Crazy Little Thing Called Life

best tulips ever.

Monday we decided to visit the tulips.
Very last minute.  It's the ONLY night during the week when everyone's home.
And needless to say, the kids were thrilled.

It was nice and cloudy...and nobody was there.  
Late on Monday definitely beats the weekends!!

It started out very normal...

And then one of my children got in a snit.  I'll let you figure out which one by the pictures.  Who knew a snit could yield such funny photos?

And my husband got the idea that everyone should choose a pose for the group photo.

This is the "Belle doesn't know she's being mocked and photo-bombed" pose.
AKA...pre-cursor to the snit.
Oops, did I give it away?

The Captain Morgan pose.
The snit is brewing...still at the fake it and smile for pictures phase.

Oh here we go.
Shelby's choice...the ever-popuar "let's make a muscle" pose.
Hmmmm....who is NOT participating?

Ian's choice..."stand like goobers with hands in our pockets" pose.
Hmmmmm...who's not being a goober with pocketed hands????

So then we did some sister pictures.

Which I really love....

:)

Another choice by Ian..."the thinkers"....(plus one non-thinker).

And mine..."smooch my daughters" pose.

This one I love because I think it looks like one of those pull-down poster backgrounds at the WalMart photo department...with the boys standing in front of it.

She would smile for her Dad...
Everyone else was "picking on her".  Whatever.  Don't know what she's talking about.

The end.

Missed you at the tulips Luke...and I know you were so sad not to be there.
Happy Wednesday!

 

Easter....

The traditional before church photo...

Missing Luke...he was at Grandpa & Grandma's in Iowa for Easter.

handsome boy... <3

The Easter egg hiders...

Easter basket booty...

And that's all I dare do.  Typepad is being super wonky...not wanting to load pictures or post to Facebook.  Ugh.

Happy Tuesday...off to Starbucks with Mom.
Have a safe trip back Luke...text me when you get there :)

 

 

 

 

 

the weekend...minus Easter...I'm saving that for tomorrow...

1.  There was baseball.

This boy had a couple of good hits...plus he pitched 3 innings and got 8 out of 9 outs!
Woohooo Ian!! :)  (And good job Clay catching that fly ball for the 9th).  

2.  There was yard work.

The hedges are officially done.  Such a big yucky job.
The plum tree is pruned.  The Preen has been applied.

And these little pots from last year:

came back!  I have 4 of them...and even if they were perennial plants, I had my doubts.  In fact, I almost threw them out about a month ago.  They were D-E-D looking.  
Brown, ugly...not coming back.
But they did.  And I'm so excited. :)

3.  A badminton net was raised.

Not a very good net.  Nor a very tall net.
Belle put it all together...and several rousing rounds of badminton were had by all.

This is my "I'm waiting for the birdy-thing pose".

4.  Easter eggs were stuffed.

And Easter Peep cupcakes were baked:

5.  And there was PROM. :)

And when I asked for a 'nice' picture...this is what I got....

Love you Shelby...so glad you had a great time. <3

Happy Monday...
Drive safe back to school Luke...glad you had a fun Easter!

have a blessed Easter weekend!

Shelby is off to prom...

The ham is thawing...(please be thawed by tomorrow)...

Looking forward to Easter Sunday tomorrow. :)

Happy happy Easter to you!

Quick on Thursday...

1.  Mission accomplished.

No sneaky pictures yet...BUT we got the dress, the shoes, & the jewelry!  Done.
And she is going to look soooooo pretty. :)  But I'm biased that way.
AND, she let her sister come along on the shopping expedition.  And both sisters survived.  huh.

2.  It's one of those afternoons.

The 'be in 3 different places at once' kind.
Somehow it will all work out...it always does.

3.  Oh how I hate painting.

Priming is the worst.  Priming new drywall is the worsty-worst.
I found the primer made for new drywall AFTER I was done.  Of course.
Actually I take it back.  Priming new ceiling drywall is worstiest-worst.  Because then it spatters in your face.  (Because I couldn't find the extension pole for the roller.)

One nice thing...the ceiling paint that goes on pinky-purple, and dries white.
Lovely stuff.  You can see where you've been.  Why couldn't I have been the person who invented that?  Genius.

