please excuse my pregnant brain...

I've skipped some posts, and I was thinking I had a good reason, but now that I am sitting here typing, I can't quite remember what that was. I can claim pregnant brain (the forgetfulness that happens all the time and makes you walk into a room and forget what it was that made you come there), but it was probably more like pregnancy-i-am-ready-to-check-out-because-i'm-so-tired-and-it's-only-2:30 - alot of that last week. I'm guessing that this baby's ridiculous growth spurt has something to do with it.. I'm afraid this is gonna be a big one, folks...     


Good news! We are finally at the big 3-0! Only 9 weeks left 'till the day! We've scheduled a section for June 26, and I'm starting to feel like I am soooo not ready. But I have a fierce to-do list, and I'm tackling it like a champ....


*****
Gray days. We had some last week, and it's a gray day that makes me pull out all of my tricks to bring in come cheery color. I usually make sure I wear bright colors on rainy days, and I bought hot pink rain boots that seem to make the sun come out every time I wear them. The trick is, I wear the boots, it will get hot, and I will have to take them off. Happens every time. 


I also make sure that kids have rain and snow gear that fit, just in case we have an opportunity for some fun in either... The rain stopped for about 15 minutes, and they ran out for some air.  

Sometimes Jane Bradley will resist my begging for a big smile. I snap away anyway...

This guy usually doesn't... unless you take away his umbrella because
he is standing inside of it. Then he gets upset... See the following:

Then he will tell you that he is sorry and he will hold it high in the air....
And you won't be able to resist the smile, so you believe his promise and give it back....

*****

Jane Bradley wore a hat that sings, "Shout" very loudly... It inspired a performance, where we all had to come to her room and take a seat and watch her jump around and dance to her antler-clapping hat....

Beckham was very willing to take a front row seat for the show...

The dancing included pom-poms...

Then she helped Beckham create his own show which we were asked to come watch...
However, it was more like a wrestling match...

* * * * * 

Brad has been very handy lately... My guy who usually gladly hands over his power-tools to someone who enjoys them, grabbed a power washer, sander, some stain, and a little elbow grease and went to work on our deck...

The kids were a very excited audience... It turned out perfect! (These are before pictures.. I will post some afters later.) I am really into fixing things around my house these days - I think it's my latest version of nesting...

Last but not least... I couldn't find B in the house the other day. I called and called and walked around until suddenly I noticed the faint noises of a kid's cellphone game. That's when I noticed this...

I'm writing this from the couch on vacation in Florida, and the waves are calling my name... One of top ten favorite things is to walk on the beach early in the morning after the night has reset it all. More to come!

lazy, crazy fun

T-Ball games are 3 innings long. So the rest of Saturday afternoon and weekend we spent hanging out at home, which I love. I've had this $5 Buzz Lightyear Slip-n-Slide in a box since last summer, so we pulled it out. I thought B was going to go nuts about it, which he did, until we plugged in the hose, and it started spraying water. 

He was a little confused about why we would want anything that did that...

Jane Bradley showed him the ropes, and he kept saying, "I get wet too??" I would say, "You don't have to, but you can if you want to." Then he said over and over, "Get wet... Don't have to... Want to!" 

Of course, he thoroughly inspected it first...

They had a blast, got wet, and it held their attention for a good 25 minutes :)

* * * * *

Sometimes the smallest things become special. This red-headed woodpecker has visited our backyard every summer since we built our house. I'm glad we never took our all of our trees, if for no other reason than we get to see this guy...

After the slip-n-slide, the village pulled out the kites and gave them a run. Didn't last long, but it sure made it feel like spring!

* * * * *
Yes, you can... When my kids ask to do crazy things, I usually try to figure out how I can say those words. So many times I want to say no just because something's going to make a big mess. Does it really matter? Well, this time a mess was ok. 


Yes. You can paint yourselves purple with chalk paint...

 I hope you get to do something crazy fun this weekend :)

Put Me In, Coach!!

We pulled out of the driveway on Saturday, but it wasn't just a normal trip out of the house. I rolled down the window and joked with my neighbor, "And so it begins! The next 20 years of our lives..."

We were headed to the first of what I am sure will be many, many hours of team sports - our first T-ball game! Of course, it has taken me a while to whittle down the 300 pictures taken to the ones that show the best parts.

Here we are on the way to the game... The girls thought they won the lottery when they found out they would be on the pink team - they named their team Pinkalicious!

Lining up before the game for pre-game practice...

Beckham didn't quite get why he couldn't play too. It was sad - he stared and cried and begged to go in to the dugout. Good thing there were some fans who showed up to help him out...

Jane Bradley's first hit was great! She ran the bases like a champ...

Here are the cul de sac teammates - I wasn't kidding about Beckham's feelings about not being on the field...

They had a two-part defense... Half of the team on infield and half outfield... It really was more like honeybee t-ball... they all followed the ball like a swarm of bees...

I thought this photo was so sweet.. she's trying to make him feel better...

Proud girl running the bases! I love this one...

Notice the cute 3rd base coach helping her home :)

This guy snuck into the dugout after all...

This was taken during the game... Brad put his hand out to wave her to stay, and she grabbed it... so he just held hers back. So sweet.

End of the game huddle - Every girl on the team thought they won even though there were no strikes, no outs, and no one kept score... 

Beckham had to get out there after it was all over and show them what they were missing. What you can't see in this picture is that he pointed at the home run fence just before this to call his hit... 

Man, what am I in for?

Twas the Night before Easter and after

We had a sweet Easter this year. The weather was ideal, and the weekend was full of focus and fun traditions. Here's the photo story...

The night before Easter, Brad read the kiddos a book for kids about the true Easter story. 

 Before we put the kids to bed, we tried to bait them with exciting promises of the Easter Bunny's surprises to come... The only problem was that Beckham freaked out, and we had to promise him that the Easter Bunny would definitely NOT come to his house while we winked at JB that we were just kidding. 


Here's the loot that EB left behind when he WASN'T coming to Beckham's house :)

When the kids woke up, I was in the shower. So, Brad had to quarantine them to our room while they waited on me to get out so I wouldn't miss their faces when they saw their Easter morning surprises.

When we told Beckham that we were going to see what the EB left him (we thought he probably forgot last night's promises), but he froze, completely expecting the Easter Bunny to jump out from behind the table. It wasn't until he saw Buzz and Woody in his basket that he was ok with taking the risk. 

We spent the late afternoon at Nanny and Grandaddy's house, where the Easter Bunny (my dad) makes his annual appearance. 

Jay-Jay was in town this weekend!

Beckham's look when we told him the Easter Bunny was here - like "this was such a nice day... why would you invite a monster?"

This girl was super excited to hug her grandaddy Easter Bunny...

The sisters with dad...

EB does a little jig before heading out...

Before dinner, we had a little hunt in the front yard. Noah and Barrett were mostly excited about the baskets which they assumed were crazy hats.

They did get the concept at the end.

This girl was much faster this year - she understands that the first few seconds are crucial to the collection of hidden eggs.

Look at our eggs, Mom!

I hope your week is as exciting as a basket full of Easter eggs... but definitely not as scary as the bunny :)