Regan's Pre-School Graduation

Can't believe that this little lady is graduating from preschool! As luck would have it, her graduation was the same night as the piano recital. But she had the special treat of having Grandpa and Dad take her to her special evening. She has been at her little school for 2 years, and it has been perfect for her- wonderful teachers and a safe place to learn and grow. Next year, Regan will be attending a different preschool, and I am secretly so glad that I get one more year with her before kindergarten!

Spring Piano Recital

Even a last minute, unexpected change of venue (from the Butterworth Center to the Deere-Wyman House) couldn't ruin this spectacular night! The Spring Recital is always such a whirlwind of emotions- excitement to show off progress and also lots of nerves. Each of the students performed 2 songs- one classical piece that I had chosen and one popular song that they got to select. All of my students did such an amazing job. I was so proud of them. My two favorite students were especially super. Jordan played "Sleeping Beauty Waltz" and "If I Were a Rich Man", while Asthon played "Spring" and "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead." Teaching piano is sometimes a challenge with our busy lives, but it is also VERY rewarding. (I was a bit frazzled this evening and didn't take as many photos as usual. In fact, I nearly forgot to play my own pieces that I had prepared for the recital!)

Mother's Day Thoughts

Of course, Tod had to be at church early...but a Mother's Day photo is a tradition....so we resorted to the self-timer. So funny! After that, the girls decided to try their hand at photography. I thought I would end up deleting most of the pics...but I LOVE them. To me, they are the perfect representation of my life right now- on the go, slightly off-center (okay, a lot off center!), trying to stay on top of things and failing some of the time....but so extremely happy and thankful for each day!!!!
It goes without saying....I LOVE being a mother. For me, this day can be hard as I remember my own mama and wish so much she was here...but I can't be sad for too long, because I have these children to love. I can't believe they are mine. My mom gave me many gifts...among the greatest is that she LOVED motherhood and made sure that we knew it every day. I hope that my kids know this too (even when "crabby mom" comes to visit and stays a bit too long!)

Happy Easter!

Looking at these pictures I took of the kiddos before church on Easter Sunday....can't believe how much they have grown and how much I LOVE them!

Spring Break on the Farm

We had such an amazing Spring Break at the farm in Missouri. It was a such a nice get-away for our family and a good opportunity to be together, away from our very busy life. The only bad thing...in all the hustle and bustle of leaving, I forgot my camera battery. I hate being without a camera, but especially at the farm where there are so many photo opportunities! Cindy let me borrow hers, so here are a bunch of pictures.

Things to remember about this trip:
-Ashton's total joy in getting a dog...well actually it is the farm's dog, but she has claimed it as her own. The girls went to run errands with Grandma, and when they showed up again, they had a new adorable dog named Oreo. (It was April Fools Day, and I thought they were kidding about the whole dog thing!) Ashton is in love with this dog...she is an animal lover and has such a gentle way with them.
-All the kids got to go horseback riding. The girls are getting really good at it- you can tell by the pics that they are starting to gallop- they are much braver than their mom! Cole loved his turn to ride!

-Feeding the horses, playing with the new chicks, swinging on the barn rope, and 4 wheel ride were all favorite activities.

-Tod and I worked on several projects around the farm which I really enjoy. I didn't get any pictures but Tod got 2 of the fields plowed and planted. Cole loved riding on the tractor with his dad.

-We went to a live animal auction- everyone brought their animals to auction off- it was a new experience for me and I liked seeing something I have never seen before. Cole liked the cages.

-Playing with cousins is always a high light of the trip- the kids adore Kayla and Leah and play non stop from sun up till sun down!-Check out the size of the bonfire we had on our last night. So much fun! We ate outside, the guys did some shooting and then we sat around the fire. I'm told this one was very small in comparison to other fires they have built at the farm.

We were all sad when it was time to leave...except for the fact that the well broke and we didn't have water for the last day! We loaded up some filthy kids and headed on back to Iowa. We are already looking forward to returning in the summer

St. Patrick's Day Race

It is one of my favorite Iowa traditions!

It is almost always COLD and WINDY.

It is something the girls' PE teacher has taught them is important- they even have after school practices!

It is something we look forward to every year.

The St. Patrick's Day Race!!!!

This year, Jordan ran the quarter mile

Check out her stride...we have never seen Beans run like this!

Ashton ran the one mile

See her in her orange jacket coming in the home stretch!
and I ran the 5K!

(No pictures of that...the family had retreated to the van, which was parked along the race route, to watch movies and Tod emerged from the van for just long enough to bark at me to "run faster!")

Did I mention it was COLD????

(Jordan huddling under a coat for warmth!)




Ahhh, traditions....they must live on at all costs!!!!

Cole's 2nd Birthday!

I wanted to include some more pictures from Cole's birthday celebration. We had a wonderful night together! For the most part, after almost 8 years, we are pretty used to being away from family, but there are those times when you just really miss them....holidays and birthdays...so it was really great to have our dear friends come and have such a fun party celebrating our "Cole-Man". The night before, Tod and I had gone out to do some birthday shopping at Toys R Us...you have never seen 2 adults having more fun. Finally, after all these years, we get to buy boy toys...trucks, cars, tools, trains, robots, etc....you name it, we looked at it! We had to do some serious selecting to figure out what of all the options we would finally settle on. Cole still ended up with quite a haul! We love this boy.