Spring Break!

We had a great Spring break!! One of the best!

We went to the park a few times, to the library...(I know, pretty exciting huh?)out to eat, we went shopping...or I did :)... Got me two new shirts, earrings and a necklace. Score. All on clearance. Score again. Seriously, why is it that going shopping just makes a girl happy?

Another thing that makes me happy that I got to partake in this Spring Break...

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies!! In January I started a new years resolution and I am happy to report I did it! I have lost 13 pounds as of yesterday and I have about 9 more to go before I reach my goal! It's amazing the difference just losing 10-13 pounds makes you feel.


The weekend before Spring Break, Madi lost her first tooth. We hooked her tooth up with string and tried the "slamming the door" approach, but the string would just slide off and wouldn't pull the tooth out. Even when Ryan slammed the door so hard it knocked the picture off the wall in the opposite room. Oops. She was quite brave. I wouldn't have done it. But she tried it more than a few times. I winced every time Ryan slammed the door. But it just didn't work.  So she wiggled it all day and all night. And by the next morning right before church, it fell out.

BUT the BEST part of Spring break was the company we had! My best friend Kimberly,

(The only picture we got together the whole time. Can you say, Slackers?)

from high school drove down from Oklahoma with her four beautiful kids and spent three days with us! It was so great to see her. We email and call each other but it's been years since we have SEEN each other, but it didn't feel that way at all. We laughed and talked just like old times. I had only met two of her four kids, Aliya who is now 7, I met when she was first born. And I met Parker when he was a baby. So it was so good to get to know her kids better. They are darling kids. Here's a picture of her youngest, Zurie.

She is so cute!

Well they came down on Thursday, St. Patrick's Day. So we had a scavenger hunt for them. They got all kinds of goodies and they seemed to have had a great time searching the house for clues and prizes for their baskets. We had a green dinner...ok, the food wasn't all green, but the plates, cups and everything else was.

7 (8) kids! We have replenished and multiplied, that's for sure. :)

While Kimberly was here, she taught me how to braid. Ok, so I was shown how to do it when I was like ten, but have never braided anyone's hair before, even my own girls.  Sad, huh? They have been deprived of braids....up till NOW. I got the hang of it pretty fast. I think Kimberly even said, "I was her best student"....right, Kimberly?  ;) haha.

So here's Madi sporting her first braids, EVER! I know, I am so cool. not!

I think the kids enjoyed going swimming the most...well, maybe not my kids. They were scared to death to swim even with floaties on their arms. It was sure fun to watch Landon and Aliya though. They were fearless in the pool!

And I had to post this picture of little Zurie that I stole from Kimberly's blog. We didn't have swim diapers for the two younger ones and their diapers swelled up so big, that it made their bums look like little ant bums. It was so funny!

We had such a great time with them and since they only live 3 1/2 hours from us we will definitely get together a lot more! It was exactly what I needed...to see my best friend! Thanks Kimberly!