Bowling Beauties

So I am kicking myself for not remembering to pack my camera for the trip to Minnesota. Now all I have are these grainy pics from my phone. On Thursday night we all went bowling. The girls had a blast!!! They put the bumpers up on one lane for the girls. Leah was champ, throwing that ball down the lane. She even got a strike. Kiersten and Hattie used the rails to push their balls down the lane. They got so excited every time. Hattie would stand there and clap while saying "YAY!" She actually bowled an entire game. I couldn't believe it. Aunt Lori was happy to stand there and help them. Kiersten and Leah bowled a second game while I chased Hattie around the arcade, LOL. I love that my girls had the chance to make memories with the Gill's.

April in Minnesota

I did it!!! I took the kids all the way to Minnesota for Leah's spring break by myself. Everyone said I was crazy...maybe I am, but the girls did so well. I took our babysitter, Baylee with me, that way she could tend to the kids while I was driving. But they were troopers. We got to Grandma Fran's in Mondovi (Eau Claire area) at 11:15 Tuesday night, and were up and at'em early the next morning. We left Grandma's around 8:45 because we knew there was bad weather in the forecast. Bad weather might be an understatement. On APRIL 16th, I drove for nearly 4 hours in snowy, poor road conditions. One of the towns we passed through, Minong, got over a foot of cnow. But we made it in 5.5 hours to Aunt Lori and Uncle Todd's house up near Grand Rapids MN.

The girls were super excited to see their cousins...Aunt Lori and Uncle Todd too, but mostly their cousins. Thursday morning we got up and went to the Judy Garland Children's museum and childhood home. The girls had a blast playing in all the different exhibits. They loved the Wizard of Oz theme and kept looking for "Dorothy". I enjoyed reading some of the facts about Judy's childhood and family. Leah was sad then I said that Dorothy didn't really live there since she had passed on several years ago. So then Leah told Aunt Lori and Uncle Todd how Dorothy wasn't there because she was dead. The things kids say!

Fairy Tale Ball, 2014

Well, Fairy Tale Ball has come and gone. And once again the girls were SUPER excited to go. Mitch arranged for some of his buddies to come over before hand...they had pizza and the girls got ready. We had a house full, but it was a lot of fun!

Before it was time to load them up, we did the ceremonial Daddy/Daughter pictures. Hattie was so cute! You can't attend until you are 3, but she ran and got her dress shoes on, and wanted her hair combed too, so we decided to let her in on the pictures at least. When it came time for them to leave, she stood at the door and cried. It broke my heart. Soon enough, little one!

The girls loved dancing with the princesses (high school girls in prom dresses). They made princess hats and had a petting zoo. And of course there was a princess snack. The girls said the best part was dancing to "Let it Go" from the Frozen soundtrack. I guess it got such a good response the DJ played it twice back to back. I think the dad's loved that.

Of course when it was over the dads brought the girls home and headed out for Guy's night. They deserved it. And Leah was super excited to hang out with her favorite guys, Jackson and Mason. A great time was had by all...and they all lived Happily Ever After!

Easter with Gigi and Papa

Gigi and Papa were getting ready to go on a trip so we had to celebrate Easter and Gigi's birthday two weeks early...but the kids didn't mind. We had given mom all of our plastic eggs the week before so when we got there she had them all filled and ready to go. We made the girls take a nap when we got to Charleston...but they were READY to go when they woke up. I'm super bummed that my camera wasn't working. I was able to capture only 3 images. The rest of these are from phones. I ended up needing a whole new lens but that's a whole different story.

Mitch and Matt went out and hid the eggs, making some a little more difficult for Macy and Leah and some that were super easy for Hattie. The kids had a blast running around the yard looking for the treats. By the time it was all done Hattie was even putting eggs back in the bushes so she could find them again.

After the hunt was over the kids went inside to check out their loot...jelly beans, chocolate kisses and coins. I think they were most excited about the coins. They love to put money in their piggy banks. They all got new jammies for summer too! It was a great day.

Celebrating Jackson

Yesterday we celebrated the baptism of Jackson Edward. Matt is a Godparent to all three of my girls, and now I am a Godparent to all three of his kids. Such an HONOR!

Of course, it was held at my home church in Charleston. There is something that I love about going to my home church...about being there with my family...parents, brother and my own children. The familiar faces just make it seem like home!

And look at those adorable kids who sat like perfect angels during the service. I couldn't believe how good they were! Love them all so much. After the service mom had a luncheon at her house. Fried Chicken, that Bug was talking about all week long...mashed potatoes, cole slaw, corn, deviled eggs. A meal certainly befitting Sunday dinner. It was wonderful, and I'm so glad Cynthia snapped this picture of Papa eating out on the porch with all the kids. God bless our beautiful growing family. And may God continue to bless Jackson, always.

Meeting Natalie

Last week I finally had the opportunity to go to Arizona and meet sweet Natalie. I was so excited! I even managed to get up and leave my house at 4 AM to head to the airport. After a quick layover in Dallas I was in Tucson by 11 AM.

And I couldn't wait to snuggle that sweet girl. She reminded me so much of Leah, just a very easy going happy baby...but don't make her wait to eat! My goodness, then she would pitch a fit. She was, and is practically perfect in everyway.

On Thursday afternoon Mitch flew in from a conference in Las Vegas. Thursday night we just relaxed at the house. On Friday morning we hit the gym, and then we went to the pool It was so nice to be out of the freezing cold Illinois temps. We enjoyed every minute of it. Friday afternoon I went with Laura to do newborn pictures. And Friday night we were able to go out with Laura and Jeff to Legends at the Omni Resort.

Saturday was more of the same. We enjoyed another few hours pool side, and Saturday night we all went out for Sushi. It was hard to say good bye to Natalie and the sunshine, but I'm hoping she will come and visit Aunt Amy in Illinois soon. She's got three little girl cousins that can't wait to meet her!

Bandits On The Loose

Tisha got super creative for the birthday party and she made this "WANTED" frame to use as a photo prop. Not every kid wanted to participate...some really got into it, and I love how they turned out. I'm having actual photos printed to send in the thank you cards. And if you see any of these bandits out on the street be sure to contact the sheriff ;)