Happy Easter!!!

We have had a FUN time getting ready for Easter at our house! The boys had a 4-day weekend!!! We died eggs on Friday, had a few Easter egg hunts on Saturday, got presents from Nina Wilson, went to church on Sunday then on to Nina and Papa Hamann's for another egg hunt, scavenger hunt and a yummy lunch!!!

Dying Eggs...

Ida Grove Easter Party and Egg Hunt...

We won twice on the cake walk!!! Owen won the cookies and Drew won the bunny cake!! :)

 

Here is Drew at his egg hunt!! :) 

Ta-da! ;)

I didn't get a picture of Owen for his hunt... there were LOTS of kids and mud!! ;) Parker didn't get to participate this year... they stopped at 2nd grade! --- oh he is getting old!! ;) Nina Wilson came to the Skate Palace too to see the boys!

Here are all 3 boys with more winnings... Owen won a bunny and I won one for Drew!! ;)

After the hunt we  went back to our house for presents from Nina Wilson...

Drew opening his presents from Nina.

Owen... excited as usual!! ;)

Parker showing off his new NIKE attire! ;)

While we were dying Easter eggs on Friday... Parker said to me, "Mom, don't crack them or they won't hatch!" --- bless his little heart... so I decided to make some eggs that 'hatched' for Parker... Deviled eggs that is!! :) -- we took these to Nina and Papa Hamann's for Easter lunch!!

Egg hunt at our house...

The Easter Bunny came!!!! Parker and Owen were SOOO excited to FINALLY get new Wii remotes!!! We have had 4 but 1 was completely broke and 2 were on their last legs!!! :) They also got some football and baseball stickers for their collector's books and new DS chargers for the car and some candy!! Drew got Team Oomi-Zoomi toys, new water bottles, bubbles and candy! They were all very happy!! :)

Nina and Papa Hamann's house is always a crowd pleaser!!! :)  Nina makes a great lunch, then has the kids go on a scavenger hunt to find their Easter baskets and then on to an egg hunt outside! :)

All of the cousins...

NEW JAMMIES from Nina and Papa Hamann!! :)

BATHTUB!!!!

I am actually SCREAMING this tittle.... with excitement of course!! :) We have not had a (useable) bathtub in our house for over a year!!! My poor little 2 year old started taking showers at age 1! :( He is SOOOO excited to have a tub again!! :) He took the first bath... and as you can see in the background it is not even done or tiled yet... but this little man wanted a BATH!!! :) --- thank you Nick, Papa and Adam for the help... we have one VERY HAPPY little guy!! :)

Hibachi

It has been TOO long since we went out for some hibachi food... so tonight was the night!! :) We tried Tokyo in Sioux City (which was AMAZING)!!! Owen and Parker LOVE going to hibachi restaurants and Drew had never been!! They all had a great time!! :) 

Las Vegas Night

We took the boys to Las Vegas Night at the school tonight! We went last year too.. and it is a FUN night out for the family! :) We went early and had dinner there, signed up for some raffle prizes and then went on in to play!! They have several games such as minnow races, basketball, cake walk, frog jump, etc. and prizes for the kids... but this year we bought WAY TOO MANY tickets... we couldn't even use them all up! Oh well, lesson learned! ;) THANKS for a FUN night OA-BCIG!! :)

MOPS Cupcakes

I have been going to MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) in Alta this past year with a couple of friends and I LOVE it!! They have guest speakers and do fun crafts each meeting, which is twice a month! They also host MNO - - Mom's Night Out once in a while and I love that too!! :) This week we made cupcakes for our craft... and they are so CUTE!! 

From top left to right here is what we made...
Fish
Tye-Dyed
Lightening McQueen

Bottom left...
Cookie Monster

Center...
Flower

Bottom Right...
Pig

Aren't they FUN!!! --- so much work... but FUN!!! :)

More CrAfTy Projects...

I have been OBSESSED with crafting and re-doing furniture!! I have purchased some and have re-done some of my own!! Here are some of the projects I have been working on...

Fundraiser Donation...
I made this barnboard sign for Las Vegas Night for the school fundraiser! 













Engagement Photos...

My friend Meredith is getting married this fall and wanted a barnboard sign for her engagement photos... she had a pic from PINTEREST that she wanted it to look like so I made it up for her!! :)

Furniture...

I bought an old buffet at an auction almost 20 years ago for $5... I have been wanting to redo it forever... and finally got around to it!!

BEFORE

AFTER

We are still in the process of finishing our master bath... and I wanted a FUN, unique vanity, so I bought a buffet table and shabbied it and we will put our double vanity granite top on it when we complete the bathroom!! :) I can hardly wait to have it installed!!!

MANY MORE projects to come!!! :)

I {HEART} Pinterest...

