We've been busy as usual, so I haven't updated the blog for a while.  I'm getting ready for the end of the year-----I have 16 research papers left to grade this weekend (that's what I should be doing now)!  Olivia and Ben are at soccer with Dad, and Sam and I stayed home--it is pretty chilly this morning, and Sammy happened to be sleeping when it was time to leave--we thought it would be a good time for me to get some grading done. . . . . . .

Olivia has a birthday party to go to today---swimming at the YMCA.  I'm trying to make Ben understand that he can't go--we'll have to find something fun for him to do while she is at the party---he really misses her when she isn't here.  

Hopefully we'll get to see Angela, Tyler, and Amelia (Millie) this weekend--she is already eight days old!  This time I will remember to bring my camera, so I can put some pictures of her on the blog.

We're getting ready for a garage sale in a couple of weeks---our basement is a disaster, but it will be worth the mess once everything is sold or given to charity!

Jackson and Maci came over after school one night this week for a few hours.  Olivia and Jackson wrote a book and made puppets for it. . . .they were busy.  Ben and Maci had more trouble finding something they both liked to do together:  Ben wanted to play with his Batman castle, and Maci wanted to play with Olivia's Barbie Dolls. . . . .so they played by themselves in the basement---I did manage to get Ben to pose with Maci for the picture below--he finally agreed to pose with the dolls:-)

Mother's Day

Sam is still trying to figure out the sippy cup; he prefers to bite it, throw it, or swing it side to side; he hasn't gotten much water from it yet, but we're not going to give up!

He is crawling now.  He doesn't go far yet. . . .that darn register keeps grabbing his attention; he can't pull himself away from it.  We're going to have to put the infamous gate up soon to keep him from going near the stairs.  Olivia and Ben are my watchdogs--they keep dangerous items off the floor and keep the basement door closed!!
Ben loves to play with Sammy on the floor; he even joins him for a drink once in a while.  Olivia and I were reading a book while I was feeding Sam, but he didn't want to sit on my lap--so I put him on the floor to finish it and Ben joined him.
I had a nice Mother's Day!  The kids and John served me breakfast in bed, but I ended up joining them in the kitchen where they were all eating.  Eggs and pancakes were on the menu--it was delicious!  I got a gift certificate for a pedicure with Olivia---we're looking forward to using it--and I also got a gift card to Lowes to put toward some flowers for planting.  I can't forget to mention the fabulous artwork I received from Olivia and Ben!  Olivia and Ben helped with the planting; they were a lot of help.  We got a lot of work done!
These are my "Mother's Day flowers" from the kids.  They potted them  in cute little cups at Carrie's (daycare) and then we transferred them into this planter.  They're in charge of watering them this summer.

Soccer, soccer, soccer!!

The kids have played a lot of soccer this spring.  We had a couple weekends rained out, but one of those was made up on a Sunday.  They both really enjoy playing and having John coach--I'm not sure how he does it!  Both kids play on co-ed teams, so they're still getting to play with some of their daycare/school friends that are of the opposite gender.  Olivia actually took the ball off her head in this photo (not intentionally), but it looked cool!

Most of the time she runs down the field with a smile on her face:-)
Ben is one of the younger players on his team.  He is playing against some six year olds.  He runs as hard as he can the entire game.  Many times before a game he will say, "I'm not even going to let that ball get by me."
When the weather has been warm enough Sammy gets to enjoy some time outside on the grass.  He loves being outside!
This picture was taken on the Sunday of the make-up games---it was really warm, so before their games, Olivia and Ben "chilled" on the deck with juice boxes and a good book:-)

Trip to the Zoo!

Olivia's first grade class visited the zoo at the end of April. I took a personal day and John took a vacation day to be chaperones.  It was cold and rainy, but the kids had a great time.  We got a behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium, which was really neat (I think the adults appreciated it more than the kids)!  We had Olivia and two of her friends in our group---they had fun teasing John!

At lunch we met up with Olivia's good friend Jackson (dark hair) and his friend.  Lots of socializing. . .not much eating:-)