The "Everyday" Things

It's fun to have breaks and holidays to look forward to, but most of our March was filled with "everyday" things, like softball, painting, and spending time with friends. I know I'm going to forget  some of these times, so I want to make sure I document the everyday as well as the holidays.

We got to visit Daddy at softball practice. Eli (in gray) and Micah (in green) had gotten new ball gloves just a week before this picture and they told everyone that "Daddy got these gloves for us!" It was very special to them that Momma and Joshua stayed home while Daddy took them to find the best gloves.

 Joshua can't play catch yet, but he found this dirt entertaining.

 We've been to lots of games to cheer on "Daddy's girls." Micah (purple) and Eli (blue) often wear their gloves to the game to catch a foul ball.

 Besides softball, we made some scratch-and-sniff paint with Kool-aid packets. Eli especially liked this craft and has asked me to do it again.

 Joshua woke up from nap before I had cleaned up the paint, so he got a turn, too.

 He thought it was finger paint...

 One cold morning (never mind how my children were dressed, it was cold!) we went to pick strawberries with some friends. We got a lot of beautiful (and delicious) strawberries,

 but the best part? Splashing in the puddles after picking!

(Actually, it was very helpful to clean the mud off all their shoes!)

Over the last month or so, Joshua has become very independent with eating. He insists on having a fork or spoon for every meal. While he's not always neat or successful, he sure has fun trying!

 His favorite treat this month was a non-dairy mango sherbet we found at a frozen yogurt place. Despite his expression, he loved it and ate the whole serving!

Easter

I was really surprised this year at how much Eli and Micah remembered from last year's Easter celebration--or the one 2 years ago when Micah spilled the orange egg dye--and what they had forgotten, like our Resurrection Eggs that tell the story of Passion week. They looked forward to opening the Resurrection Eggs every night, but they really had fun coloring eggs.

Daddy, Micah, Eli

Eli (I love this boy's silliness!)

Eli checking to see if his egg was "blue enough."

Micah, Momma, Eli

Is this pink enough? Nope! It needs a few more minutes!

Micah checking on his yellow egg.

Momma and the big boys!

On Easter morning, the boys let me take a quick picture of them in front of our roses before heading to church. 

Eli, Joshua, Micah

After the service was over, we had Micah (left) and Eli (right) sit in front of the altar, so we could have a picture in front of all of the beautiful flowers. Our church's photographer snapped this one with the boys' "dancing feet." (Joshua was in our church's nursery so I could stay and worship while Paul was in the choir.)

Our family of five!

After lunch and naps, the long-awaited Easter Egg hunt was on! We had to do it quick before the rain came through! 

Joshua

Eli and Micah

When the hunt was over, the boys brought all their eggs inside to open them up.

Joshua LOVED the graham cracker bunnies in his eggs.

Eli was not thrilled with the quarters in his eggs. He said, "Next year, put something fun in my eggs, like a toy or something." (I thought the quarters were fun! Silly me!)

Spring Break

 Almost every Spring Break, my (Kristy) parents come down to visit and help with some project. This year, it was cleaning up the gardens and making a new sunny spot for our red tips, which were not doing well in the mostly shady spot they were in.

Joshua enjoyed being in the middle of everything and "helping" everywhere.

Eli and Micah were fascinated with Papa driving the tiller.

The big boys took some time out from watching Papa to plant a few flowers of their own. They love watering "their" pots and check on "their" flowers each time we're outside. I guess next spring, we need to get another pot for Joshua!

After the tilling was done, the boys had some time to play in the dirt before the red tips were planted.

As is our tradition, we also went to the livestock show.

We planted sunflower seeds, which are now growing nicely in our garden.

We fed some very hungry goats and one deer who liked to eat shirts! We also saw lots of different farm animals, including piglets being born!

Eli and Micah got to "milk" a cow

and pretend to be farmers.

 

Joshua fell in love with this horse!

After a busy morning exploring and lunch, we headed home. We had some time to tie-dye some shirts, grab dinner for the road, and head back down for the Rodeo. This time, we left Nana, Papa, and Joshua at home. Eli and Micah had never seen a rodeo live and they loved it! They can't wait to go back next year. Honestly, Micah stood almost the whole night!

Momma's little Jayhawks.

(Micah, Joshua, Eli)

Micah, Joshua, and Eli in their tie-dye creations.

After Nana and Papa left, Paul took the boys to a park so I could get some work done here at the house. Apparently, all the boys had a great time!

Fun in February

 Now that it's March, I suppose it's time to update the blog on what we did in February. :-)

Joshua got a new big boy car seat!

Joshua climbed inside the "oven" while playing with his brothers--how else can you reach the toys in the back?

 Since it's been a while since I've posted a video of Joshua, here is one of him playing with his current favorite toy!

  

How do you keep three active boys busy on a rainy day? Let them set up an indoor jumping space!

We celebrated Valentine's day together.

These are the Valentines Eli (glow sticks) and Micah (bugs) chose for school.

Eli got all dressed up for a play date.

When Paul was in Costa Rica, Grandma C. (Kristy's G'ma) came to visit and help with the boys. She brought some cars with her that the boys loved. We really had a fun visit and hope G'ma C. can come again next year!

G'ma C. let the boys play games on her phone while she was here.

All that play is hard work! Micah got to sleep in our bed for naps while G'ma C. was  visiting. He always takes something to bed with him, but this day he chose a hat, a bug, and a bracelet! He was amused that the cats slept with him, too. :-)

We made our signs and were ready to go pick up Daddy!

 

Waiting at the airport, I heard, "When's Daddy coming?" and "Is Daddy here yet?" many times. They were so excited to see him--and they got to wear their pj's since it was past bed time when we got home. All 3 slept on the way to and from the airport.

Eli and Micah showed their friends how to make crowns on the computer.

When our friends' baby brother started crying in his car seat,  Eli started playing music and being silly in front of him. The baby quickly started giggling, which got Micah and Joshua's attention.

For her birthday, our sweet friend, Colleen, got to come visit!

Colleen loves to play ball and the boys love throwing them for her.

They even played some soccer--the ball was one of Colleen's gifts and she popped it in about 1 minute!

Here are the boys with Colleen. The boys have requested that our next dog be a girl and playful "like Colleen."

 Colleen isn't the only one getting attention from the boys. Joshua still loves the kitties and sometimes they tolerate him. He loves to give Smudges hugs and I'm always surprised at how often she just lays there and lets him hug her!

When she left the bed and tried to hide behind the curtain, Joshua found her and tried to give her more hugs. :-) 

Looking back, we had a really great February. We are so blessed by our many friends and family who add such joy to our days!

Anniversary Fun Video