Thankfully, we have finally kicked whatever cold bug that knocked us out for the entirety of April!  We have moved on to May, one of our biggest months of the year between birthdays, Mother's Day, and the end of school!

We've officially started on the chore train recently and the kids are absolutely loving their newfound cash.  It sure burns a hole in their pockets, though, and I can almost see them get the shakes until they get to a store.  Next lesson is saving, though it's one I'm currently trying to master myself!  $3 doesn't buy much, but it did cover the cost of these awesome markers which crystallize in the sun.  Markers sure have come a long way since I was a kid!


Harrison has recently begun to be interested in Thomas the Tank Engine.  It gives Anthony and I such poignant nostalgia.  We have spent countless hours building train tracks and it is so sweet to be able to relive it with a toddler again!  Choo choo!


This little guy is so speedy, we have to have everything on lockdown, including clothing.  If there are no pants on, it must mean that he doesn't have to wear a diaper, right?  At least the view is delectable!


We got a short stint of nice weather a few weeks ago, and we made sure to make the most of it by hooking up some water for the trampoline!  I know we're on borrowed time when it comes to injuries on this thing...we are overdue!


We took the kids to a school family fun night.  They had a blast, but Harrison was soooo put out that he couldn't be involved in anything fun.


Harrison loves the ducky Alaina got for Easter.


When he thinks something is cute, he makes this face and a high pitched whimper before giving it a love.


Going in for the real thing!  I wish he was this sweet with me!


Speaking of being not-so-sweet, these little boys raked me over the coals one day a few weeks ago. We were playing with sidewalk chalk when I got a text message that I had to respond to an email.  Since they were right by the back door, I left the door open, and ran inside for about 45 seconds to send the email off.  When I came back outside, I discovered that not only had they been snacking on the chalk, but that they had drawn all over Anthony's tan grill cover.  Yeah, I see that chalk, buddy.


So then I bring the boys inside and give them their sippy cups so they can have a drink while I fold some laundry at the table (with loud music on in hopes that they'd dance).  They were standing under the table
when I hear them giggle, so I looked underneath it and they were having a ball spitting their milk in each other's faces.  Harrison was pretty upset they had to go to time out.




After that, they got a soda out of a cabinet and threw it so it busted all over the kitchen floor.  At that point, it wasn't cute anymore, so no pics of that.  Then, that evening, Harrison opened the box of unfrozen Otter Pops in the pantry, and shook a row of them, splashing all of the cupboards with sticky popsicle juice.  I don't have any more room in my high-up cupboards.  Send help!

In mid-April, the rain set it.  I've always known that I would totally get depressed living somewhere dreary and rainy, but it's always been a question just how long it would take.  Well, we've found out.  The rain was pretty the first week, appreciated for the precipitation in week two, and life-sucking in week 3.  I am so ready to feel some sunshine on my shoulders!

The beauty of the internet is that it's really easy to rewrite history.  Like, for example, how I'm going to put these Easter Egg dying photos first, indicating that I am put-together enough to get them done before Easter.  The reality is that things just kept popping up and we didn't actually get around to dying them until the day after Easter and Connor's in pajamas because he was home sick, but we'll just forget about those minor details.


Easter is Alaina's favorite holiday next to Christmas.  There's just the right combination of crafts, cute cuddly things, sunshine, and fun colors that makes her look forward to it year-round.


We enjoyed our second-annual Easter Egg hunt with the Jones' and Ryan's family.




I love babies doing Easter Egg hunts.  There's nothing cuter than having them discover what's in the eggs, and then all that matters is eating its contents NOW.










Of  course, Harrison had to open every egg as he found it.


After the hunt, we let the kids play and had some lunch.  Harrison dined on the finest of sand.




Anthony brought home a cold from his most recent trip, and I could tell I was feeling run down by Saturday night.  The kids are lucky that the Easter Bunny was still brave enough to come into our den of illness.  I woke up Sunday feeling like I'd been hit by a truck, and may have broken down into sobs after I had laundered, pressed, and dressed the kids for Easter, argued with Connor for the tenth time about nothing, asked Alaina to hurry up a few dozen times, candy the nuts that I had forgotten about for the salad I was making, then someone left the trash unlocked and Harrison covered himself in blueberry juice just minutes before we had to leave (I had kept him in his pajamas all morning to avoid him staining his new outfit).  But there's no pictures of that.  Because I like to rewrite history so it's just a little bit prettier.

Things around here have been chugging along.  I survived (barely) the three weeks without Anthony, but I think I had PTSD by the time he got home!

