Interview With Ryan and Juls

	Ryan (age 7)	Julia (age 5)
When are you (or have you been) most afraid?	When I see a spider.	At nighttime of ghostes.
What was the happiest day of your life?	Every time Aunt Amy buys candy for us.	The days when I get to play with friends, like Ella getting to jump on her trampoline.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?	Our backyard into um, like we have this real train that goes in the ground into the zoo and other railroads.	Uh, I don’t know. Now I know. I want to change the day to be longer, to get to play with friends longer. Like Lexi when she has stuff to do. Like after ballet I would make the day longer so we could play and it not be bedtime.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?	I would be a baby and carried around by dad. And I would like to be 29 already. Because I will be an adult. And I will have friends over and ride bikes at night while kids are asleep. Eat candy all the time, and that’s all.	Getting to have a puppy.
What is the one thing you could not live without?	Baby Emerson. TV. Candy.Donuts. Aunt Amy and Uncle Jeff. Everyone. All my friends. Cinnamon rolls. Cereal.	Without my mommy. And without daddy too.
What is your favorite movie?	Lego movies.	My favorite movie is Barbie.
What cartoon character would you most like to be?	Lego Ninjango.	Analise from Barbie Princess and the Pauper.
What is the worst thing about being 7 (or 5)years old?	You don’t get to ride bikes when it is nighttime when Julia is asleep. And I don’t get to have parties or anything. Because I am a little bit older to par-tay!	Is that I don’t get to climb a tree like my brother. And I want to climb it, but I can’t.
Describe your perfect day.	Like when we go swimming and we get all sugared up. When we have a birthday party. When I get like 100 Legos. When I can watch TV all day.	Play with friends all day long.
What job would you like to have when you grow up?	Watch the kids, because I am going to get married. Like, the mom could go to work.	I just want to stay home at your house. I don’t want to be a mommy and I don’t want to marry anybody. I just want to stay here with you.
Who are your best friends and why?	Nicolas because he likes to ride bikes and he likes to play costumes with me. Andrew because he has like this Xbox thingie and when he came over he played skylanders with me. Bubba and Doodah because they have electric scooter they let me ride and it is so fun. Cooper but we never play much with him. Ali and Eman because Ali lets me swim in his pool and Eman because one time we came to her house and we were playing chase the girls. Tyler because we like to play soccer with each other and we are best friends.	Lexi and Ella and Jackson and Jacob and Tyler and Bubba and Doodah. Why? I don’t know. I just like them.

Easter 2012

HAPPY EASTER!

Coloring Eggs & Hunt

Because my parents are getting older, losing their minds, such great grandparents, they invite the kids over the week before Easter to practice our egg hunting skills and decorate eggs.

It's an event my kids look forward to every year!
This picture is proof if I actually get a pic with the kids really smiling, I will never see their eyes. Arph!

Lucas and Ry get ready for the big hunt.

Aunt Beth supervises artistic Julia from decorating the counter and her shirt in addition to her egg.

Ryan is super proud of this rainbow egg he creates.

Happy almost Easter!

Sister Love

A sister is a best friend for life! 

Soccer Time!

Today marked the start of spring soccer games.  Mother Nature conveniently cooperated, and we all enjoyed an awesome day outside cheering on our little athletes.

Ry guy jumped right in on the action.

Juls had to have a little pep talk from Daddy to get moving.  During the warmup, she bumped heads with another player and then was convinced that this was just too rough of a sport for her.

Daddy did a good job motivating!  She was on the move!

Of course, snacks at the end of the game will probably always be a favorite tradition.  Juls and her teammate Jackson pose for me.

Ryan is sooo excited to have his friend from school, Tyler, on his team this year.

Tyler, Julia, Jake and Ryan playing around post game begging us to bring them for some ice cream.  How can you say no to these faces??! =)

Watch Out, Picasso!

Ry's art teacher, Mr. English chose one piece of artwork from each grade at the school, and guess which artist's piece he chose to represent 1st grade!!?
Our RYAN!  The same kid who in preschool during art time would sit under the table!  He's come a long way, baby!
He was super excited (as were we!) to be invited to a reception to view his art at the Edwardsville Arts Center gallery tonight.  They gave him a special tag to wear so that he could answer any questions people had about his piece.
I overheard him telling someone that he worked for a long time on this piece, which had the Disney Cruise Ship and Batman/Mickey featured.  In fact, he said, "Yeah, it took me years to finish!"
Awesome job, Ry guy!

E = 6 mos!

Our sweet baby E is 6 months old today!
Seems impossible!

Emerson, you bring so much joy to our family!
Your smile is contagious.
Like your brother and your daddy, you smile even with your eyes!

You are full of sweetness!

You love to play...especially with this diamond ring Gram/Papa gave you for Christmas!

You are also super inquisitive...
...your brother and sister give you lots to look at and think about! 

Kindergarten Registration

My "first" baby girl starts kindergarten next year.
Gasp!
The days sure go slow (sometimes!), but the years so so fast!

Jul was SO EXCITED.
She wants to start TOMORROW!

Rolling Over!

Life as we know it has changed...Emerson is rolling!
All.
Over.
The.
Place!

1st Lake Trip of 2012

Amy and Jeff had the fantastic idea of heading to the lake this weekend to take advantage of the unseasonably warm temps we've had lately.  We couldn't resist joining them!
Emerson enjoyed her first boat ride...it put her right to sleep!

Juls is so excited she asks if she can get in.  Uncle Jeff confirms the temp of the water is still in the upper 50's, so we nix that idea!

Uncle Jeff chillaxin.

Daddy and Juls navigating.

Our new captain Ryan!

The guys and kids later went fishing, shopped for candy treats at the gas station, and took a 2 mile hike, and Amy and I got some mega shopping done with Emerson...our second outlet mall visit in 2 days.  You can never go enough, right?! A super fun + relaxing weekend!

Papa Visit

The kids participated in the Awana Sparks-a-Rama today in Highland.
Since it is rare we make it to Highland these days, we took the opportunity to run to my dad's gravesite.
Ry and Julia thought it was very important to add some "flowers" (weeds) by his headstone.

Catching A Leprechaun

If you want to catch a leprechaun, you need to build a trap.

Apparently leprechauns are mischievous (says Ryan), and the "rules" are meant to be broken.

And since they can't fly, you will need to build a ladder to entice them up to your "pot of gold"...
Ours consists of $6 Ryan had in his wallet, and the $20 he talked his sister out of, although her first response was "No! I'm saving mine for Disney!" after Daddy said leprechauns are tricky and he didn't want to risk any of his cash for this mission. Ryan is quite the persuader!

So the kids are banking on the fact our tricky leprechaun will climb to the top, and fall through the "fake" floor where they will capture him.

Exciting times here, I tell ya! =)

Upward Bound Basketball

Tonight was the Upward Bound Basketball Award Ceremony.
The boys were given bags for their efforts this season.  Ry told us he was really hoping for a medal or trophy. =)
Julia (5), Andrew (3), Ryan (7) Polar Bear Team, Jake (5) Kangaroo Team.

Happy Birthday Daddy and Juls