Jackson

I was so delighted to meet and photograph my new nephew, Jackson Phillip Vernon. He is a doll!  Here are a few sneak peeks at his 12-day old photo session.

March in Review

March was a wonderful month.   We LOVED having Mark/Jana and their kids here for a few days!  Just wish I had taken more picture!

We even had a chocolate fountain! If you can imagine 11 kids in age from 1 to 13 with some adults that may have been sitting on the edge of their seat, it was quite a sight!  So good!!

Clayton and Addyson LOVED having their cousins here and were so sad when they had to leave.

We went to Totters Otterville for a birthday party and had a great time!

My face painting skills - with Clayton's help. :-)

Shopping up a storm.

Doctors Addy and Clayton at the pet shop.

A favorite spot!

Awesome Germantowne Pizza to finish off the play time!

Yes - there were 9 toddlers 3 and under at this table!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Samuel!

 And another birthday on the same day!

Happy 1st Birthday to Reegan!

Curled Addy's hair and had to take a picture, since she wouldn't let me leave the band in very long.

Just a snapshot of our month!

Easter Cookies

The kids (and me too) absolutely LOVE homemade sugar cookies - and they may love making them even a little more than eating them.  So, yesterday we started our Easter week with numerous egg hunts all over the house and also made cookies.

So excited that it was cookie-making time!

Choosing cookie cutters: an egg and a flower.

Rolling Pin time

They both had their fair share of dough. :-)

Notice Clayton's mouth full of dough here . . .

. . . and here. We finally have a pan full ready for the oven.

After nap time . . .

It's time for frosting!!

Clayton kept a careful watch over the sprinkles.

I loved watching them decorate. Clayton loaded up the flower in the back and then this poor little egg only got a a drop of icing with a few sprinkles. He thought it was good enough! :-)

Happy Easter!

All in a Day's Work

Today was "put the camera in my pocket day" - and I'm so glad I did.  We are loving this warm spring weather and have spent most of it outside. 

The plant below was a hospital gift when Clayton was born!  It has grown and grown and grown some more and has really outgrown it's original basket (yes, I still kept the blue bow in the front and the little note in it from our dear friends, Matt & Erika).  Today I decided it needed a new pot, so the kids were more than willing to help.

They loved digging and scooping up the dirt...

...and then refilling it around the plant.

Then we took a walk around the block.  The house at the front of our subdivision has a few sheep and goats. The kids LOVE going to see them and always want to feed them.

Back home and inside for their favorite game (that we usually play multiple times a day) - Cootie!

This video is the reason I was so glad I had my camera today... I LOVE my job!

  

February in Review

Since I don't blog near as much as I'd like to, I thought I'd at least do a "month in review" post.  Here's a few snapshots from a fun-filled February . . .

Enjoying the first warm days - with a picnic on the porch (Clayton's request).

Had an amazing turnout at the Inner-Church Fellowship (a little over 200 people) with 4 area churches! Definitely a "do-again" event.

All the kids sure enjoyed each other - they put this "train" together all on their own.

It was good to have the fearsome four together again - we were all college freshmen together at GBS (with lots of good memories). :-)

Addy's favorite thing to do when we get home from church on Sunday morning - sample some dough from the bread machine before I get the rolls baked. :-)

We celebrated Cameron's 19th birthday with dessert at The Cheesecake Factory.

Now isn't that a picture of love - letting her lick the batter from our chocolate cupcakes. :-)

Homemade sugar cookies for Valentines Day - doubled as our place card settings. :-)

We sure enjoyed having Drew, Caleb, and Kaley with us this week.

The umbrella brigade - this is what the kids played with while the dads were fixing . . .

the front door of the church! Because of extremely high winds, the glass shattered during church on Wednesday night.

This is only a glimpse of our month - and now already half-way through March. :-)

Umbrella Boy!

Clayton was absolutely thrilled with his new umbrella! This prize was definitely worth the money we will save for no more pull-ups! :-)

He's smiling, the budget is smiling, and both of these things make me smile!!

Kaley's Valentine Box

My niece, Kaley, and I had so much fun making her Valentine box. Thanks so much, Jana, for the locker idea. She LOVED it and was so excited to be making it!

One Very Excited Boy

We have one very excited boy in this house this morning. The chart has been filled - ALL 7 boxes now have stickers and he has earned an umbrella.  He has wanted an umbrella of his very own for quite a while now (thanks to Mary Poppins) so Aaron came  up with this idea for him to earn it. We thought it would take about a month - he did it in 7 days!

Now I can put the pull-ups away . . . oh wait - Addy's starting next week. :-)