School Activities

It was VIP day at Michael's class. He was supposed to have grandparents there, but I had to suffice. I felt guilty because some kids had like 6 family members there, and Michael had to settle for me, but he didn't seem to notice. It was his idea to do the floppy ear on one side which I thought was so creative.
Jane is a "baby" girl. Some girls like animals (like Bella) and some like babies (like Rachel). Jane is definately into babies and not animals. She will sit with any family in the ward that has a baby in their isle and will cozy up quick.

This is evidence some day that he was trained to wash dishes, so he can't tell his wife he never learned how!

Bella had a great music concert on the melting pot of the United States with music from all different countries. It was very beautiful. She was sad to have missed her other school's concert, but this one was also great.

Buried Treasure!

This is a view from my kitchen window. The backyard has a slope to it, which is great for sledding, but hard for Jane to walk down (and hard for me to carry her back up the hill!) We have a corner lot leading into a cul-de-sac, so it is big, but half of it is near a neighborhood street. And of course, there are no fences here in Wisconsin!
This is another view from my kitchen. Tommy taught himself how to do a back flip and then taught Rachel to do one as well. Now if we could just talk Bella into it....

This is a view of our cul-de-sac from our mailbox.

This is a view of our house. I'll post one of each season. I'm excited to see what it will look like with all the trees with leaves...(not excited for all the leaves falling in the fall that we will have to rake up!)

This kitchen was another treasure buried in the snow. It was just a little dusty! Also the basketball hoop.

What do I love more than a good bargain....something free!!! The snow all melted, and we've had a little taste of spring...and we found, out in the woods in our backyard, a trampoline! It's missing 4 springs, but other than that it works great. Dave had to dig up some of the springs from the frozen ground, but here you go. Pure pleasure for kids that have been couped up for months!

What the Girls have been up to...

I thought this was a cool shot. It was taken just at the right moment. (there were a lot of mess-ups before this perfect shot)

Bella and Rachel have been leading quite the social life. They have been to a birthday party just about every weekend since we've moved and also have been keeping up friendships back in Sussex. They just recently took part in a ward talent show and wowed them all with their bendiness (is that a word?). Bella's Human Jump Rope is quite funny, but she did say it was getting harder. They will start swimming next month.

BTW, I now have three kids in glasses. They all inheritated my astigmatism and need glasses for the chalkboard and stuff. Michael can't wait to have astigmatism too.

Tommy's Church Basketball

Tommy is #6

Well, just add another thing onto what makes me cry....Tommy is just getting so big! His shoes are size 9, his voice is changing, he's gained 20 pounds in the last 3-4 months....I just can't take it! He recently went back to school (after having been out for a couple of months) and I miss him like crazy...and not just as a baby-sitter, but as a friend to have around. He's so funny and witty. For example, when I called him on the phone the other day, he answered, "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" I just think that is so funny...perhaps I'm just an easy audience. I think it is such a joy to see your children grow up and become their own person.

So, Tommy is playing church-ball. We have such a great group of young men in our ward. About 5-6 boys in each age group. He is also going to start swimming next week.