Memorable Memorial Day

This morning, as I headed to the gym, I got to the top of our road, about to turn onto the main road, and the minivan died. It just shut off as I hit the gas. Thankfully, I just sat there at the stop sign. After trying to restart it two or three times, I called Dan who came up to check on the van. It was definitely dead, but he was able to get it into neutral and "drive" it backward down the hill to a level place that would be easier to load onto a tow truck. The AAA driver came shortly and took it to the mechanic. With the cars we drive, we definitely need the Gold Plus membership! Haha!

By the time the minivan was loaded up and towed away, it was time to go to the Memorial Day service at the park. We thought it started at 10:30. Turns out it started at 10:00, so we were a little late. The upper elementary choir and high school band did a great job. It was also interesting to hear speeches by a few high schoolers about those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. But by 11:30 it was still going on, and the boys were getting too restless, so we had to leave.

After a quick lunch, Dan and I started the great basement clean-out. We spent several hours this afternoon sorting though that stuff that has accumulated over the years. There was some stuff in the basement when me moved in that we meant to clear out that we finally got to today, six years later. =)

I had planned on grilling some hamburgers for dinner, but we just ended up getting our burgers from Sheetz because we were too exhausted to cook dinner.

I found a few bins in the basement that were filled with toys and games including Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land. Isaiah must have asked 745,294 times if we could play Chutes and Ladders throughout the afternoon while we were cleaning out the basement. So after dinner we played a rousing game of each before bath and bedtime.

One little gem I found during the great cleanout was an oriental rug my mom had passed down to me several years ago. I almost just threw it out, figuring it would be molded or something. But I decided to open it, and thankfully, my mom had packed it so well that it was in perfect shape! I realized that it was the absolute perfect colors to match our living room. I had been meaning to replace the white, heavily spotted/stained carpet in there for a while. So we rolled it up and out it went, replaced by a lovely addition that couldn't match better if I had planned it. =)

Kicking feet

K wanted I away from her! Haha!

Craziness!!

The cousins

A little late, but too cute not to share. S insisted on wearing his swimsuit that day even though it was too cold. I can't believe it took me so long to notice that K was chewing on her shoe!

Spring Photos

Life is so much easier and more enjoyable when the weather is warm and we can play outside. What we've been up to:

Getting better at riding his bike

Loving the new adventure that is his big wheel!

Realizing his feet won't reach the pedals. Oh well! He just rode it around like a scooter.

Beatles!

Keeping up with his brother.

Gooey goo

This morning, our science experiment was making goo out of cornstarch and water. I used 1 cup of cornstarch mixed with 1/2 cup of water. Lots of fun and very easy cleanup.

Wedding

This past weekend we enjoyed the wedding of a girl who was in the youth group when Dan was the youth leader. She has been dating her (now) husband for seven years, so it's about time they got married! The wedding was at the beautiful St. Catherine of Sweden parish in Gibsonia. They held their reception at the Succop Conservancy in Butler, PA. The weather was superb for an outdoor reception in the beautifully decorated pavilion.

The light at the end of the tunnel

Today I had some extra time before class, so I started cleaning out my classroom. Another teacher shared my room at the beginning of the year, and there were still some odds and ends around that I thought might be his. So I got those out of there. I filed some music from our concerts, music that we're done with for this year.
It's amazing the rejouvenation that comes along with the end of the school year. The warmth of the spring and approaching summer vacation just help everyone gear up for the end of the year.
Also, with the craziness of musical season, all my normal rountines get pushed aside, and we all go into survival mode. Now that the musical has been over for several weeks now, I feel like I'm starting to get back into some of my Flylady and other routines. It's nice when life calms down a little. =)

Isaiah update: Still obsessed with Daddy, loves drawing Veggie Tales characters.
Sam update: Can spell his name and has started spotting "S" everywhere we go.

My little boy

Lately I've noticed a big change in Isaiah. For the first time, he has started to strongly prefer Dan to me. He is obsessed with Daddy, wants to do everything he does, imitates him, can't wait til he gets home, runs to give him pictures when he gets home, pretends he's calling him on the phone, and on and on. I'm not going to lie. I don't like this new trend at all. I mean, I guess I knew it was bound to happen, but still. I thought he was my boy. =)

Mother's Day

This morning the boys and Dan surprised me with breakfast in bed. The boys looked so cute bringing in my food while wearing their matching monkey pajamas. Sam said, "Happy Mother's Day!" After church and lunch at my in-laws, the boys gave me a shirt, necklace, and lip gloss. So cute. Isaiah picked out the shirt at Kohl's. They also each gave me a card. Sam scribbled on his. Isaiah drew a thomas train inside his and wrote "To Mommy from Isaiah." He was so excited to give everything to me.

Dan's mom gave me a cookbook filled with cookie recipes. Yum! The boys were excited about that one. My mom planted some flowers the planter that hangs from my deck. I feel spoiled and loved. Many thanks to my amazing family.

Lately...

Today we went up to Greenville to see my grandma, aunt, and dad. They boys were fairly well-behaved, which made for a nice, relaxing day. I managed to sqeeze in some bead shopping with my aunt and a mini coffee date with Dan at Fresh Grounds. I actually didn't take any pictures today, but here are some I had from when the girls were here last week.
S heard K waking up from her nap and wanted to go give her a hug. He couldn't really hug her without getting in the pack n play. =) Then they kicked their feet and shared the blanket. Too cute.
Another picture of the four of them. They were all strapped in and couldn't run away or wiggle too much! This was on the way up to see my grandma in Greenville last Wednesday. Katherine and Matt met us up there, so in case you think I was in charge of keeping four kids under control in a nursing home, that was not the case. =)

As much of a group photo as we could manage... =)

The oldest kid took this one. And many many many others.

K loved sitting at the boys' desk and playing the Thomas laptop. She kept climbing up there by herself.