Bridget's Birthday

Little Miss Bridget turned four on March 11th.  It was a joyous day, and surely a fun one.  The only sad part is that Richard was out of town at a review session, and we surely missed him.  But, we made it a fun day and took lots of pictures to document.

The gifts can be summed up with ponies, princesses, and pink.  :)

Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast.  Don't mind if I do!

I volunteered in Bridget's preschool class that day.  Anna was kind enough to watch Rachel for me so I took Max to school.  Bridget was possibly more excited to have Max with us than for me to stay in class.  :)

In preschool they are learning all about zoos and different animals.  Bridget was being an excellent zookeeper.  

This is the Birthday Bear.  It sings.  She loved it.  

Chocolate chip cookies for a birthday treat!!!

Murf's for lunch with the Hassells.  Three cheers for custard and cheese curds!

The weather was SO nice that week.  We took our first walk of the year that afternoon, and it was wonderful!!!

I should note that Bridget's birthday dinner of choice was chicken nuggets and cereal.  With Richard being gone, I went with it.  All three kids gobbled it up, zero complaints.  No guilt here.

 All the in-between of  the day was spent playing with new toys.  Bridget was so good to share with Marshall...but not  Rachel.  :)  It was such a fun day.  

A few days later, once Richard was home, we had her first ever friend birthday party.  We invited eight kids, and I was certain not everyone would come, but I was wrong!  Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous and we were able to spend a lot of the party outside.  I was so happy with how it turned out.  Richard and I successfully managed 11 kids for two hours and had zero mishaps!  I would do it all over again.  

Opening the presents was probably the highlight.  ;)

How much spit do you think ended up on that cake?!  We are just glad Bridget's hair didn't catch on fire.  

I've said this before, but I will say it again!  Even though my kids are still so young, I am already very thankful for the good friends they have.  These kids come from good families, with kind parents, who teach their kids respect and kindness.  I am so thankful for the people we have met here.  

And on that note...happy birthday to our Bridget girl!  Another birthday in the books!

February in Random

I'm not even sure that title makes sense, but oh well.  I have a bit of time to myself (aka, Rachel is sleeping, Marshall has the ipad, and Bridget has the iphone...don't judge), so I will blog quickly!

Saturday morning study sessions with Daddy.  

Marshall's night time reading material.  This kid cracks me up.  

Bridget started February off in a terrible way.  These pictures don't do it justice.  She came down with a cold and in a matter of hours her eyes were so puffy, red, and swollen.  I took her to the doctor and they said it was most likely an allergic reaction to the virus.  After 48 hours she was back to looking more normal, but it was so sad.  

Just happy little Rachel Louise.  

Grandma Laura sent the kids glow sticks for Valentine's Day.  It made for a fun evening while Richard was at work.  

Marble tower fun...again...another evening with Richard working.  

I took Marshall and Bridget to see "The Three Little Pigs".  It was so fun spending time with these two.  

After the play we hit up Murf's.  While sharing a bag of cheese curds Marshall expressed his disappointment that Murf's would not be in Utah.  He has declared this will be our last meal in Wisconsin.  Sounds good to me buddy.  

These are custard-loving kids.  

Marshall cooking night #2.  Love my little chef.  

Valentine's Celebrations

I have come to really love this holiday all about love!  It has been fun to begin our own Valentine traditions with this little family of ours.  

Addressing Valentine cards.  Cute six year old handwriting.

I helped with Marshall's class Valentine party.  Such a fun afternoon.

Sweet Max got the idea all by himself to get Bridget a valentine.  He picked out the card and box of chocolates all by himself.  When he gave it to Bridget she kissed him...twice!  She carried that card around for days and even slept with it for a few nights.  Young love.  ;)

Playgroup Valentine's Party, that clearly my children were very excited about...or not...

Just last year we started this tradition of filling our wall with hearts full of things we love about each child.  It is so fun and we all love it.

I really lucked out and got a Valentine's dinner with this guy, thanks to a good friend who watched our kids.  I told Richard from now until we leave we have to eat at unique to Wisconsin restaurants; he picked a new one, and it did not disappoint.  

Last year we also started a tradition of a fancy family Valentine's dinner.  This is as fancy as it gets with kids ages 6, 3, and 1.  :)  Due to our schedules though, we had this dinner the day after Valentine's in the middle of the afternoon.  Gotta be flexible.  ;)

Love this family of mine!

Gallery Night

At the end of January Marshall's school had a gallery night.  I love his school!  They have a full-time art teacher and he has art two times a week.  Each student had three art projects on display and the halls were filled with art.  It was so fun to walk around and see all the creations.

I was so proud of Marshall.  All year long he kept telling me over and over that he didn't like art because it made his hands tired.  :)  But since this night he keeps telling me how much he loves art!  What a kid.

This last one is a portrait of Marshall and Richard.  Melts my heart.  

January Wrap-Up

One day last week a heavy box showed up at our house addressed to Richard so I didn't open it.  When he got home he opened it up and pulled out three years of blog books, 2011-2013.  I didn't even know he had done this!  The kids have had so much fun looking through them and it has been so fun to reminisce.  

After these fun few days of looking through the books I have recommitted myself to this blog!  It is the only way our stories are preserved...I can't stop...or even fall too far behind!  So, without further adieu, here is the rest of January...

A Monday without school meant an afternoon at Swiss Turners.  It was great!

 This girl keeps us laughing with her antics.  Such facial expressions.  

Dessert!!!

Another trip to the children's museum.  We have been trying to get Rachel to go down this slide for months and she finally worked up the courage to do it!  She then spent the next 30 minutes going up and down, up and down.  

At the beginning of the year we each made some goals.  I asked Marshall what he wanted to learn this year, thinking he would say ride a bike, tie his shoes...something like that.  Nope!  He surprised us all and declared he wanted to learn to cook.  Once a month Marshall picks our menu, helps me cook, and sets the table.  It has been such a success so far!  So proud of this little guy.  

Another Monday without school.  Gotta love January!  We spent the morning at the Domes and took along one of Marshall's friends.  

Every once in a while Marshall's taste buds surprise me.  We can now add blueberry encrusted goat cheese to his list of favorites.