I do... I do... {HEART} Pinterest!! I get so many FUN ideas on there that I can make to help decorate my home!! :) I am a pinning fool!! :) It's ok though... because I don't just pin things and never use them... I use Pinterest DAILY... whether it be for a recipe or for a craft project!!

Here is a START to our dining room make-over!! (More pics to come when I get it all decorated!!)

Pinterest Picture Frames... (I am so glad to be able to finally use my picture ledge!!)

 

Pinterest Barn board box with Hydrangias... (Nick was my helper on this... and I love the way it turned out!!) --- now to find a cute runner for the table!! :)

 

Before and After pics coming soon!!

Our Union Soldier

Mrs. Ludvigson's and Mrs. Glawe's 3rd grade classes had a Patriotic Program for their mothers on Thursday at the school! It was such a GREAT program... my only complaint is that I wish dad's and grandparents could have came to see it too! --- I forgot to bring my camcorder so I didn't get it recorded! :( 

The program covered several significant events from our country's history... Parker was a union soldier from the Civil War. We ended up ordering a costume online... and will re-use it at Halloween! ;) He had 2 speaking parts (conversing with the confederate soldier) and did GREAT! :)

Some of Parker's friends in the program were:

Beau Neiman - Confederate Soldier

Beau McCormick - Teddy Roosevelt

Evan VanHouten - Paul Revere

Jackson Godberson - George Washington

Jaxson Claussen - Abraham Lincoln

SLEEPING BEAUTIES!! :)

We could hear the pitter patter of little feet and a giggle here and there... but we knew they would make their way to their beds and be asleep by the time we came upstairs for bed!! To our surprise... this is what we found when we came up... 

I must say... Their days are often spent fighting... but their nights prove they LOVE each other!!!! -- we sure do love those boys!!!!

BOWLING...

It has been awhile since we have taken the boys bowling... so we joined the Mason family this weekend and went bowling for a few hours!! I only got one picture of our night out... :)

Old Friends...

Tonight Erin celebrated her 30th birthday... and Nick and I actually got a sitter and went out for a bit!! :) Here is a picture of 4 of us girls (missing Erin!!! - darn it) from back in the day!! --- We used to spend EVERY weekend with these girls and their guys!! Sure miss spending time with them all!!!

Mommy and Her Boys...

We were in Des Moines this weekend to show the house to some potential renters... and got to see a few good friends while we were there!! Mere and Jonny come over to our hotel room to see us and surprised us with champagne and a card and asked us to be the host and hostess at their wedding in October!! We are sooo excited and can't wait to be a part of their BIG day!! :) 

Mere took this picture of me and the boys... :)

WRIGLEY

We have added a new family member to our family!!! WRIGLEY!! :)  -- a.k.a. WRIGLEY BEAR! The boys are in heaven right now... and LOVING every minute of it! Wrigley was born on 12/12/12 and  he was part of the boys' Christmas present... but we had to wait for him to be ready to come home to us in February!! Wrigley is a golden doodle... and will be a big boy when he is full grown! For now we are enjoying his 'puppy' size!! :) 

The ride home...

 

Settling in at home...

 

WELCOME to our family Wrigley Bear... we are so happy you are here!! :)

No family is complete without the pitter patter of doggy feet! - - author unknown

Our Dinner ENTERTAINMENT...

Most nights of the week... we have entertainment with our dinner!! ;) Our boys sure like to perform for us!! We have singing and dancing and it all happens on stage (a.k.a. the radiator)!! Here they are putting on another show!! :)

ANOTHER... Eye Surgery

I remember having a picture like the one on the left when I was dating Nick.... a snowmobile accident in 1999 caused him to have 5 surgeries then and here we are 14 years to the EXACT day... having surgery #6 on his poor eye! Unbelievable!!!

Nick and Owen were playing around and Owen kicked his head a few years ago and Nick started to have vision troubles then... then about 2 months ago they were playing around again and Nick completely lost his vision. We went to our optometrist in Des Moines and he told us the lens implant had become detached and from that point on... we spent lots of time in the eye doctor office with appointments with different specialists... to finally the surgery on January 4th!

Here is Nick BEFORE surgery...

and here he is AFTER....

He has weight restrictions and just has to take it easy for awhile for recovery!! THANK YOU all for your prayers, visits, calls, texts, gifts/cards and kind words!! Thank you to Don and Jane for helping with the boys too!!! We truly appreciate it!!!

***UPDATE... Nick's eye has been slow to heal, with cornea swelling and pressure issues, but is now improving!! We are hoping for a contact soon so he can have his sight back!! :)

Milkshakes

Our boys LOVE to go get ice cream... ALL YEAR ROUND! So we decided to start having it more often at home since it can get pricey with 5 people!! :) We make sundaes, milkshakes and have ice cream with strawberries or raspberries more often than I would like to admit!! ;) --- but the fruit makes it better, right? ha! Here we are with our milkshakes.... they were carmel and chocolate this time!! YUM!

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