April 2010...the Zoo, Wheaton Regional, and Easter

Over Spring Break we enjoyed some nice outings in the area with some beautiful weather. One day we ventured to the zoo.
And on another day we headed over to Wheaton Regional Park where there is a great playground, a train, and a carousel.

I love Madison's face on this one.

And yes, Jason was at the park with us...I just wasn't able to capture any great pictures of him.

Easter Sunday we were running late and didn't have much time for pictures at home, but we were able to capture a few at the church.

And an attempt at a family picture....always a difficult feat.

Grammy and Grandpa Visit March 2010

At the end of March Grammy and Grandpa came to visit over a long weekend. We hadn't seen them since Christmas so it was a blessing for them to come and visit.

Madison and Carson cheesing it up for Grammy.
And Madison and Jason.

Grammy getting some love.

And reading books.

A little game of lucky ducks.

Madison enjoys some time with Grandpa.

And some time with Grammy.

While they were here Grammy, Madison, and I enjoyed going and seeing a play at our church put on by the youth. It was Esther and it was fabulous....so good that Matt and I went back to see the last showing that evening for our date night. We're looking forward to the DVD coming out soon.

Helping a Friend

Yesterday I had the pleasure of babysitting James (3) and Madelene Kate (3 months) during the day while their mom Debbie worked getting their house ready for the selling market. They were angels....James played joyfully very independently with the various trucks and cars and other boy toys and Madelene was an absolute joy. She took 2 bottles extremely well, slept wonderfully amidst all the noise, and was a very happy baby. Madison and Carson were delighted with having a baby in the house and Jason, well he was a bit more jealous. Madison and Carson were so sweet with her as they sang to her and gave her gentle kisses. Here are some pictures and videos of our time.


Madison LOVED feeding her!
Can you tell?

While I made lunch the kids enjoyed a little break in all the action and watched a show....can you tell that they were focused? L to R...Madison (4), James (3), Jason (2), and Carson (3). Notice how Jason is playing with James' hair....he always has to have his hands in someone's hair, it's his security blanket...and James thoroughly enjoyed it!

Here are a few videos...first of Carson singing to Madelene Kate as she lay in the pack and play and then of Madison singing to her while everyone else was sleeping.

Hitting the Slopes

Matt and I were able to go skiing yesterday at Whitetail Ski Resort and it was so much fun. I hadn't gone skiing in 7 years since our last big storm but had skiied alot in my high school and college days. Matt had only skiied once before about 15 years ago. While he took an hour lesson I went skiing by myself and was blessed that it all came back to me....I love skiing!

Here are a few pictures of a portion of the slopes.

Matt in his skiing gear.

The two of us riding the lift together.

And here are some videos of the new skiier. He was very much in control (most of the time) and he did very well making the turns. In the second video he begins at the top left of the video and makes his way towards me.

Buddies

Last night when I went to check on the boys before going to bed the first thing I noticed was that Jason wasn't in his bed....I looked over at Carson and there they were! Sound asleep next to each other in Carson's bed.....so sweet.

Super Storm 2010 Post #5

No time outside is complete without a little time in the swing....Jason even fell asleep swinging at one point. Here he is with a nice chunk of snow while swinging.
At the top of the mountain of snow. That's the top of what's left of the street sign off to the left.

Matt and the kids enjoying sucking on the icicles that we retrieved off the side of the house.

A view from our front porch right before "sunset" last evening while the flakes began to fall. Notice the one-way sign just barely seen above the mountain of snow.

Super Storm 2010 Post #4

Sledding and jumping and climbing fun in the snow that was delivered during the Super Storm of 2010....and this was all before we got the storm on the 9th/10th (which was more of a blizzard!)

Matt worked hard preparing a nice path to go down with our innertubes and sleds....here Madison and Daddy are taking a turn.

Carson (our sometimes very timid one) was not timid at all when it came to sledding down this huge hill. In this case he wasn't even willing to wait while the slope worker (Matt) finished his job. He almost always just laid down on this saucer, face down, eyes closed, and took off.

Our "little" slope built up by Daddy right in back of our house.

Last evening before the blizzard really started we headed down the street to the large mountain of snow that was created by the tireless plow drivers. The kids enjoyed climbing the mountain.

All three taking their turn down the little slope.

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME WITHOUT ADEQUATE SNOW AMOUNTS. Sam entertained us a bit showing off her ability to climb over railings and jump off the deck into the snow below.

There was only a little problem....getting stuck at the bottom.