These little hooligans have been dubbed "Double Trouble" when they're together, because that's just what they are!  Their favorite thing is to wait until I'm otherwise occupied with something (and I don't try to get much done when they're awake!), go behind the sofa, and engage in all sorts of naughtiness, like taking off their pants to pee in the window sill or showcasing their artistic talents with markers that the big kids drop on the floor all over the windows and blinds.  At least I can keep them happily contained for a few minutes by transforming Harrison's crib into a fort with a fitted sheet when I need to do jobs like toilet scrubbing!




Ever since Alaina's been little, she's loved to sit and watch cookies bake.  Looks like I've got two tiny bakers now!


The weather in March was mostly beautiful and warm, making neighborhood walks and trips to the river appear in our schedule early this year!








Alaina had her first school performance.  She was so nervous about performing her line, and I would be, too!  She got the longest line of all: "The six social values of the traditional games were, and still are, highly important"!  She did it perfectly in 2/3 performances and dozens of times at home, but her eye caught mine as she spoke at the parents' performance, she got nervous, and missed a word.  With that line, though, nobody noticed!




Taking this wildman anywhere where quiet is expected is an exercise in patience, ninja skills, and emergency candy preparation.


This is a pretty accurate description of spring in Colorado...seventy degree temps the day after a 6-inch snowstorm, ice cream on a patio after playing at a snowpacked park.


Future gamer


It did snow a few times this winter, and the latest one was too blustery to enjoy outside, so we brought the snow in.  I don't know if I win "Mom of the Year" or "Numbskull of the Year" for thinking it would be a great idea to make snow-cones with red Kool-Aid inside, but we all survived and got a treat nonetheless.


Harrison is the king of beggars and hounds people who  are eating anything by saying, "Bite bite!  Buh buh bite!  Buh buh buh bite BITE!" until you put something in his mouth.


Gotta say, snow cones made with real snow are THE BEST.

To say that things have been busy around here is an understatement, but it seems like everyone can relate!  We've been adjusting to me trying to learn the ropes as an internet assessor and watching another toddler three times a week, and Anthony has been just as overwhelmed preparing for and giving a FIFTY minute presentation at his company's summit this week.  He travels to Palm Springs next week, then Michigan the next (during spring break, so it's all Mama, all the time!), so it doesn't look like this pace is going to let up for a while!

Once I got the job for Lionbridge, I decided the easiest way to get the work done would be to wake up at 6:00, a full hour and a half before Harrison.  He must have some Broadhead in him and must have checked my alarm before he went to bed, because he's been getting up at 5:30, grumpy as a bear.  It's difficult to juggle him and working, so I don't get much done.  Here he is, insisting on helping me with rating some songs.


January and February pretty much decided not to show up this year, and I am so grateful for the warm days to get the kids out of the house!  Connor brought home some bubbles from his Valentine's party, and they were spilled by a sneaky toddler moments after getting them out.  Thank goodness for Dawn dish soap and its awesome bubbles!






I love happy little photography accidents, like this magical picture, the second a bubble burst!


I love that our house is positioned so that our driveway gets sun from morning until night...we've only had to shovel twice this winter and it makes for such lovely evening light (and warmth)!


Connor felt like a super villain with his bubble hands...






"It's like an orange on a toothpick!"


Meet Garris, our little buddy.  He is softspoken, squishy, sweet, and funny when he's mad, so it's pretty safe to say that he's stolen my heart!  When Harrison has his incredibly loud meltdowns, Garris just looks at me and says, "Whoa."  I bought this hat for Harrison to wear this winter, but he hates it, so I was smitten when Garris put it on out of nowhere and wore it all day, complementing his big brown eyes and curly hair.  He's independent and quiet, so if I'm not completely focused on the boys at any given time, like making lunch or switching the laundry, I can pretty much guarantee that they are somewhere getting into trouble together.


Of course, Garris wearing Harrison's hat triggered an epic battle between the two of them, but Garris couldn't quite figure out how to get it back on right.


Harrison gets so territorial when Garris is around, and wouldn't leave this stroller for days after Garris made it clear that he loved it.


I am grateful that Harrison has someone to pal around with during the day, even if there is a whole lot of "MINE"s being said!


I'm about ready to start calling Harrison "Your Highness" because I feel like my entire existence is catering to his needs!  This picture, for example.  The only way I could get him to chill out and stop having tantrums about the atrocity of having to wear clothes and having your diaper changed every now and then was to pull him around in a pillow and blanket lined laundry basket  as I picked up the house.  May I refill your beverage, Sir?