And sometimes, there is just nothing to tell.

That's my excuse.  Sometimes there is nothing to tell.  But that's not actually true; there are always little moments, like Rachel asking if they can watch "Baby Franken-einstein" (instead of Baby Einstein), or Ella actually getting the volleyball over the net, or a multitude of other things.  What it really comes down to is a mom in a rut (me) who needs a jump-start.  I wrote a really long whiny post about how my kids won't quit fighting and how mommy-hood is so frustrating, but who wants to read that?  NO ONE.  So I didn't post it.  :)  Moving on, in no particular order, here's some of what we've been up to!  (Said with chocolate chip cookie in hand - yum).


Kip's still working with the Young Men at church, I am still teaching 13 year old Sunday School, McKinley loves nursery, Rachel loves sunbeams, Ella loves CTR 7, and Caleb tries not to get in too much trouble every week in CTR 8. :)  This week he said his behavior was "medium."  Nice. :)  I am helping again with the high school teacher appreciation dinner by gathering juniors and sophomores to be servers, so my texting fingers are sore (it's a great way to get responses from teenagers) and I'll be bringing out the fancy heels to hostess tomorrow night.  Should be fun!

Tax return time = home improvement!  Last year we replaced the aged, dying furnace and the aged, blown off roof.  This year?  Ta-da! New paint job for the exterior.  I think what we have is the original 1992 color, and I like baby blue for some things, but not really for this house.  I will post before and after pics when the job is done, which is not for a few more weeks yet, since we are waiting on 1) the HOA to approve the color scheme and 2) the weather to cooperate.  It was a record low this last week - 5* I think.  In April!  I recall that we were sweating in short sleeves putting up our Christmas tree in December, but come April it's snow and record cold.  Snow again tonight. Silly mother nature.  Luckily our garden was not in yet, so no worries there.

Also... we are scraping the popcorn ceiling.  Aye aye aye.  So far 4 bedrooms done, one hallway left upstairs and all of the downstairs still to do.  Starting to think we are crazy, but it does look much nicer and actually it smells nicer too.  Believe or not, that stuff collects a lot of dust, so as we've scraped it off, we've noticed a definite improvement in odor (Less musty).

The kids' spring sports are in full swing, with Caleb and Rachel playing soccer and Ella trying out volleyball.  They are all having a good time.  Rachel's coaches were initially surprised that the smallest player and only girl on their team was so aggressive.  :)  She does great chasing the ball and loves every minute.  Caleb's team has had a hard time getting off the ground this year, especially since weather has cancelled all practices except one...but he still having a good time and enjoying playing again.  Ella seems to be a free spirit and much more artistic than athletic (unless you count running like a leopard)...but she likes her volleyball and has been very excited the last two weeks to actually get a serve over the net.

We had a fun spring break visiting with cousins who came to visit us here, and more cousins when we went to GJ for Easter Sunday.  It was beautiful and warm there!  Plus it had been a while since we made it over the mountains, so it was a nice visit.  The kids got to shoot guns (Caleb) and ride 4 wheelers and play in the dirt and sand, it was great.  Easter picture attempts failed as far as "nice" goes but they are kind of funny. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Oh!  And Rachel had a birthday!  She is proud to tell everyone that she is 4 now! Love those (fake) earrings, doll!

 

 

(Rachel's BFF from dance class, Sophia)

Some things to remember about four year old Rachel: She is a girly-girl, to be sure.  She loves princesses, ballerinas, pink, sparkles, nail polish, jewelry, fancy shoes, chapstick, and handbags/backpacks.  She plays pretend games all day with Ella (mom & daughter, ponies, princesses, cats, leopards, barbies, you name it) and is almost always singing a little tune.  She picks up songs very quickly!  Her favorite food is rice, (not counting treats), and she does pretty good about eating most of what I serve.  She is finishing up her little dance class and is very excited for her recital in about 6 weeks.  She loves books, and is learning her alphabet, and can write "R" for Rachel.  She is a meticulous color-er.  She says some of the funniest things (like the Franken-einstein comment) and keeps us on our toes. We love her lots!