our spring has been a little bipolar and can't seem to decide which season it wants to grab hold of.  i think we have had more snow in the last couple of weeks than the rest of the winter....needless to say, we are ready to be warm and get outside and moving.

today, the kids had the day off of school and last night, eric announced that we were venturing off to an alpaca farm with some boy scouts from our ward.  we were excited about this idea because we have been interested in alpacas for a long time and with our dreams of owning our own farm one day, they have been a part of our "dreams" for a long time.  it was a really fun visit in the sunshine and i loved watching the kids interact with the animals.  they were made to be farm kids and i just can't wait for the time (hopefully) when we will get to live out this part of our dreams.

the kids have spent all afternoon with outside shenanigans

mama chicken and her chickies and papa taz watching over them.

josh talks to me all day long.  no really....all. day. long.  he just runs through his dialogue and i suppose that i tune in and out depending on what i am doing.  he talks about school, his toys, sings taylor swift songs, and what he is teaching himself on the piano but most of all, he talks about his 'friends'.  josh's 'friends' do horrendous things.  mostly things josh himself really wishes he could do.

yesterday, as i ran on the treadmill in mom's basement and watched adam and josh play within the barricade that i had set up for their own safety,  josh walked back and forth balancing on the back of the couch and with his finger tips using the ceiling for extra balance.  as he wobbled back and forth on the edge, he spoke easily about his 'friends'.  here are some facts about them you might not know:

'my friends always tell lies.'
'my friends can cook anything.'
'my friends can cook all by their-selfs....without any grown-ups.'
'new-jordan (his best imaginary friend) died....but then he got resurrected....so he's back.'
'my friends steal.'
'my friends can eat all the candy they want.'

apparently, he doesn't have the best taste in friends.

my caleb

i am a lucky women to have such great boys around me!  caleb was my first son and stole my heart as soon as he entered this planet!  i love him to pieces as do many others.  we just celebrated caleb's 7th birthday with family and invited his best friend jordan and his family to share a barbeque and icecream cake.  a fun day for a very special boy!  7 things i love about caleb:

1. caleb has a quiet charm about him....he loves his family and friends and is fiercely loyal to them.
2.  caleb is a thinker....he has an inquisitive mind and loves to find out how things work and is always asking "why".
3.  caleb has a tender heart.  he cares very much about the people around him especially his siblings and is a great big brother.
4.  caleb loves to be active.  he loves riding his bike, playing basketball and baseball and running races and is excited to try rugby this summer.
5. caleb is an inventer, builder and architect....whether it is out of wood and nails, snap circuits, legos, or paper, scissors and tape, he is always coming up with "inventions".
6.  caleb doesn't run away from things that are hard.  he tries and is persistent and usually comes off victorious!
7.  caleb believes is praying.  he is good at it and receives answers to his prayers.

my caleb, i love you to pieces and i am so so so proud of you.  you are such a special part of our family and we love watching you growing up to be such a stellar young man!  seven suits you well!

Easters

catching up on the last month, we had a lovely easter.  it was quite funny because it was the first easter in our almost ten years of marriage that we spent by ourselves without any other family!! and we really enjoyed the quiet holiday and making it special ourselves.  we had the traditional hunt, a few new things for church, and some great friends (the riches) over for an easter lunch.  they brought some serious entertainment in the form of a rocket that we let off in the field and it was a total hit!  can't beat that!  here are the pictures....

 josh needed a map to help find eggs and adam was equally impressed each time he found one....

there were LOTS of stickers in the field!!!

porter sadly payed the price by going out barefoot:(

a good day.  it was declared by all at dinner as we did our nightly "bests" and "worsts" of the day and none of us had a worst moment.  i love evening meals sitting around the dinner table chatting especially when eric is home by dinner time which isn't that often and as the summer comes around it will become a memory.  the kids are always excited to share their news.  joshie has taken over the tradition somewhat and usually gets it going....mostly because i think he is bursting to share his news of the day which is usually a visit with grandma.  my best--which eric and i shared--was a walk around costco at midday with my sweetheart and two youngest boys having more than our share of samples...yes, we may have been one of THOSE people who went back for seconds.  in our defense, we are suckers for what they are promoting and filled our cart with things we didn't go there to buy.

i love getting to see eric in the middle of the day every once in a while.  i find it grounding.  adam was a bit of a grouch  but he did sleep well which made him more tolerable.  maryn went to share a birthday with a friend and caleb enjoyed his reading group at school.

i am so grately for average, ordinary days.   i am grateful too when my family is happy and content and the days when there is more of that than arguing and fighting.

that is all.