Remember when it was cold!

Just in case you are getting tired of the heat, to help you cool off, here's a little reminder of colder, snowy days during our very long winter.

These were taken back in February when it actually snowed here more than it had in 30 years. The kids started off in the back yard. Here are Austin and Anna-Kate on the trampoline.


Addison received kisses from Pippin, our sheltie, while Ayden stood by.


All five of them. You can see that they had started the makings of a snowman in-hands.


A wagon came in handy when transporting snow from the back yard to the front yard, where said snowman went on display.


Here they are with snowman #1: Asa, Anna-Kate, Addison holding the new pup, Pepper, Ayden and Austin holding Pippin.


Then Kevin came home and it was time for Round 2 in the snow.


Of course another snowman was in order:
Austin


Anna-Kate


Asa


Addison--Notice Kevin in the background. He's getting ready to beam his lovely wife with a snowball.


The picture came out blurry because I knew he was taking aim at me.


Like father, like son!


Just a few more:
Ayden


Asa


The finished products:


Six of my very favorite people:


Hope you're feeling a little cooler now.

Anna-Kate's Easter Dress

OK, so I'm a little slow in blogging. If you knew how long it took me to add pictures and arrange each post, you'd be forgiving. Marian watched me put Addison's birthday blogpost together this afternoon and she told me I should switch to Xanga. Maybe I will. But for now, because I resist change so, I'm gonna stick with blogspot.

The real reason for this post was to tell the story of shopping for Anna-Kate's Easter dress. When Spring arrived this year, it was as if our girl had grown six inches overnite. All of her clothes were instantly ready for the giveaway pile. So on her allotted "date day" we headed to the mall in search of some new clothes and an Easter dress. She and I found approximately 8-10 dresses and made our way to the dressing room. Patiently, I waited as she tried them all on and narrowed them down to two.

That's when we called daddy in to be the final judge. He liked them both. So together the three of us decided on the mint green dress. However, when Anna-Kate went back to the dressing room, she asked me if it would be ok for her to buy the other dress with her own money. She hadn't brought her money with her, but if daddy could pay for it, she would pay him back when she got home. I told her she could discuss that with her dad.

So she put her original clothes back on and went out to talk things over. Kevin told her that he would be willing to work with her. Afterall, she did look quite lovely in both of the dresses.

As soon as we arrived home, Anna-Kate ran back to her room to break open the piggy bank, so to speak, and retrieve the money to pay back her dad. But when she tried to give it to him, he wouldn't take it. He was touched that she had wanted to pay for the dress with her own money, but he had wanted her to have them both all along. He told her it was his privilege to pay for the dress and that she should keep her funds for another day.

She looked at me with her Anna-Kate grin, dimples shining, and shrugged her shoulders, "I tried mom! He said I could keep my money!"

As you can see, she looks lovely in both dresses.


It was a fun moment, as a mom and as a wife. I am blessed. Indeed.

Life's Simple Pleasures (in pictures). . .

family



a new baby


a popsicle grin


missing those 2 front teeth



having a twin sister


swim lessons


having an Uncle Lance


a flip on the trampoline


grandparents



time spent with a dear friend


finding a good catch


Christmas morning


a good water fight


finding his ticklish spot


hand-me-downs


celebrating with friends


youth!



and growing old with my man.