Bluebonnets and Bikes

We made our annual trip out to see the bluebonnets. As has been the tradition, the children want to have no part in taking their pictures. So...here are Eli and Micah being silly. (I was playing with different settings on my camera, and took these just for fun. I had no idea they'd be the best pictures I would get all day!)

Micah (left) Eli (right)

Joshua didn't like the wet grass, but liked the flowers.

And every one was done when it was time to take pictures with Momma. ;-)

(Daddy didn't get any good pictures with the boys.)

So, taking pictures isn't really the boys' thing, but they did learn how to ride their bikes! They have struggled with pedaling for a long time. Somehow, with lots of practice, it all clicked!

(Eli's bike is black and red; Micah's is green)

Eli and Micah love to sing and often make up their own songs at home. While Eli was emptying the dishwasher one night, he just started singing what was in his heart. It was so sweet and really spoke of his faith. I caught the middle of the song, but the beginning was much like this part--only singing of creation!

Joshua is growing up quickly, too! He climbs on anything he can and wants to do everything his big brothers do. On this day, he got locked in the office with me and stood on this box to try and get out.

Joshua learned to climb our playscape--just so he could go down the slide over and over!

When Maybe (Paul's parents' dog) came over to visit, Joshua loved feeding her. He would give her one piece of food at a time and giggle while she ate--especially if he could get her to eat out of his hand!

These boys certainly keep us busy and entertained. We are so blessed to have each one of them!

Working at the car wash...

I'm not sure who had the idea first--Daddy or the big boys. Either way, they thought it would be fun to wash all of the pollen off Daddy's car. And, they did have a great time!

Micah (front) Eli (back)

 Joshua just loves water and wanted to play with the bubbles.

 Eli and Micah

 Hosing the car off was probably their favorite part.

 I asked Micah to rinse out Joshua's wagon, which quickly turned into a "soak Joshua with the hose" game.

 Poor Joshua!

 Afterward, all three boys took a nice bath to warm up!

Micah, Eli, and Joshua

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!