Tombstone

Over the weekend, Greg and I were invited to go to Tombstone by my brother Christian and his girlfriend Liz. We gladly accepted as all of our boys are HUGE fans of playing cowboys and getting into gunfights. (Aidan is the most into it...his favorite movies...John Wayne movies. I swear, its all he watches!) All my boys wanted to wear their cowboy outfits, so they strutted the street of Tombstone in their cowboy vests, hats, bandanas, and guns. Aidan was hilarious, he was so concerned about losing his gun that he kept his hand on it the whole time. It looked like he was ready to get into a gunfight himself, ready for a quick-draw. All the "Tombstone cowboys" saw him and did a quick draw to him, and he didn't get what was going on. What do ya expect...he's 4! It was a really nice day, not too hot with a nice breeze which made the day that much better. We had a great time. We saw a rootin'-tootin' cowboy show, and saw the Birdcage theater. We had all the kids (my boys and Liz's girls) take one of those old time photos too. It was soooo Cute!! (I will have to post it later after I get it scanned) I brought my camera and was able to get a couple nice pictures as well. Thanks for the invite Christian and Liz. We had a great time. :)

Aidan unknowingly ready for a quick-draw

The kids with some towns folk

Liz's girls

Marshall Aidan and his prisoner, Evil Ethan

Here are some of my "artsy" photos

Tombstone

And then there were two...

It is soooo sad. Our ducks are dying! There are only two baby ducklings left. We are not sure what is happening. We have only found two dead bodies and the other ducklings have disappeared. We think its a combination of a cat or larger bird taking them, and poor nutrition. We are trying to feed the ducks, but it could also be the chlorine from the pool. The kids are handling the deaths very well. And Ethan last night during prayer asked, "Heavenly Father please keep the dead ducks safe in heaven.....oh, and keep the live ducks safe and healthy too." It was sooo sweet! So goodbye to Elizabeth, Sport, Seven, Herman, Spots, Stinky, and Ducky. And we hope that with the help of Mama Duck Mary, the two remaining ducklings, Picasso and Scooter will survive. (Yes, the boys and I named the ducks)

On another note: Today when I picked Ethan up from school, he had a star stamp on his hand! This means he a had a great day without getting into trouble. (These days are far and few between) When a day such as this occurs, I always overly praise him and tell him how proud I am of him and how excited I am that he has made good choices for the day and then he usually receives "a special", a treat or prize of some sort. So during my praising, I squeal... "Oh Ethan, i am soooo PROUD of you I just wanna give you tons of hugs and kisses all over and squeeze you with love!" (Okay, a little over the top, but I was so HAPPY) To which Ethan raises his hand to my face with a serious look and says, "that would NOT be a great "special" for me. I don't want your hugs and kisses. How 'bout you just make me a card or picture or something or do a project for me. That would be better. Besides, I don't want you getting too tired from giving me all those hugs and kisses." Isn't he sweet and so thoughtful?!? :o)

Lucky Ducks!

My parents house is common for visitors to stop in, stay awhile, and then (hopefully) leave. Their house is very large and very accommodating for many. They serve as great hosts to all those who come their way, and do their best to make everyone feel at home and be as comfortable as possible. Everyone is always pleased during their stay and very appreciative of all the efforts they go to, to make their stay as pleasant as possible.

Apparently, some ducks have caught wind of this hospitality and have taken refuge in my parents luxuriously large, eye-catching pool. A mama duck has made a nest in the bushes near the pool, and her eggs have recently hatched. (I am surprised during the Easter egg hunt that no duck eggs were found.) My parents are now accommodating a family of 10. 1 mama, 9 ducklings. Since the ducklings cannot fly, they were unable to get out of the pool when they jumped in to cool off. So, my dad, being the most soft-hearted and creative man ever, built them a couple of ramps for the sweet ducklings to use to get out of the pool. And every morning, he puts a tray of Cheerios out on the deck (and some in the pool) for the ducks to eat. (I am telling you...my parents are VERY accommodating!) My kids have been LOVING this. They love to sit poolside and just watch and observe the ducks and quack at them.

Nana and Pop-pops IS the place to be!

I love you mom and dad (and so do the ducks)! :o)

April 7 - Oliver's 2nd Birthday

Oliver turned 2 yesterday! He is the sweetest little boy ever. He loves playing with his brothers and trying to do all the activities that they do. Believe me....he can most definitely keep up with them too. Oliver has so many facial expressions and gets excited at just about anything. And he is by far, the most appreciative child I have to receive any kind of gift. If he opened a toy truck present, his eyes would get real wide, his jaw would drop, and with the thrill of seeing the gift he would gasp, followed by him making the sounds of a truck. Then when he would open a gift that was clothes, he would grab it, tilt his head to the side, bring the clothes to his face in a loving manner and say, "aw....cuuute..." It was so sweet. I have some great videos of him opening his gifts and blowing out the candles on his birthday brownies, but for some reason I cannot upload them on to the blog. :( So I will just have to post some pics instead.

Happy Birthday Monkey!

Easter

A few pictures from our Easter Activities.......

Here are Ashley and Natalie in the Easter dresses my mom and I made for them.

The hunt is on...

Decorating skills....

Notice that most the eggs are blue...thats what you get with a house full of boys.