Rubber playground

A little background: Since we put our house on the market, I've gotten into the habit of constantly trying to put things away as kids are done playing and keeping things neat and tidy.

We had friends over to play yesterday and I decided to just enjoy them and not worry about keeping things tidy. Around 1:15, I got a call that someone wanted to show our place at 3:00. Talk about PANIC! We had out almost every toy downstairs and all the outside toys were strewn all over the backyard. Luckily, we'd eaten outside because Mandi and I had been scrapbooking at the kitchen table and didn't want to clean up. So I layed Jake down for a quick nap and ran all over the house in panic mode cleaning and picking up things wherever I went. I managed to get things back in order with the help of all the kids. We were out the door and headed to the "rubber playground" with 5 minutes to spare. The kids and I had a wonderful time playing at the new playground here in Newton. The ground under the playground is rubberized and spongy. It's wonderful! No sand to bring back home!! Not to mention, there are lots of fun things to climb up and slide down. The kids had a great time and Jenna again was very cooperative to our busy day, she talked with me and slept in the stroller. We arrived home shortly after 4:00 and I didn't see any signs of someone having been there. Soon I got a call saying the realtor couldn't get the door open, so they want to come back another day!! On the positive side, my house was all picked up, so we didn't have to spend our evening doing that! :)


Such good buddies!! I love these two!

Sidewalk chalk and Sprinklers

We had a fun time writing on our slab out back, again, Jenna patiently slept and enjoyed the day from her spot in the stroller. It was nice to get to spent quality time with the two big kids this week. It seems like lately I spend a lot more time with Jenna and taking care of her needs during the routine weeks, but having less of a schedule to keep up with I was able to just enjoy the kids and throw organization and schedules out the windows (which were open thanks to a wonderful warm breeze!)

Emily kept asking me if we could go swimming, it wasn't really hot enough for that, but I did give in and let them put their suits on and run through the sprinkler. They lasted longer than I thought they would. Having the sprinkler at the bottom of our slide gave a new challenge to an already fun activity!

Picinics

Tuesday of our spring break was a wonderful day!! The sun was shining and we decided a picinic would be fun. The kids ate great, while Jenna slept, so we totally enjoyed the picinic. What's more fun than sunny spring smiles!

Passing Time

Pat went to the Goessel game tonight and the kids and I had an incredibly long evening together. Aside from the pizza Pat had ordered to be delivered at supper time (what a sweet husband!!), the kids were grouchy and upset most of the evening. This was my best try to bring on happier spirits. The kids like to pretend to be singing in church. They each picked a book to be their song book. Emily is singing about whatever animal is on her page. I think Jake is just making up words to sing. They seem like nonsense to me! Enjoy the bright spot in our evening!!!

For some reason the video isn't working and I'm ready for bed, I'll try another time!!

Three in a row

At bedtime the other night, we lined up the kids for a few smiles. We feel so blessed to have three healthy and loving (most of the time) kids.
Here they are lined up by their feet. It's neat to see how they are stair steped. Jenna looks like she is making a silly face in this one, even though the big kids have the silly face in the next shot!

Happy Birthday Aunt D!

We spent all week making birthday cards for Aunt D. I suggested making a card for her on Monday, her birthday was on Friday. Little did I know I'd have to entertain making cards for her all week after that! Their cards were a perfect illustration of both kids personality. Emily's card was FULL of stickers all over, and Jake's only had 4 stars, one in each corner. It was amazing, I tried a couple of times to suggest adding more stickers and Jake wouldn't budge, he only wanted those 4. The cards evolved into this wonderful crown Emily made for Danielle. Lucky for Danielle, we forgot to bring it along with us to Pizza Hut!

Recent photos

The kids continue to bring smiles to our hearts.
Here are a few taken in the last few days to also bring some smiles to you!!

Jenna is so generous with her smiles and coos. At eight weeks old, she is such fun to talk to, she really works hard to try to "talk" with us. Her hair continues to grow, and it just curls up more, rather than lying down! :) She looks almost 2 inches longer because of her hair!

















Bath time is a favorite for Jenna, with two others around, she doesn't get to just enjoy her bathtime as much as the other kids did when they were this little. But Saturday, we had time to enjoy it together while Pat played with Emily and Jake.

Emily wanted to play wedding one morning, here she is with her special blanket as her wedding veil. We're not ready for this anytime soon!

This is how we found Jake this morning. It must have been a rough night, he went to sleep with the bull to keep him safe from bad dreams, the orange and blue blocks and his water cup all in his bed, this morning, they were all on the floor!