Palm Sunday

Yesterday was Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week for us as Christians.  Our church held a Lenten workshop for the children on Saturday to discuss Lent and Easter and the true meaning of all of the symbols we see so commonly this time of year.  They made a lot of really fun crafts, but for sure the highlight of the day was the baby chicks! The boys were so surprised to find out that the chicks were actual live animals -- they assumed they would be a toy or stuffed animal.

They made several neat crafts to remind us of why we celebrate this time of year.

My mom was kind enough to take my kids to the workshop at church while I was at a pharmacy conference in Kansas City.  I'd never been to a conference at the Kansas City Convention Center and it was a great venue with some awesome views!

I made it back on Saturday in time to enjoy the beautiful weather with my family for the evening, and then yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday at church.  The kids are all lined up and ready for their processional. My boys and Tyler led the whole crew and did a great job.

Violet was SO excited about her palm branches, waving them rather aggressively at everyone she saw!  I really should have taken some video, as she actually broke 3 or 4 branches with her "enthusiastic"waving.

This was Evelyn's first Palm Sunday at church (we were remembering how we were completely snowed in last year on Palm Sunday and had to have church in our living room) and she also was a big fan of the palm branches.

Where's Evie??

Peek-a-boo!

Hope everyone has a blessed Holy Week!

Sydney's 14th!

My oldest niece and goddaughter turns 14 tomorrow!  To celebrate the young lady that Sydney is becoming, Scott and Joy had all of the family over for a party yesterday. After dinner, Uncle John really got the party started with an original rap he wrote for Syd.

 All of her cousins wanted a front-row seat to watch Sydney unwrap her gifts.

 There was a heavy KU theme to her gifts -- she got some really cool stuff!

 Calvin made her one of his famous homemade cards.

 Grandma Jo made one of her famous candy bouquets. . . that has somewhat morphed into a more-teenage-girl-appropriate bouquet complete with make-up and frappuccinos (but still contains candy, too, of course).

And Grandma Cheryl made another famous cake, this time a beetle bug car with Sydney in the driver's seat!  Yes, this girl is getting her learner's permit this week!

 

Even though Sydney was the star of the party, Baby Grayson took a close second.  This kid is just too cute.

 

With the addition of our adorable newbie, the kid picture around the cake is the biggest it's ever been with 12!  And it may not be the best picture in the world, but considering you can see 12 faces, I felt it was highly successful!

 Happy Birthday, Sydney!  We love you so much and are very proud of you!

Evie's 18 Month Pictures

I realize I'm a little late in getting these taken/posted, but Evelyn won't be 19 months until April 20, so technically she's still 18 months, right?  This little sweetie is getting more and more fun every single day and her vocabulary is really taking off!  I just love carrying on "conversations" with her now and I love that she has taken after her oldest brother and says "Hold you" when she wants you to pick her up. She definitely knows what she wants and doesn't have a lot of patience yet, so her feisty little attitude does come out on occasion, but even these little tantrums never last long.  She still loves to cuddle, which is possibly the best feeling on earth and her little smile just melts my heart.

 (Her baby had to get in the pictures with her. . .)

 How did 18 months fly by so fast??

A Visit from Grayson

Guess who came to visit us today . . .Baby Grayson, that's who! Can you believe this little punkin is 7 weeks old already??  And he is getting so big and so cute and so much personality.  It was no surprise that Violet wanted to be about 6 inches away from him the entire time he was here.  Thankfully, Aunt Dana is a good sport about having no personal space.

 I love this face.  You know he's thinking, "You're really going to let her kiss me right on the face?!?"

 Violet and her new favorite cousin. . .

 The boys were super-excited that Aunt Dana extended her visit and waited for them to get off the bus.

 The next sequence of pictures was our attempt at getting a group shot with my crazy crew and the sweet baby.  He was so tolerant of all of their antics.

 Evelyn was also quite smitten with Baby Grayson.  And talk about making her look like she's ready to start kindergarten. . . (insert my sad-babies-grow-up-too-fast face here)

 "Umm, somebody, anybody?  Can I get rescued please? These ladies can't keep their hands off of me!"

 Such a good baby he is, barely made a peep the whole time he was here.

We love you, Grayson!  Thanks for coming to see us!

Bring on the Wind

The boys were out of school on Monday (I know what you're thinking, Do they ever go to school??), so we all took off to see cousin KJ while Violet was at preschool.  Each year, I can't wait for spring so we can thaw out a bit, but I somehow always forget about the winds that accompany springtime in Kansas. We attempted an outdoor playdate, but it was cut a little short because the kids were about to blow away!

Even though the wind can be somewhat irritating at times, I'll definitely take it after the winter we've had.  If wind means warmer temperatures, I say bring it on!