April 5 - Sunday Afternoon

We have been taking long walks out back on Sunday afternoons; the weather has been just lovely the last few days! There used to be a bulb farm out back, and each year we get to marvel in the daffodils. Thomas also did his share of marvelling in mud and the creek we found - he sat right in it! I have plenty of pictures of John too, but since they all involve daffodils tucked behind each ear, I am going to protect him from possible future extortion...Yesterday was the first yard day...Calvin started up the mower and the boys followed him around like two little ducks with theirs. I did a tiny bit of yard work - my fuschia bushes had all rotted (this peat is very wet - I am still learning) so I had to rip them all out, but my peonies are high and dry where I transplanted them behind the garage. I had been losing three to five bushes every year to the wet soil! I am so excited that spring is here, I can hardly stand it! Tomorrow starts the first day of spring break, and we are looking forward to having John home for a few days. He is going to have a friend overnight, and hopefully Leshia and I will get to take all the kids to the zoo or the park at Lake Whatcom. Have a wonderful Sunday! And in case I don't post until afterwards, Happy Easter!!

March 27-31

March wrapped up with the Spring Program, which John loved. Cameron did great - she even said her speech! I have a lot of video but will spare you :)! The next few days we were in recovery (it was a very long program)...John made Caillou pancakes, flew his kites and drove Thomas around the yard. We have great weather one day, rainy the next...

The Lord's Prayer

Still working on that shut eye thing...

My Final "Winter" Post

Okay, my fine family, we are updated!! I will finish with a few pics of the boys at play...Doesn't Thomas looks like he is on a Harley? He used to have to stand up and drag the wheel to turn around, but now he turns with breakneck speed and even makes skid marks! When he thinks we aren't looking he will turn around on the road. John is loving his "big boy" bike and he does a great job of keeping an eye on his little brother. I don't worry as much as I used to when they are out front. We also got John a new sled. Do you like it?

March 24 - My Sleepy Baby

Thomas must be going through a growth spurt...he has been falling asleep almost everywhere, and is almost impossible to wake up. When you try to move him, he'll say he doesn't want to go to sleep...and then start snoring again. It makes John giggle. It reminds me of how Philip used to fall asleep on the stairs...

March 9 - Finally, the Fort's Done!

Well, kind of. It's still missing a front door, a trap door, and the shutters, but hey, it's got a working slide and that's what counts!!! It took me FOREVER to figure out how to support the slide without drilling through the carpet. The boys LOVE it. Thomas did have one accident falling down the ladder on top of (under?) Nikki, so he's more cautious now, but over all, it's a huge success. John's latest is sliding down the slide inside his sleeping bag. Basically we just created the fort by putting a false ceiling inside a walk-in closet. Loren VDT did all the framing, I just did the slide / ladder, so don't be too impressed. Altho I did get to hold up drywall with my head! In case you are wondering why the slide is not outside like normal people's, the only place we could legally put it outside was on top of a whole web of pipes that our house sits on thanks to the springs we hit while excavating :)). Dwight wouldn't let me paint the woodwork in the playroom, but he did let me tape off and paint the walls and ceiling...I am really bad at vertical taping!! It was a lot of fun, and I love having a finished room for the nieces to play in. FYI the cement form on the right is going to be turned into a tree trunk filled with packing peanuts. I kind of like my kid's forheads the way they are. I will put up another picture whenever I get the rest of it finished.

March 3 - Jessica Van Den Top's Shower

I left Calvin with two kids at half court and ran off to be late at Jessica's bridal shower at Lynn Vander Meulen's house. FYI Jessica is Loren and Carolyn Van Den Top's youngest daughter. As you can tell, it was a cowboy-themed shower. Linda de Boer won the prize for best dressed, can you believe those chaps!! I am putting this on the blog because I thought Mom would get a kick out of Mrs. Tolsma in a hat, and of Mrs. de Boer playing musical chairs to fiddle music...she is so tiny everyone was scared to sit on her!