Random May Moments

So these are some random May moments. I have finally gotten around to pulling off all 400+ pictures off my phone and these are the last to share.

The new attire someone special will be wearing to his next A's game. You can see for yourself he LOVES it.

The girls made a friend during science week.

This was the day we were all sick. It hit me in the morning. Dave stayed home to take care of the kids, to get them to school, and Ava's filed trip. He got sick seconds before leaving. The kids seemed fine until they got home from their respective places. Within an hour they were throwing up too. Good times.

This was a gift from a friend. It is size 18 months and has not been washed. My nine month old is a giant.

He who control the remote wins---> WINNING!

Ava geared up for her friend's party in a castle in the park yesterday.

While she was playing princess and running around Olivia and Nick were catching crawfish with hot dogs. They were loving it. When Ava's party ended all the kids fished, rode the rides, had lunch, and fished some more.

Ava's Farm Trip

My farm girl went on a school field trip.

This is her best friend.

These are her other best friends- worms.

The bouquet Ava picket for me. My sweet girl.

Barn song and dance.

Besties with the hugs... and it's a boy. Usually Ava won't sit next to a boy.

Crushing corn for the birds.

And petting and holding the baby chicks, the best part of the day.

Easter

Easter, we practiced for the hunt several weeks in a row... The girls were so excited checked the window every morning when they would wake up to see if the eggs had yet been dropped on our back lawn. Finally the day was here. The Easter Bunny came and he was good this year. Or was it the kids? Not really sure... There's a lot of pictures so I'm leaving descriptions off.

After the big bash at home we headed to Juli's for another party. More pictures with some descriptions.

 Liv getting to ride the horse.

 Ava chatting up the cowboy.

 And away she goes.

 Ava's looking to see how far down it really is.

Dave the baby whisperer. This other baby is 3 months old and was crying. Dave picked him up and he quieted down. Gavin on the other hand isn't too happy with sharing.

 Sooo Happy!

 And the finally hunt for eggs this year.

 Appropriately there was a bunny there!

Gavin got his first taste at pulling out bunny fur.

New Year's Eve 2011

Instead of going to bed at 9 o'clock like a couple of old farts we decided to go up to the cabin and spend New Years weekend with our friends. Given that this is Gavin's first New Year it should be somewhat special right?

When we got there it was still a little nippy out so the kids took off in their jackets to walk the dogs.

By the afternoon they were climbing trees, riding bikes, raking leaves into huge piles and running through them, shoveling rocks to make a pathway with some pavers, and having a grand ol' time.

Nick can ride now without training wheels. Way to go!

Ava will be an expert tree trimmer one day!

And here's the happy family BEFORE the chaos starts.

So New Years Eve day Rachael and I take off to go have some girls time without the kids and we head out to lunch leaving the kids and the men with chores. We were gone a few hours and when we got back everything was done. It was awesome. Everyone followed directions, they ate some popcorn for being so great, and then it was getting dark so they all came inside.

This is when Olivia tells me she has a headache. Of course we don't have any pain reliever up in the middle of nowhere so I check her head and there's the fever. Again. We cannot seem to catch a break this winter with the stupid colds. So I have her lay down for awhile until dinner. As we are sitting around marveling over how good the Honey Baked Ham is... Olivia coughs. You know the cough that is usually followed with vomit. So we whisk her away from the table and put her to be with a washcloth apologizing to her for such a miserable New Years Eve. The hours roll on and now it's around 9Pm and the other two kids are getting cranky. Nick ends up in timeout so I put Ava to bed which leads to Nick going to bed too. I check on Olivia and her fever has broken and she is now sleeping. Yea let the good times roll right? No.

Midnight hits and we all celebrate and then a few minutes later Ava comes running out of the room and throws up. Can't take my kids anywhere the little pukers. She proceeds to barf until 2AM. So not only did Dave and I get any action on New Years Eve but we also slept in separate rooms so that he could hold the bowl while Ava threw up while I stayed with the baby in the other room to keep him from getting sick.

So the next day we head home, all kids feeling better, and once home everything that day and night go back to normal. Then the next night the kids go to bed and Olivia comes running out and throws up. Really? Have we not had enough vomit for 2012? Apparently not. I guess this is how we will be spending the next year... Yea, I say most sarcastically.

Fun Times

 Juli came to visit the baby and brought-

 the bunny. See the pure joy of 5 hours of fun with the bunny on Liv's face?

 See the joy on my face as one kid sleeps.

 Look at that cute little mug. Cutest little baby in the world. I can say that. I am the mom.

 He is also a Saint's fan like his father and Uncle Scott.

This picture is just to reference his size. Gavin is almost as long as the changing pad. I gave birth to that without an epidural. Ouch.