April

All of these pictures seem like forever ago!  My goodness April is a busy month.  This post is from the first couple weeks in April.  We had really back and forth weather (still do) and a birthday and an Anniversary.

This boy and his soldiers.  I'm constantly amazed at his patience and discipline in setting up his battles.

 Lily likes peas and she hasn't met much she doesn't like (except green beans)

Candy land and Battleship...we have played these games A LOT this winter.

I signed up for a kids bowl free program and every week I get coupons in my email for two free games for each kid every day, now through summer.  We just have to pay for the shoe rental.  We can't go that much, but it's pretty awesome.  We made this be a little incentive for doing their chores.
Kate would jump up and down as her ball went down the lane...so she was jumping lots, cause it took a looooong time. 

Four kids in the tub?!

Lily LOVES her feet and will always suck her toes if she's lying on her back.  It makes diaper changes a bit of a challenge.  But it's really cute and funny.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Kate set the table for cake at 10am

And helped me make it too

This guy asked for either a chocolate bomb or a chocolate chip cookie cake.  Heck, we had both...he's a two cake kind of guy.

Our ten year Anniversary (on the tenth) was the next day.  I wanted to go big and exotic for this Anniversary but since I'm still feeding Lily, it was just not in the cards for us.  

Jake surprised me by coming home from work for lunch, having arranged a babysitter and a little trip out to the country side of New Jersey to have an English style horse back riding lesson.  It was a blast, and a lot harder than it looks.  We learned to "post" and with no horn on the saddle to hold on to it felt like I was going to fly off the horse on every bounce.

 

We went out that night to a fantastic restaurant, nothing fancy, but the food was amazing...best dinner of my life...with the best man of my life!  These 10 years have gone by fast but what a journey we have been on together.  It's been fun and I look forward to the next 50.

I made the kids make their own dinner that night ;)  They loved it!

Baby, you are worth it!

Warmer weather brings lots of things, like bikes and bruises.  Notice the gash on Tommy's head...that was even with a helmet on.
He loves pushing Lily around our court.

This was one of the first warm weather days and Rachel says to me "I'm bored, what can I do?"  I was in shock!!!  Has it really been that long for her to forget how much she loves playing outside.  Well, she ran off and about ten minutes later this is how I find her.  She made and set up her own lemonade stand giving out lemonade for free.  It was obviously a big hit.  I love that smile on her face!

Welcome home kiss from Daddy.  Those cheeks are hard to resist.

One Saturday we went and visited a friend of ours.  She used to be Rachel's primary teacher and has been a widow for about a year now.  We try to help her out a little here and there.  I wish we could do more, I want my kids to do work like this more often.  We are too spoiled living in our townhouse.  They had a blast collecting these sticks and filling up this cute wheelbarrow.

And, just a couple cute ones

One Sunday Jake took the big kids out, so that Lily and I could take a nap.  He took them to a couple farms he's ridden by on his bike.  They got to pet bunnies, play in a chicken coop, and run around on a beautiful day.  As we were eating dinner out on the patio out back that night, Rachel kept singing, "this is the best Sunday ever."

Hurray for Spring!!!