Spring Snow

If any of you have been watching the weather here in the Midwest, we have been dumped on with snow. Yesterday about noon started the freezing rain. The first picture of the "snow" that I put on here is actually all freezing rain. It was crazy. Jasmine absolutely refused to go outside, but Mia went out there if the kids were out there. School got out early for everyone, but Wichita. However, Richard and the kids made it home safely so that is good. When we got up this morning it was snowing more. It has now stopped and everything is melting. It has just been weird. One side of our garage door is frozen shut. The other side opens though. Leann and Ryan came over to visit. They brought me some presents from Italy!! Yahooo!! We also got to try some candy. It was very good. It seems like a long time since we have seen them. I got a picture of Isabelle. I am not sure how since I don't remember taking it while they were here. But I am putting it on the blog anyway. Hope you all are enjoying the day!

Mom W Visits

This last week was our spring break. It was very busy for us. Richard's mom came to visit us from Washington. We haven't seen that side of the family for almost 8 years. So we took her to the zoo here. I think that we got some great pictures of all of us. By the end of the zoo we were all exhausted. It was nice to see her again. The kids were a little shy around her at first since Aaron was only 3 months old when he saw her and Jacob has never met her. Then yesterday was the craft fair at church. Rebekah and I went and helped set up Thursday and Friday. Then yesterday we went to the church at 7:00am. We didn't leave until 6:00pm. That was a really long day, but totally worth it. We raised a lot of money for the Cap Haitien Orphanage. I was the announcer for the door prizes. I had to use a microphone and everything. It was a little scary at first, but it was fun. I will definitely do it again next year. We have only a few more weeks of school left. I can't believe it is almost done. Anyway, hope you all have been having a wonderful day. Love you all!

Aaron's 8th Birthday

Aaron had a great birthday. He got 3 video games and a goosebumps book. He loved it. We also went out to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant. It was a lot of fun. It was weird not having any of the cousins over, but they were all in Nebraska (or Washington). So it was just us. Richard's mom is here this week so we have been busy. I will be putting up pictures on the blog after she leaves on Saturday. This is our spring break. It has been nice not having to worry about getting up early in the morning. This weekend is our craft fair at church which I am helping with. I am in charge of the door prizes. This means I have to announce the winners in a microphone! AAAAHHHGGGG!! Rebekah and Alyssa are going to be giving out the tickets. It is going to be fun. Have a wonderful week everyone! Today was Richard and my 14th anniversary. I can't believe that it has been that long. Bye!

Moving Day!

Alyssa is enjoying one of Grandma's HUGE cookies! Yummy!

Here are the boys on moving day. They were very good at helping and did not complain at all. It was pretty cold outside, but all that walking around made it better.
This is Rebekah's new cell phone. She loves it so much. Her other phone was dying so I promised her that we would get her a new one for her birthday, but it would be a late birthday present.
Mia has discovered a new trick. She can now reach Jasmine's food. Of course, I don't think that Jasmine thinks this is a very good trick! =)

Here is a couple pictures of our new house. Of course this was when we were just moving in. Mom and Dad came down to help us along with Ryan and Russell (a friend from church). Richard was at drill when we were moving stuff. We just finished this weekend cleaning the other house. It has been so much work. I am glad that I finally get to start organizing this house though.
I will have to post some more updated pictures later. Of course that would require me to find my camera, which I have no clue where it is at the moment. Everyone have a super day!

All About Mary

Here is a fun thing that I got from Dwayne and Mindy's blog. You copy and paste all these different activities into your blog. The ones that you have done are in bold type. So here you go, everything in bold is all about me.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch-hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

So, what have YOU done?

New Teenager

Well everyone, it has happened. I have my first teenager. Rebekah turned 13 yesterday. We had two of her girlfriend's over from church. Cat (Catherine) is on the right of Rebekah and Sam (Samantha) is next to Cat. They are very sweet. Unfortunately Sam was only here for a couple hours and then had to go home because she was starting to feel very sick. Poor Sam!! So Rebekah and Cat were staying up last night watching movies and eating popcorn and candy. Can life get much better? =) Dad and Mom got Rebekah a bible which she really loves. She had to sit there and organize it! =) I gave her a ring that used to be mine. She loved that too. Ryan and Leann had given her these bracelets that you can decorate so her and the girls did that last night. At least Sam got a bracelet before she went home. Leann is planning on taking Rebekah to see "High School Musical 3" today. Rebekah doesn't know so she will be really excited. Today is my Grandma's 80th birthday! Happy Birthday Grandma! Richard and I should be able to start moving to our new house after Monday. It is going to be weird to have so much time to pack! =) Hope you all had a great new years! We just stayed home and had snacks and watched TV. Hope everyone is well! We are going to enjoy the sunshine before it becomes cold again tomorrow! =)

Moving!!

Well, once again I have to start packing. I am still in denial at this point. We are moving a little closer to Richard's school. We decided we wanted somewhere else because the rooms for the kids here are just too small for them. I think this other house is about the same size, but is set up better. It also has a basement!! That is very important in the midwest, at least if you live in tornado alley. So, by January 24th we will be out of here. I really hate to pack. We just found the house by driving around. At least we will be able to do a lot of packing during this week and next since Richard and I don't have school. It is going to start getting really hard once school starts again. I will post pictures once we are able to start moving in. Love, Mary