One other nice thing...the main color I chose for the bathroom is going to work.  I did a sample patch and I like it.  Yay!  You know how you pick a color from those little swatches...pay $35 for a gallon of paint...get it on the wall & hate it...then have to buy more paint?  Not this time!  ha!  
I feel like I've won a major victory here, but I'm not sure why.

4.  Disappointment.

Was a rerun Monday night.  Egads!  Don't they know we are waiting for Tom to know that Lizzy knows that he knows???

In other disappointing news...there is absolutely nothing on on Wednesday nights.
So I caught up on The Originals and Call the Midwife.  

5.  Joann's...

Has new scrapbooking stuff.  Don't fall over.
Some new Teresa Collins stamps...and tons of new Heidi Swapp goodies.
Thanks Alissa, for the tip.  You cost me $50.  (But it's all on sale, so it's a good $50!)

Have a fabulous Thursday....
Good job on the scholarship Luke :)

it's baseball season....

Which means the rain will start soon, no doubt.

Ian's team had their first game last night:

Ian did a good job pitching. :)

They lost. :(  Oh well...next chance, this Saturday.

The kids have early release today.  Joy.

Shelby informed me YESTERDAY that she's going to prom with her group of girlfriends.
(Prom is Saturday.)
So today we are going dress shopping.  Should be a hoot.
Ha.  Wish us luck!

Happy Wednesday...did you watch SHIELD Luke?

tuesday's news...

1. hmmm.....

I bought a 3 bag combo set at Fred Meyer for $20.  One had a hole and lost suction (I emailed Ziploc...they were awesome, called, emailed, and are sending me a replacement bag.)  The large one I made the mistake of sitting on my closet floor.
The cats then saw it as a jumping off place for the closet shelves, and it was full of holes in no time. :(
Now this morning the jumbo one has lost suction.  Not sure why...it was up in a high place.  Hmmmm.....I know it has 2 little holes in it.  I can hear the air escaping after I suck it down.  Duck tape doesn't work.  
So frustrated.  Should have taken my $20 and just sucked it up the vacuum. :(
I love the concept...wondering if a different brand would be better?

2.  Happier news...

The Groupon this morning was for personalized M&M's!  Perfect for Shelby's graduation party.  It was $15 for $30 worth.  Woohoo......

3.  Starbucks with Mom.

Always love Tuesdays...a nice hot chocolate, and then some errands in Bellingham.
I want to finish up the kid's Easter baskets, and I need to pick up some ceiling paint.
We are remodeling the main floor bathroom.  It will be a home for Ian's toothbrush and deodorant...and where he showers, but it won't be HIS bathroom.  Does that make sense?   I'm going to try to keep it nice and more of a guest bath.  
Ian is MUCH neater than the previous occupant (coughcoughBELLEcoughcough)...so it should be ok.

Belle will move into Shelby's bathroom down the basement...but only after July when she leaves for West Point.  I think she has already painted and decorated it 12 times in her head.  The latest color scheme is yellow and gray.  We shall see.

4.  Random date night photos....

Belle always does some interesting angles...

Is your neck crinked yet?

Ah, that's better.

Happy Tuesday.  Happy Tax Day.  And Happy Birthday to my brother Karl! :)
Do your homework Luke...are you starting to get packed?  Not much longer....

another one of those...

Blink and it's Monday again weekends.

Friday night was Mother/Son dodgeball at Ian's elementary school.  
And I'll admit, it was NOT my idea to go.  But I am SO glad I went. :)
We had a blast!

My good friend Shauna & me after dodging and throwing.  They had hot dogs & chips for afterwards.  So fun. :)

Ian & his buddies...Lane (left) and Cameron (right).

Belle had soccer games on Saturday & Sunday...

They lost :(  So they will have optional practices...and a break for a bit until try outs next month, for next year.

Shelby had a track meet 3+ hours away on Saturday.  Iz & Ian went...she won with a throw of 123-something, I think.  She's just frustrated, as she wants to pass her best mark of last year.  
Then they all got stuck in traffic on the way home...2 hours of sitting due to power lines down on the road.  Ugh.  I think they got home at midnight.

And randomly...it's finally feeling like spring!
The sun has been out (although they're calling for rain the rest of the week)...and the spring colors are so pretty. :)

Love these colors too...

Happy Monday...
Hope you got your paper done Luke...you know, somewhere in the middle of watching 17 episodes of SHIELD?