I Thought It Was Spring!

We woke up Sunday morning and this was the view of our backyard.



A pair of cardinals tried to keep warm.

By afternoon things had begun to melt away.

And now its there's not a trace of snow left. Makes me wish I hadn't bothered shoveling Sunday morning.

Next we have an action sequence. I was able to pick up a digital SLR on eBay which allows me to take shots in rapid succession. I've had fun playing around with all the settings and am already dreaming of the other lenses I'd like.




Becca made an unexpected apperance in this one.


Reading remains a favorite pastime.



As is general goofiness.

We end with Patrick acting somewhat serious.

Fun in Columbus

We headed east to visit some cousin's this weekend. It was a fun-filled four days while Mike went to South Bend to help my brother. We went to the Columbus Zoo with the Venias and the kids had a blast.

They had a restored carousel that everyone rode, except for Becca. She won't sit on the horse.




But she did enjoy the stroller with Clara.

Patrick and Liam spent a lot of time together just being boys.

The weather was great and we were outside a lot. Becca even allowed her aunts to hold her for awhile.


Did I mention that four of the 7 children were 3? Here they are in the following pictures.



This rock was a great source of entertainment.

Patrick found this trumpamaphone shortly after arriving. It can transform from a trumpet to a saxophone.

With four birthdays in March we naturally opened presents. Patrick was there to help.

Clara has fallen in love with all things horse.

And Erin likes them too.

John was very excited about his Transformer.

And Liam loved his tool set, but it did cause some fights later in the weekend.

After we got home, Becca needed a break from being sweet and brought out her "bad" side.

Last Tuesday we went to the Peoria St. Patrick's Day parade with the Showalter girls. It was long and the kids were tired at the end, but boy did they get a lot of candy.

Thank you to my sisters: Elizabeth for hosting us; Pat for flying in; and Maureen for driving across town to see us. The only dark spot on the trip was that Patrick threw up twice in the car within 40 miles of Columbus. After two shirt changes I stopped in at a Wal-mart and bought a bucket, which he never used. He had a fever and felt kinda dumpy until about mid-morning Monday, when he suddenly got up off the couch and ran around. Becca managed to have two! teeth break through over the weekend and thus was not too happy about life. We were all thrilled to see Mike again when we reunited in Washington. That's about all for the week.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

We brought home some balloons from a birthday party and the kids have had a blast with them.

Here Mike shows off his balloon tricks.

And Becca watches!

Being the big dork that he is, Mike decided to find the neutral buoyancy of some toys.

Here's the little guy in flight.

What week would be complete without fighting over who gets to hide in the cabinet?


Patrick showed Becca how to rock out on the guitar.

I even got a video of them singing.

We Got a New Door!!!

After months of planning we finally got our new front door yesterday! The window is smaller and we no longer have cold drafts in the living room. It looks rather boring now but it will be painted a nice, bold color very soon.

On the down side, this is our back yard. It has rained a lot in the last 24 hours and the creek behind our house is moving very fast.

The kids continue to grow and explore new things. Mike took several picture of Becca moving and climbing on the little white chairs.


And isn't she proud of herself? Or maybe just happy to see Dad.

Patrick once again displayed is building skills with his Legos.


Becca and Gertie (her doll) enjoyed a nice moment in the rocking chair.

While I slaved over the dinner dishes, Patrick stole my sweatshirt and the kid proceeded to chase each other around the house.


I guess Becca got tired.

Right before bed, Patrick likes to catch up on local and world affairs.

Never a dull moment at our house! The vocabulary at our house keeps me guessing. Patrick keeps talking about a "consuit" whatever that is, and Becca is doing animal calls and naming body parts.
The funniest quote of this week has to be from Patrick. We saw some bikes at the store when we were running around last week, which he quickly pointed out. I told him Dad was the one to talk to about bike. SO the next night, after Becca had gone to bed, Patrick climbed into his father's lap and said "They have bikes at K-Mart. We can go get one, we can!" Mike told me he had to hold in his laugh because Patrick looked so serious. Patrick never misses an opportunity to re-open the subject.