Spring Break Fun

Amy strikes again...I don't remember if you recall the post I wrote about when I described Amy as the person who will have you out following her into crazy adventures you are thinking the whole time..."why in the world am I doing this?" and then end up having some of the best times of your life. It is because of Amy in my life that my children think I am a more fun Mom. It is also because of Amy that I feel a little more like I am living than simply just surviving. It is also the reason that every time Amy even mentions the possibility of moving. I literally almost start to hyperventilate and with one of my meanest looks in my repertoire, I let her know that is simply not a possibility! I also (completely out of line...I know) ask if she needs me to have a talk with Jerry. I think it's a bit funny but I can just see this conversation now...me explaining to Jerry about Amy's worth in my world...it may get nasty at first, then I may have to pull my widow of five children card followed by tears. Jerry would I am sure laugh at me while I am sure that my sob story wouldn't even come into consideration for what is best for their family yet in my mind I just couldn't let this woman who means so much to me and has literally changed my life go without some kind of a fight! So anyhow...Allow me to share with you...hands down...our best Spring Break ever! All Amy's plan! I just followed along and my kids are still singing my praises!

We first took the kids to Chuck E Cheese and then Roller Skating. I decided to take only Stone and Phoenix because they had never been roller skating before and I wanted to make sure that they had enough individual attention to actually learn how to skate. They really did a great job! They both caught on really fast and I do believe that this is now one of Stone's favorite things to do! I was so proud of them.

At one point I think I even caught myself flashing back to Jr. High School. It was just like Wheel-a-While in 8th grade. If I closed my eyes I swear I could hear Tiffany belting out the tunes.

(Sorry about the picture quality...cell phone/lighting/moving/=bad pictures)


The next day so as not to leave Avery, Zion, and Cy out, we took a trip to the Brandywine Zoo. It is a small local Zoo with a cool monkey house and a beautiful fountain park. We looked at all the animals, ate ice cream and took pictures. The kids had a blast and as you can see so did the Mommies!

Thanks again Amy!

For the Love of Family

Easter and my Birthday feel on the same weekend this year. The plan was for my Dad, Daniel and Katie's Family and Jason and Michell's Family to come and work/celebrate with our Family. After illness and broken cars. Thankfully my brother Jason and his family were actually still able to come and share the weekend with us.

Upon them getting into town and the kids running off with their counterparts and disappearing into the woodwork. We all got to work on the "to do list" that was made while everyone was here surveying the situation around the house during their stay for the funeral. It was to say the least, a busy weekend! With kids to take care of, meals to prepare, many trips to Home Depot and Lowes, kitchens to clean, the "to do list" to be done, not to mention... the Easter Bunny needed to make it's infamous debut, Easter dinner to be cooked (thanks Michelle...it was Yum!) and church needed to be gotten to, and my dreaded birthday which I would rather have laid in a tub of blood sucking leeches than celebrate this year. But I do have children... and I am their example... that life must go on and we were created to have joy. So we went on and we celebrated both Easter and my 36th Birthday 36. It was lovely~!

Widowed...with 5 children and Damn it...

I will have JOY! I will have JOY! I will have JOY! :)

Easter was a lot of fun! The Easter Bunny came and we went to church extra thankful this year for the sacrifice of our Saviour and the plan of Salvation.


We then came home and had a HUGE Easter egg hunt in the backyard...Seriously I had never seen so many eggs. Michelle is serious business. She is a great Mom! I am so glad she is my kids aunt!
When it came time to celebrate my birthday it was not easy...the tears flowed freely the night before and a fake smile was painted on my face all day long. I feared that one slight crack would send me over the edge. My brother Daniel later described the horrific feeling as anticipatory mourning as the actual event wasn't as bad as it felt that it would be but the feelings that lead directly up to the celebration of my birthday were really bad. Stone hid in the backyard and refused to come in and like mother like son. I hid in the garage rearranging the Food Storage which had been completely messed up during a project my Mom had undertaken while here a few weeks earlier. The party finally got underway and with sadness in my heart for the painfully obviously missing family member...my beautiful brother, his kind wife and their lovely children gave me a wonderful day full of new fun memories which I will cherish forever!

