jonah's baby blessing

jonah was blessed on mother's day.

which is so fitting, since that is what mother's day is all about.

being a mother to the children we care for and love to pieces.

through the good and the bad.

so, what better way to celebrate it than blessing my newest little being.

another reason this particular weekend was so special, was that it was the first time in a long time that my entire husband's family was at the same place at the same time.

all of his seven siblings were there with all of their children.

it was pretty amazing to see everyone all together.

i bet his parents were thrilled while watching from up above.

getting prepared for the group picture.

the whole gang. (i could list everyone but that could get lengthy and confusing.)

where's jonah?

jack with the sun shining in his eyes.

eden being carted around on her dad's back.

my little family.

i am so blessed.

another late easter post

what: easter sunday post church pictures

Where: the backyard

when: april 24, 2011

approximately 11:26 am

(ava took a spill on her bike the previous day, which explains her road rash)

and last but not least, some snapshots of the kids and their favorite easter basket items.

we had a fabulous easter weekend, spending it with family

and enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

easter morning

Easter 2011

before...

...after.

easter treats.

backyard hunt.

the aftermath.

and jonah slept through it all :)

triathlon

Agritopia kids triathlon.

jack participated in his first triathlon.

it was so cute to watch him compete.

he was so nervous the night before that he could hardly sleep.

he was more worried about what place he would get than the actual race.

the kids swam, biked, and ran their little butts off throughout the neighborhood.

age group: 6 and 7 year olds

{to the lady asking out loud, yes, he may be little, but he is 6 (almost 7), since you were wondering}

swim (4 laps)

bike (1.5 miles)

run (1/2 mile)

jack listening to the results with 2 of his biggest fans... sisters, ava and eden.

they cheered him on the whole entire time.

he placed 3rd... and got a medal!

(however, there were only 3 boys in his age group. but nobody has to know that.)

favorite quotes of the day:

me: "hey jack, wasn't that so much fun?"

jack: "yeah (with a big smile on his face), it was fun beating people."

{he is totally not competitive. can you tell?}

jack: "mom, i know i got my medal for the running part. i definitely got first in running. can i run it again just for fun?"

jack you are a rockstar.

a good friday

this year, good friday was full of events.

it was earth day, my mom's birthday, and the annual daley easter egg hunt.

in the morning, the kids searched my parents backyard, high and low, for easter eggs.

it was quite the hunt.

following the search, a massive delicious breakfast was served.

we then celebrated my mom's ??th birthday that evening with an outdoor bbq.

the kids swam in the frigid water while the adults stood by.

we had an "egg"celent day.

so cheesy, i know. just couldn't resist.

here is the egg hunt in pictures.

eden getting some help from cousin lexi and aunt kayda.

eden only liked the fake eggs. she would shake the eggs to hear if they had candy in them.

bottom line, she ended up throwing all the real eggs back.

counting the eggs to make sure they are all accounted for.

ava using her easter bag as a hat.

the end.

coloring eggs

easter egg coloring/decorating 2011

(artist #1: ava)

(artist #2: jack)

the finished product of dyed, sparkled, stickered, and doodled on eggs.

wah-la.

eden strikes again

i have decided that eden is a sour patch kid.

first she is sour.

then she is sweet.

she can also be very sweet to her baby brother.

that is, when she isn't trying to poke his eye out with a bobby pin.

oh, yes she did.

(p.s. i feel like ava has been MIA from my past posts. this could be because she is practically

living at my neighbor's house, mia, who lives across the street. mia is an empty nester and ava

is taking full advantage of that. i bet mia thinks that ava has a bad home life and she would rather be there than hanging out with her crazy mom. if i ever see ava, i will try to take picture of her and post it, just so we don't forget what she looks like.)