Lots of working and a little bit of playing

While I was in CA, Dave and the girls made these planter boxes.We planted some vegetables and herbs to put on the deck so the chickens can't get to our garden.

This morning while I was doing piano with Ash, I looked over at the stairs and saw Sadie reading a book to Nate with a witch hat on.

This is what we've spent the last Saturday (all day) and Monday and Tuesday night doing as a family. It might not look like very exciting landscaping. I wish I had taken a before picture, because then you could appreciate all of the work we've done. We dug out a bunch of ugly bushes, made the brick border, hauled TONZ of rock, planted flowers, rose bushes, built the arbor (that would be Dave), and put the lights in (my job). We had a lot of fun working, but are glad to have it done. I can't wait for the climbing roses to climb up the arbor.

The hard workers- standing on the rock pile.

It was cold out - so I knew Ash was working hard when she took her jacket off.

Nate LOVED the pushing job. He was really good at it!

Easter morning. The girls loved their white gloves and purses from Karla. And thanks to Grandma Walton for perfect Easter dresses from Jason's wedding last year. No need to buy new dresses!

Just a random picture.

The girls and I went on a date to St. Louis to Powell Hall where we saw The 5 Browns perform! They were amazing, and we even got to meet them and get autographs!

Spring Soccer has begun. I love Ashlyn's face in this picture. She has so much fun playing soccer and is super frustrated when they cancel a game or practice due to weather. She thinks they should practice in any weather!

Meet Caroline. She is the mouse that Rolly ate. They (Dave and the kids...I'm not part of this activity) got the mouse, but it took a few days for the snake to finish shedding and be ready to eat. So the girls kept Caroline in a box in their room. It became a pet for a few days. Ash was so upset about the circle of life...that snakes have to eat mice. LOTS of tears over this one.

Sadie smiles the whole time she is on the field. She's a happy girl out there.

A Most Special Day

Dad and I with Karla on her baptism day. I didn't plan to match them, but I surely fit in with the "white" theme. Thank you for letting me be part of your special day, Karla! It was a day I will always remember. I'm still smiling about it.

Grandma was helping thirsty Nate find a drinking fountain.

Seeing lollipops on all of the children's headstones was a first to me. Nate has a an expression that I can't really put into English words, but it's the cutest hand expression and his own made up words for "Where did it go?" He knows how to say Brie's name so well - I love it. It used to sound like "Bee" and now I can hear the "r". I told Nate where we were going, and when we got to the cemetery, Nate did his "Where did it go" version while saying Brie's name first. Good thing we know where she is - it makes it all bearable. He must know that it's a special place - because he's always his sweetest when we're there.

Nate loved baby Matthew - so much that he wanted to lay on top of him for a long time.

With a mother as a hygienist (Shannon) and a father as a periodontist, no wonder these two were busy at work cleaning Matthew's first tooth.

It was such a treat to get away for a quick weekend of good food (always) and wonderful memories.

Spring Break

I love Spring Break. We went to the zoo, did lots of yard work, planted roses, planted lots of seeds for veggies, herbs and flowers, read lots of books, played a lot, had friends over, went to bed later, baked, and sewed. Nate spent most of his spring break destroying the house, his favorite pastime. I'm having a "Mom's Spring Break" tomorrow when Nate and I will fly out to CA for the weekend for a good friend's baptism. Can't wait!


They wanted to try sleeping together. No way, we thought. They'd never be able to do it. They were too excited to all be in bed together. But we told them we'd give it a try.


They were having so much fun. Nate cried for a minute when we left.

And then we found this.

The girls are taking sewing lessons. They were so excited about the aprons they made.

They each wanted to pose.

After I finished taking the girls' pictures, Nate popped on stage and started to pose. Just noticed that his buttons are off. Oh well. He didn't seem to care.

Nate had an appt. with a doctor up in St. Louis on Friday, so Dave took the day off and we hit the zoo first. Nate was mesmerized with the elephants in this picture. Really, he was mesmerized with ALL of the animals.

Precious

Today I was having a "Brie" moment where it hits me how much I love and miss her. Nate was right by me, and noticed my facial expressions changing (happy to SAD) and he got such a concerned look on his face. He hurried for a tissue, and gently wiped each little tear. Then he followed a tear with his finger as it trickled down my cheek. Then he got the tissue, wrapped it around my nose and made the sound of a nose blowing, so I would blow into the tissue. Then he said "hug" as he held his arms open wide and wrapped those sweet arms tight around my neck. Then he hurried to check how my sad face was doing. His sweet face reminded me of how much I love HIM and how much I miss my Brie and how I wish I could see her at this cute age. We held each other while I cried a bit more...sad and happy tears. Oh how I love my little boy. I wonder if he'll ever know how much joy he's brought to his mama's aching heart.

Brainwashing at Bedtime

I am sorry to the girl Nate marries. I'm sorry, because his daddy brainwashed him when he was so little to know better. I am sorry if Nate insists on owning snakes. It's not my fault. I tried.

Most people don't like snakes crawling on their backs. Nate thought it was fun. Not me. Last night I was on my bed, with Dave closeby as we were chatting about the day. I was lying on my stomach, and Dave was holding Rolly. Next thing I know, I see out of the corner of my eye, a SNAKE crawling around my back!! I shrieked for Dave to get that thing off my back. He was surprised that I didn't want her on my back - he thought I was getting quite comfortable with Rolly and was liking her a lot. I can handle her just fine. But I wouldn't say I like her. Especially not on my back.

This would give me nightmares.

Last Sunday afternoon Nate, Dave and I were taking a nap. The girls made a restaurant for us while we were sleeping. It was buffet style. The main dish was PBand J sandwiches - my favorite for a Sunday meal. They made their favorite "snack" mix with all of the random snacks they can find in the house.But they were so sweet about it, we had to indulge. They were super cute waitresses and wouldn't let us lift a finger.

The new family pet

Nate wanted to lay down by the snake - and here he is waving to him.

So happy to have a snake in our house!

Dave is posting here: It happened. The long awaited family pet arrived today. We all went on a drive to Jefferson City for a piano "festival". Afterwards we picked up our new ball python. Meliss wasn't crazy about the idea at first but she came around. On our drive home we tried to figure out the best name for it. Elizabeth, Sarah, Sherman...were all proposed but didn't seem quite right. Meliss had the idea of Raliegh because it sounds like Rolla, MO. We had a tortoise when we lived in San Francisco and named it Frisco...it fit. Everybody took turns holding it, even Meliss. We had to video Nate holding and kissing it. Raliegh is about 4 months old and can live 30-50 years! He/she can grow to 4-6 feet in length and will eat rats by then. Thanks Meliss for putting up with another snake in the home. Before you know it you'll be working in the kitchen with it around your neck!

Ashlyn's Big Day!

It was a perfect day for a baptism - with white snow everywhere, clear roads, and a beautiful blue sky!

Thank you Karla for the gorgeous white roses! Ashlyn loved them and felt so special getting the delivery just for her!

Nate probably would have preferred the 4:00 baptism time yesterday AFTER his nap, opposed to the 12:30 baptism right at nap time. He wasn't too bad. He even let the Bishop hold him during the actual baptism.

Ashlyn fasted for the first time today and it was soooooooooooooooo hard! I told her she could put anything that she wanted to eat on her plate to have ready to eat right after the prayer. She chose a leftover piece of her birthday cake. So that's what she started with. Then we had potato-veggie-cheese soup in sourdough breadbowls. She was SO happy to get to eat.