All good things must come to an end...

Spring Break is officially over...what are me and the kids gonna do when Brandon goes back to school on Monday!!! Darn it all...

We had tons of fun with Brandon around more...just a few of the things we did as a family: swimming at the Aquatic Center (I got to sit in the HOT TUB for the first time cuz Brandon was there to stay in the pool with the kids! I LOVE HOT TUBS, but not as much as I love Brandon! :)

Brandon's grandparents came to visit for a few days.

Outlets in Woodburn...more stores there than I will ever be able to check out! The kids were real troopers...toward the end, Jemma took to sitting (or should I say "hiding") right by the front window of each store. When they're done, they're done!

And Brandon finally made it to the Portland Zoo with me and the kids. We had to get there right when it opened if we wanted to park in the zoo parking lot (we weren't real excited about riding a shuttle in when we have a zoo pass that includes parking!)...spring break brought some SeRiOuS crowds!

Here are some shots from the last week. Enjoy!

Jemma and Brandon at the outlets...they really had some BEAUTIFUL flowers. Tons of daffodils and tulips! I love spring!

Carter with his new ball.

Jemma having a snack...gotta keep up the energy when you're on a shopping excursion!

Are you thinking what I'm thinking...that does not look comfortable! This cougar was totally out! (Kinda freaked me out to think about what could be sleeping up in a tree when I'm camping...hmmm.)

Me and Jemma...sweet tractor, huh!

Jemma wasn't real interested in having the birds land on her, but she was happy to watch Brandon feed them.

Brandon and the kids at the end of our zoo excursion.
Did I mention it was really cold that day? Well, it was...still fun though! Our favorite part was the polar bears...I don't know why I didn't snap a shot of them...must have been to intrigued! Conrad, the male, is 9 1/2 feet tall and 1150 lbs! He is such an entertainer...if you're ever in Porland and get to go to the zoo, look him up...he AWESOME!

Visitors

Brandon is on Spring Break this week (DoUbLe HoOrAy!!!) and his Grandparents came up from California to say hi! We always love having them...they tend to spoil us...especially the kids who both ended up with a new pair of pajamas from the DISNEY STORE! Jemma REALLY didn't want to give up the Cinderella nightgown this morning. :)

Thanks again for coming up here to be with our family for a few days! Love you lots!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

So, I've never been real big into St. Patrick's Day...I remember as a little girl my mom making us green eggs for breakfast and reading the book, "Green Eggs and Ham" (we had green shamrock pancakes this morning...well, I guess me and Carter did...Jemma still wanted Mickey and Minnie :) But now that I have kids, every holiday seems to mean a little bit more...any excuse to celebrate is taken advantage of. So...we put together a little shin-dig for some of our friends in the area... nothing like stringing Fruit-Loops on yarn, decorating cupcakes and t-shirts and making one big mess! I hope all those who came had a good time...I know me and the kids did! :o)

Jemma working on her t-shirt...much to my dismay, she wanted very little supervision. I guess Carter filled that role...with Jemma, he is ever so attentive.




Friends: Jenny, Eli and Emma with Jemma...THANKS for being the Only one to look at the camera Jenny!!! :)

Jemma and Carter's finished T's...I'm still getting a hold of the whole "boy thing". I guess I could have been a little more creative than shapes...oh well...there is a little yellow chubby hand print in the middle...kinda hard to make out...whatever!


Carter and his friend Reagan. I love when babies hang out together! So cute...until they get interested in each others EYES!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Carter Carnage

This

Plus this

Equals

a chewed up crib!!!

Why in the world did we bother buying a new crib (just this past January) after the old one broke...you can't do this kind of damage to a porta-crib!