Freddie!

Jensen's class pet, Freddie came home with us earlier this week. The kids had fun taking Freddie to do everything we did that night. Jensen's favorite part - feeding Freddie his favorite thing for breakfast....bugs!

Getting Ready for the Ball!

Jpa's in town and Keaton wanted to show him her Sophia costume. Of course, while in costume, she decided she wanted to "get ready for the ball" and Jensen was there to help her put on her lotion, paint her nails, put on lipstick and do her hair!

Mystery Reader

Nana surprised Jensen at school on Tuesday when she showed up to be the Mystery Reader in his class! He was so excited she brought his favorite book "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly!" and "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?"

Sophia Cosutmes Have Arrived!

Keaton and the other girls in her class were so excited when they got to try on their Sophia costumes! Once all the girls were dressed, they proudly paraded around the Y to show everyone their pretty dresses!

Bucket Brigade

On Monday, Joe, Nana and Bapa took the kids down to the River for the Bucket Brigade. The DNR came with a truck load of trout to release into the water. Jensen got real giddy when he saw the fish. He would touch them, but didn't want to hold them. Keaton got a little squirmy around them. They both loved setting the fish free and watching them swim off in the water!

Fun Visit with Nana & Bapa

Another great visit with Nana & Bapa! The kids had so much fun playing, reading, showing them their toys and telling stories!!! Already looking forward to our next visit!

A Busy Weekend!

 Jensen, Elle & Bode

 Cool, windy morning hike at Kennesaw Mountain

 Making special souvenir pennies

 Tracking the railroad on the map

 Proud of their pennies!

Reading time with Bapa!

    Elle helping Keaton get ready for the ball

Another fun-filled, action packed weekend at the Gerda house! Elle & Anderson came to stay with us and for the second weekend in a row, the kids had the best time together!!

On Friday night, we made pizza and had root beer floats. The kids were all in bed and asleep by about 9:00pm.

On Saturday morning, I took Jensen, Elle & Bode to Kennesaw Mountain for a little hike and a stop in the Visitors Center, where each of them made a souvenir penny. We went back home for playtime, lunch, a bath and a little rest before heading to the Y for Parents Night Out. I can't forget to give Joe a special shout out for watching all four kids so I could put in a 9+ mile run!! We arrived at the Y at 4:57pm for drop off that was to begin at 5:00pm and we were probably the 7th car in line! The kids were happy to go and Joe and I went to meet my parents, aunt, uncle and cousin for dinner. We enjoyed a nice adult-only evening of conversation and good food! After picking the kids up from the Y, they were really excited to find Nana and Bapa at the house. All kids were asleep by about 10:00pm. 

On Sunday, we went to church and then came home for lunch and to play outside. It was a gorgeous day full of sunshine! Just what we needed!!

The entire weekend was fun! And Jensen and Keaton were exhausted by the end!!

Since Christmas, we've been reading a book called, Have you Filled a Bucket Today? Occasionally the kids (mostly Jensen because I'm not sure Keaton totally understands the concept just yet) will do things to help each other or me and mention the reason is to fill their/my bucket. I'll often use the idea when I'm encouraging them to share or talk nicely to each other. Jensen showed some AWESOME examples of it this weekend and I'm so proud of him!!!  When we were at Kenn Mt on Saturday, Bode got upset when his penny came out with a design different than what he wanted. Jensen was last to go and decided he'd make the design Bode wanted and then trade with him "so he could fill Bode's bucket!"

On Sunday, we stopped to get pizza for dinner. Nana gave Jensen two quarters - to get one bouncy ball for himself and one for Keaton. When we arrived home, he handed both to Keaton...and when I asked why he didn't keep one, he told me, "I wanted to fill her bucket!" 

One other proud mommy moment of today...Jensen received $10 in his Valentine's card from Nana & Bapa. Within a few minutes of receiving the money, he came and handed it to me and said he wanted to bring it to The Island at church and make an offering! Wow!!! Completely unprompted and totally his idea!!! 

