SPRING! And everything that comes with it...

Dare I say it... is Spring finally here?? Ok, if it snows again after I post this, I won't be held responsible for tempting fate. Though we've been having some rotten cold days lately, I'm trusting the newly blossomed trees to announce that I can fully welcome Spring with open arms! Now that we've been able to make the occasional venture outdoors, I've even brought my camera fully out of hibernation! My April 2009picture folder is impressively full and I am starting to feel like coming out of hibernation myself! Here's what the month of April has brought us...

We, of course, celebrated Easter in style... or the kids did anyway. When was the last time I got a fancy, new Easter outfit? This should be addressed at a later time. Anyway... these kids can clean up pretty well when their parents have the right motivation, don't you think? The infamous Easter Bunny did make an appearance this year - though he did a crummy job hiding the baskets. McKenna and Mathew found them within 10 seconds. I think I'll be leaving a note for that lazy Easter Bunny next year, informing him that it's not a great idea to hide the kids' baskets in the same spots as the year before. You'd think this would be common sense... McKenna and Mathew were thrilled as can be with their booty, but Nathaniel could care less about getting any dumb ol' basket and was quite put out by having to pose for a picture next to it. Though he changed his tune once we presented him with his favorite Easter gift - a basketball toy for the bath! A great idea in theory, but now he throws a screaming tantrum worthy of some horrible form of torture every time we have to take him out of the tub. This kid is tiny, but he is going to be any amazing basketball player someday. I have never known a 1-year-old to have such a fascination with shooting hoops. Here's the kids showing off some of their Easter basket loot!



I'm afraid that's all I have for our Easter celebrations! No coloring eggs or festive hunts... If my kids only knew all the stuff they miss out on by having such a craft-challenged mother, they would pack up their little knapsacks and be off in search of new horizons! Moving on...

Spring also brings us to the next round of soccer! Hurray! It's my hope that we can experience one game this Spring that doesn't call for a big mug of hot chocolate once it's over! Man, those 1 hour games last a lifetime when you're freezing! Here's some quick, fun pics from Mathew's first soccer game of the season.



I wonder how many seasons of soccer it will take until I don't have a picture of the coach reminding the kids which direction they should be kicking the ball. Also, I love how one of the pictures above has Mathew playing in the grass when everyone else is getting ready to play some major defense. Let's just say Mathew's not exactly the star player on the team. But he's enthusiastic and he has fun. What more can I ask for? Want to know what's happening on the sidelines while Mathew plays? I'm glad you do, because I have pictures of that too.



The nice weather has also encouraged the kids to enjoy some much needed time playing out in the backyard. Thank heavens for a fenced-in backyard and a playground. I can't tell you how nice it is to send the kids outside and listen to their blissfully muted squeals through a sheet of glass. Nathaniel is proving to be the master of tantrums when he doesn't get to join the kids outside. This little boy has strong opinions about what he wants, and they WILL be heard. Here's what Nater looks like when the kids decide to go outside without him.



And here's what he expects once I cave into his screams and let him outside.



That's him, begging me to come pick him up so he can dunk the ball over, and over, and over, and over again. Trust me, it's only cute about 5 times. I can't wait until he's tall enough to do it on his own. The upside is that I'm developing some pretty impressive biceps muscles!

That wraps up our Spring festivities so far; but trust me, there will be much more to come! For those of you nearby, I hope you've all been enjoying the warmer (if not horribly temperamental) weather! If you live somewhere that has not been seeing nice weather, I'm sorry. If you live somewhere that has been seeing nothing BUT nice weather, I don't want to hear about it. Let me enjoy my little corner of the world like it's the best and only thing that exists. Happy Spring!

Celebrating 5!

Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that I was blogging about Mathew's 4th birthday?? It just doesn't make sense to me that he's already 5. I must be losing my mind. Every year seems to go by faster. Anyway... whether I want to believe it or not, Mathew did indeed turn 5 just a few short days ago, and I suppose I need to just accept it. However, let's not talk about how I'm having to fill out paperwork for him to start Kindergarten this year, because I just can't talk about that one without crying yet.

Mathew's birthday most fortunately fell on one of the rare days Brandon was home to enjoy it with us. We didn't plan any raging parties and instead opted to simply take him to breakfast at IHOP, which to him is as good as any dumb ol' birthday party (or I'd like to pretend that's the case so I don't feel like a bad parent.) After spending an undisclosed, yet ridiculously large amount of money on breakfast (eating out is getting WAY too expensive), we decided that we would save the remainder of his birthday fun for the following Saturday, and go home for a nice, long nap. However, just because I'm not big into throwing parties, doesn't mean that other people are as lame as I am. Lucky for Mathew, his birthday buddy, Jared - who was born on the exact same day - has some pretty freakin' awesome parents who are willing to go all out and rent Bouncin' Off the Walls for their son's 5th birthday enjoyment. So, you see, it was easy to convince Mathew that this fabulous party was for his own birthday as much as Jared's. I probably owe his parents some money...
The following pictures are proof that he did indeed have a little fun on his birthday.

Here's Mathew with his awesome birthday buddy, Jared. I love this picture. Don't ask me what Mathew's doing... who knows? My guess is that he's bustin' a move. Go Mathew! It's your birthday!



More picture fun...



Unfortunately, I was not as lucky as Brandon and did not have Mathew's birthday off work. So we had to rush from the party early (before cake, ice cream, or presents were enjoyed) pick up Mathew's favorite for dinner - HAMBURGERS - and I enjoyed my solitary burger on the way to work while the kids enjoyed the remainder of Mathew's birthday alone with Daddy. But never fear! Cake, ice cream, and presents will be enjoyed!

Saturday was our day of celebration for Mathew. We took Mathew out for lunch, and were almost nice enough to let him choose the place. Almost. Mathew announced that he wanted to eat at McDonald's, and then that plan went out the window. So instead, we all went to Chili's and Mathew ENJOYED IT, whether he wanted to or not!



After lunch, we piled into an overcrowded and noisy theater to watch Monsters vs Aliens with all the other people who wanted to seek fun out of the snow... yes, snow. It is April... right? Just making sure. Anyway, Mathew fully enjoyed his popcorn and Root Beer, and later declared the movie as "SILLY". That's his review, take it or leave it. We then headed to Toys R Us, where Mathew picked out the coolest race track he could find - within the $20-$30 range, that is.



Pretty cool, eh? He thinks so anyway, and that's all that matters. I must shamefully admit that my lack of cool birthday party-ish abilities also extend to birthday cakes. "Baker" isn't exactly listed on my domestic resume, so we also headed over to Harmons and let Mathew choose among the many awesome cakes which one would commemorate his 5th birthday. Want to see his choice??



Yes, that's right!! Mathew passed up awesome cakes of Spiderman, Diego, and Thomas for this very cake. Why, you ask? Because all he wanted was a chocolate cake. *sniff...sniff* I've never been so proud. He really is my boy.

So maybe it was low-key and not very exciting; but if you ask Mathew, he had a super-cool birthday, and I'm grateful that my son is perfectly happy with the plans his unmotivated parents mustered up. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATHEW!!