and lots of outside fun!

Creeping Along - March 20

Well, he's not actually crawling yet, but Zane is definitely moving - and moving fast! He is very confident going from sitting up, to all fours, to creeping across the floor. The picture below is one in a series of pictures that I took of Zane creeping along to get his moose. However, when he got there he went right past his moose and kept going without even a pause. He reached the camera lens cover, picked it up and started chewing on it! The kids are quickly learning that nothing is safe from Zane when he is on the floor!

Cousins - March 15

After the birthday party, we stopped by Noni and Papa's house for supper. Sabrina and Monique were able to meet Uncle Craig, Aunt Kim and Abi. We tried to get a picture of all six cousins together, but getting everyone to look at the camera and smile was not an easy task! Maybe on Easter...

Science Spectrum - March 15

The kids were invited to a birthday party for one of their good friends, Belle, at the Science Spectrum in Lubbock. Wyatt and Colter love going to the museum, so it was a great opportunity to show Sabrina and Monique all of the fun things to do there.

Monique pretended to call Daddy on the phone and tell him about her day.

Sabrina and Belle playing in the "water works" exhibit. We spent a lot of time here - it was everyone's favorite.

Wyatt and Colter pretending to fly an airplane - complete with commands and sound effects!

Easter Egg Hunt #1 - March 12

It was a little crazy trying to get pictures of all three kids Easter egg hunts, especially when they were in two different locations! But with the help of a sweet friend who watched Monique and Zane at our house, and the kids' teachers who staggered the hunts by just a few minutes, I was able to enjoy the parties and get lots of cute pictures.

Colter's class had their Easter egg hunt on the playground. He had fun and found lots of eggs!



Thankfully Sabrina and Wyatt's classes had their Easter egg hunts at the same house. They hunted on two different sides of the yard, so I just stood in the middle and got pictures of both of them. Sabrina was very proud of all the eggs that she found!



Wyatt did a great job finding eggs that everyone else missed, especially the ones by the fence. He also avoided the hard-boiled eggs (every child brought 6 hard-boiled eggs and 6 plastic candy-filled eggs) and only picked up the plastic eggs! He knew where the good stuff was!

Easter Eggs - March 11

It seemed a little strange to be dyeing Easter eggs so early, but the kids' Easter parties at school were this week because Spring Break is next week. We'll dye eggs again before Easter for our own egg hunt. All the kids had fun, especially Sabrina and Monique who hadn't ever dyed eggs before!

Monique didn't hesitate to use her hand to retrieve her egg from the cup!

Wyatt was, of course, very precise and serious about dyeing his eggs!

Sabrina's favorite egg was her pink one!

We had to work hard to get Colter to give us a real smile and not one of his silly grins for this picture!

Wyatt's Birthday Party - March 9

Here are some pictures to take you through all of the fun activities on Wyatt's 5th Birthday...

The birthday boy holding up five fingers.

Waiting is so hard!

The kids played in the backyard while we waited for all of the party guests to arrive.

We played a fun game of "pin the wheel on the car",

and "hot car" (think "hot potato" with a car!).

Then everyone colored their own wooden race cars.

Finally it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out candles.

After that the kids ate cake and ice cream,

and Wyatt opened presents.

Then they raced their wooden race cars down the slide.

After the party Wyatt opened some presents from our family,

and then everyone took some time to play with the new toys.

His day ended with a pizza dinner and then playing in the nursery during church. Happy Birthday, Wyatt!