Going to bed tonight with a happy heart:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

These two smiles are the brightest part of any day for me and Valentine's Day was a fun day to celebrate our LOVE even more! Back to school after a few days off (Clusterflake 2014) and they were ready for their Valentine's Party with homemade Valentine's for their teachers & classmates.

Clusterflake 2014

 Our "Olaf"

 Keaton's snowGIRL!

 Movie & popcorn

 Making Valentine's for our friends

We survived Part II! Tuesday morning started with a wet snow. We took the kids to play at McDonald's on Tuesday afternoon as the wet snow turned into an ugly rain. Then we got out again and went to the Y to give the kids another chance to play.

Wednesday turned into an ugly, icy mess and we enjoyed a lot of indoor activities...making Valentine's for school, baking cookies, watching movies and playing games. The kids also took great naps!

On Thursday morning, we woke up to a beautiful snow! It was the perfect snow for making a snowman...and snowgirl! The kids had fun playing outside and the temps were nice enough to enjoy being out there. By about 11am, the sun came out, the temps rose and quickly the trees had a constant drip.

At 3:30, we were all ready to venture out to Target to buy the kids bathing suits for spring break (we are OVER winter and ready to start our official countdown to Florida - 6 weeks!!) - when we checked the movie theater's website and they were open!  Yes!!!! We finally got to take the kids to see Frozen and they were SO excited!!! It was really cute!

Back to school tomorrow...with a delayed opening.  Looking forward to a full weekend with lots of kidoos and a short visit with Nana & Bapa. And hopefully lots of sunshine:)

The crazy schedule continues...

We're preparing for more crazy days ahead!!! As of Monday at 3pm, schools have closed for Tuesday AND Wednesday! We're expecting a rainy-snow mix tomorrow and an ice storm on Wednesday. Grocery stores and gas stations were insane!!!

So far 2014 has been interesting, to say the least!

All Over the Place!

Where I found Keaton at 3:30am 

 

 Where I found Keaton one morning at 7am...head at the bottom of the bed, buried under pillows!

Keaton has been in her new bed for more than a week...She's a mover and a shaker, that's for sure! She's actually fallen out of the bed one time so far. We've enclosed her with some king pillows under the sheets and that's helped prevent another fall. It's always an adventure finding where in the bed she'll be!!!

Thumbs up!

Jensen officially became a Cub today! It was a beautiful afternoon for his first tball practice! 

I'm training for a 1/2 marathon and had to get in an 8 mile run so I decided to run to the park and meet Jensen, Joe and Keaton there. When I arrived, practice had already started. I happened to catch Jensen's eye (he was on the field and I was standing on the other side of the fence) and with a big smile on his face, he gave me a thumbs up!!! I wish I could have snapped a picture of the exact moment, but this redo is close enough! It's going to be a fun season!

Awesome Weekend!!!

Joe and I enjoyed a "staycation" while the kids loved spending the weekend with their cousins, Elle & Anderson!! 

Joe has worked a football clinic the past few years and the kids are finally at an age where it was fun to leave them with the Barfields for the weekend. They had fun eating, playing and sleeping together!! 

But the fun isn't over! Elle and Anderson will be staying at our house next weekend when Cara and Andy go to a retreat. We're going to pack in the fun with these kidoos again!!

Night #1 in our new beds!

It was the first night in our new beds and it was a success!!!! Putting the kids to bed, sleeping throughout the night and getting up in the morning all went very smooth! While we were excited everything went well, it was also a kind of sad night for mommy and daddy!!

The crib/toddler bed officially came down. Both Jensen and Keaton had used it as a crib and for the past few months Keaton was using it as a toddler bed. We bought her a full size mattress that will be used with a great Goodwill find (Joe has been working very hard to refinish this bed - pictures soon to come).  Jensen ended up with the converted crib/bed in his room.  We're very close to having Keaton's bed done so the next few nights will be a good transition for her. Right now the mattress and box spring are just on the floor as she gets used to sleeping in a big bed.

Keaton slept through the entire night and didn't fall out of bed. I consider that a success!!! Jensen was also very excited about his new bed!