Soccer is back and so am I

Sorry for the hiatus... the past few weeks have been CRAZY. As in, finding out that the constant debilitating pain you've been suffering from was the result of your reproductive organs playing an irreversible game of rag doll inside of you kind of crazy. To properly punish said organs, they must be removed (you have to nip this kind of behavior in the bud, after all) and maybe slapped around a bit. This revelation was followed by two weeks of people expressing their astonishment at a 30 yr old requiring a hysterectomy and then two weeks of doing precisely nothing whilst recovering from surgery. I still have 4 weeks of recovery left, BUT I can now do some things like the all important ability to actually pick up my laptop... aren't you glad? ;-) 

Anyhoo, I'm behind... as I always am these days. But I do have pictures to make up for it! Micah was very happy when soccer started back up a few weeks ago and he was proud to pose before his first game.

Lizzie has been super unhappy that Micah is playing this year and that she is not yet old enough to join a team. The first game she sat on the sidelines and cried the entire time.."I.... want.... to.... play!!!" Poor kid. The good news is that she will be old enough to play in the fall and boy is she ready!! Jane is also practicing her soccer skills... we should be able to market her as a ringer by the time she is old enough to play :)

Egg Hunt- Remix

I have a friend whom I look up to for her hospitality and for the fun things she does for her kids. She's the only person I've ever met who has finished Christmas shopping before me and I'm just thankful to have a friend who "gets" that side of me :) Well, for the second year in a row, she pulled together an egg hunt for all of our kids at a local park... it was so fun! It was one of those perfect times when everyone is available, 95% of the kids are happy and the weather is perfect. Janie took off the second I put her down and started exploring the park...

Lizzie went straight for the slide and proceeded to go down it at least 6 times in a row...

Now, this was crazy. Cade brought his soccer ball and Janie was kicking it all around the playground! It was pretty impressive for such a young kid! She stayed on her feet the whole time and kicked it at least 25 feet total... It's too bad that the Y doesn't have soccer for toddlers... she might be ready for an 18 mo old team in the fall ;-)

Sweet girl was having a blast...

This trio was sticking together the whole time. They had a great time!

Janie couldn't wait for the hunt to start, so she began collecting mulch until we had the eggs ready to go.

Cade- "Micah, did you know that your mom is taking our picture??"

Cade found his solution for evading the Momerazzi...

Sweet little Knox will be old enough to hunt eggs next year, but this year he made an appearance in a strictly supervisory role...

We didn't think there was any way we would get all the kids to sit still for a picture... It  may not be perfect, but all the kids sat there, facing generally the correct direction, for maybe 5 minutes while we all snapped away.. it was a genuine miracle.

Just a little sister moment for y'all...

Janie was not the speediest egg hunter as she wanted to open and consume the contents of every egg she found before moving on the another :)

No pics of the older kiddos hunting because 1) They are FAST, and 2) Jane required a full time chaperon for this particular activity. But here are all three after the hunt was over.

Lizzie the boo...

Micah really loves hunting eggs!

Two of Micah's lifelong friends. Sean, Cade and Micah have been playing together since Micah was 2 months old. This is ridiculously cliche, but they do really grow up so fast.

Preschool Easter

Micah and Lizzie were both so excited about their egg hunts at school that I heard about it again and again and again.... for THREE WEEKS. Ok, so it's kind of my fault. I'm a planner and I bought the party favors for Micah's class pretty stinking early. As soon as the kids saw them it became the only topic of conversation.

"Is it Easter tomorrow."
"Nope. __ more days/weeks"
"AWWW MAN!!"

Pretty much that convo every day... sometimes 2-3 times a day. Anyhoo, last Thursday their parties were finally here! Micah's party was first and I couldn't resist including this pic. Even though Micah is the only kid looking at the camera, he's just SO excited...

And they're off!

I like this picture because it makes him look a little younger again. He's still 2... right? He's not starting Kindergarten next year....right??

Micah and his buddy Cade...

Triumphant 4-5 year olds....

Hey sweet boy!

This girl continuously cracks me up...

My sweet girl...

Here she is with the boy she has a crush on... she told me, "I love Cooper. Cooper is my boy... he's always my boy." Oh dear.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ah yes, bluebonnet season... the time of year when simply driving down the highway means being treated to a beautiful display of blues, oranges, yellows and reds. It really is one of my absolute favorite things about Texas. It also means that it's time to load up your kiddos to go bonnet hunting :)

Lizzie was being an absolute doll and smiling and posing perfectly the whole time...

Poor Micah... he's a squinter. He comes by it honestly and he tried not to, but what can you do?

Janie is a mystery to me. She is by far my most smiley, happy, social baby and yet she NEVER does any of it for the camera... like, ever.

Ever :P

Oh well, let's go with our best poser for a second...

Sweet girl. There were so many good shots to choose from with her this time! She's getting old, isn't she? She looks like a kid now and not like a toddler... I'm still adjusting to the idea...

Bluebonnets and orange poppies..

So many beautiful flowers...

Pinkbonnets!

Time out for some Daddy love...

Squinting twinkies...

Micah trying not to squint.. it's so hard!

Last but not least, my baby girl :)