Notice Stone in the below picture (This was after both Jason and I chasing him around the backyard and me physically bringing him into the party...He eventually got into it...but like I said it was not an easy day for anyone)
Thanks J&M! By the way...Happy Birthday to you today Jason...You are the greatest! Regardless of how many beautiful, sexy woman are banging down your doors to be able to drag you away from the love of your life Michelle. I just don't know how you deal with it Michelle? I think I might get you a broom for Christmas to beat away the hot women from your man...:) Love you Jason!

First Kisses

Playing with the twins after church on February 22nd and trying to get before pictures of Zion prior to cutting off his hair. I found out that he developed a new talent when you make a kissy face and make a "mmmm" sound....

Success!

Here Zion is sporting the new haircut. Mitchell tried to tell me it was not going to look good. I am really glad I got to prove him wrong while he was alive to see it...lol! We both agreed he so handsome and looked like such a big boy with a haircut! This was a picture taken in late April. The twins are amazing. They can come down the steps. Zion turns around and slides down on his belly while Cy sits on her butt and takes in one step bump on her butt to the next one. They have about the same vocabulary. They are either speaking twin gibberish to each other which they really do understand or they can say Daddy or Dada, Mommy or Moma, SeeYa (with a 1/2 a hand hand wave), bye bye (with fingers wiggling) No or Uh Uh Uhhhh, Cheese (when a camera comes out...but not to eat), and Thank you. I tell you these are some of the most precious babies...as long as I keep them in the house and on their routine...I know spoiled, spoiled, spoiled...but sanity has it's price and their are days when I am willing to pay it!

Forever Young @ 41

I don't know if I should start at the beginning and work forward or start at now and work backwards just because it is less hard, but I do believe that since I usually start with that which hurts the worst...I believe I answered my own question so here it goes...

Mitchell's 41st Birthday... Feb 21st.

I got a fondue pot around Christmas and Stone had been on me ever since to make cheese fondue as he is not at all a chocolate fan. So we sent Daddy to play guitar in the basement as we got to work. We made his favorite vanilla cake with chocolate icing (always in a bunt pan...just seems to be easier to cut and serve that way). We cut up bread and apple pieces to go along with the baby carrots to be dipped into the fondue and we were set to start heating up the pan. In reality I actually lost the kids around the time I started cutting up the bread but I handed them Daddy's gift a Play Station 3 (a secret to only the kids) I had actually given it to him a month prior so that he could break it out during his "Boy's Night's" Video Gaming Parties. I made him repackage it back up after each and every encounter and say nothing about it as I wanted the kids to be as excited for Daddy as Daddy actually was the first time he knew he was getting it. So anyhow I handed the kids Mitchell's gifts and the wrapping paper, tape, kid scissors and let them go at it. They LOVE to wrap gifts...it takes more paper and definitely more tape... but at least I don't have to do it! So I finish up the fondue, which literally takes 4 minutes at the most and I call up Mitchell. It always takes him forever to come up as he pretends not to hear me call over the guitar so that he can finish the song he is playing...knowing this...I send Stone down to get him and five minutes later up comes the birthday boy and all his excited kids behind him minus the twins who are now sleeping :) Lucky Mommy~






As you can see the fondue was a hit! It was a first in our house and everyone loved it...great idea Stoney B. After dinner we sang to Mitchell, ate cake and ice cream and he opened his gifts.


We then just sat around the family room as a family. I remember thinking how hot I thought he looked and I kept taking picture after picture of him just sitting there. One time he looked over at me and gave me this look like "What are you doing?" It snapped me out of it for a minute like...what am I doing? I had taken like 20 pictures of him over and over just because he was so beautiful to me sitting there apparently doing absolutely nothing at all. (smile) I love those pictures!

You know the night before...to celebrate his birthday he had a Game night with "The Boy's" I was filling up my water before walking upstairs to make myself scarce and all the sudden it hit me. "Mitchell (I said) we met 11 years ago today" 41 days later he would be gone.

This will not be the last birthday of Mitchell's that we celebrate. Every year we will make one of his favorite dinners...Shrimp fried rice, Broccoli and Rice Casserole, Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with salt and vinegar chips washed down with a Coke. We will make his favorite cake and tie balloons to his chair at the dinner table. It will not be a sad day but a celebration for the man who we loved. Who will stay 41 forever.

How fair is that? As I get older and wrinklier, saggier, and grayer. That is so like Mitchell... Cant win so has to cheat to keep the leg up!