Good Friends Visit

On Monday, our good friends, the Anderson's came to visit us! The kids were so excited to have the girls here to hang out with. They played dress-up, Colin was the "knight in shining armor" and Isabella was the "princess"...imagine that! I think it started something with them, because a little bit later in the evening, the two of them were proclaiming that they were going to get married. Leo said that he is ok with it, because that means Amy and David will be paying for the wedding! The two little ones basically tried their best to keep up with the older ones. When they were all ready for bed, they had a dance session in Adi's room..."ring around the roses", lots of hugs and we taught Colin and Isabella their wedding dance! Too much fun!!!

Happy Easter!

So, I forgot my camera and missed out on a ton of great pictures of the kids...especially in their Easter outfits! I guess I will just have to tell you all about our day. We started out with a slow morning of breakfast and getting ready. Adi wore the sweetest pink dress that a friend had gotten her for her birthday last year (can you tell that she is still my petite little girl?) Colin even let me play with his hair...it only lasted a second...he's all boy. We then headed out to church. I was downstairs in the Sunday school and we had a blast. Stories about Jesus, coloring, an egg hunt and some singing. Then, we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa's house for Easter lunch/dinner and another egg hunt (Tanya remembered her camera and has some great pictures of the kids on her blog site: www.brianandtanya.blogspot.com). We pigged out, then the kids crashed out and we headed for home. The ride home was just enough rest for the kids and they were off and running for the remainder of the evening. So, there was our Easter day...hope yours was great too! Happy Easter!!

Branchlet's Presentation

On Sunday, the kids had their armor presentation in front of the whole church! They sang a song, recited their verse and showed off all of the pieces of their armor. They were so cute and a little funny at times. At one point, Colin and the boy next to him got into a shoving match for a prime spot at the front of the stage! I even got a picture of Judah in action too!

A Carousel Ride

We went down to Salem to visit my grandmother and aunt, while we were there, we went on a ride at the carousel. The kids had a great time...so did aunt Jen! (It was hard to tell who had more fun!!) The kids got to pick out which horse they wanted to ride on and both wanted me to get off of the ride and leave them by themselves. They are getting so independent! It was a fun day!

"I look like Mommy"

People say to me that Adi looks a lot like me, but I can't see it as well as other people can. So, the other day, she asked me to put her towel on her head, "like you do", she said. She was so excited to see herself in the mirror and to say, " I look like you". And now I can say that she looks a lot like me... when I have a towel on my head!

Happy Birthday Keslin!!!

We celebrated Keslin's 1st Birthday yesterday, with a big bash. Presents, food, great cupcakes and lots of people...Keslin has lots of great friends and family. Can you believe that it has been a year? I bet Aaron and Kristen can't! Happy Birthday sweet girl!!!

Ski Trip!

Last week we took a quick trip over to my parents house and did some skiing. It was the perfect day on Friday, the sun was out and the snow was great! The kids did ok, Colin now has his own skies, but was nervous at the start...the bunny hill was closed, so he had to ride up the big one! It took him a few runs with Dad, but he was a pro by the end of the afternoon. Adi, on the other hand was interesting. We rented her some skies and she loved having them on, but didn't like going down the hill with them. I basically carried her down most of the three runs that she went on. It was worth it, cause kids 5 and under ski for free at Bachelor! At one point, my parents took the kids into the lodge for hot chocolate (a must have with the kids now) and Leo and I got in some good runs. As you can see from the pictures, Adi had a little melt down when all the hot chocolate ran out!

What the kids are up to...

Here is a video of the kids practicing their memory verse for Sunday school...it's Psalm 28, Verse 7. Video taping them is one of the only ways I can get them to recite it, because they always want to see themselves after they're done!

It's Birthday Time!

It is officially time to kick off the Stoddard-Kangas birthday extravaganza! Owen was the first to start the birthday ball rolling and it doesn't stop for a while. Owen turned 1 on February 28th, next comes Keslin, she turns 1 on March 9th. Then Grandma Julie has her birthday in March. Judah, Adison, Brian and I all have our turn in April. We take a breather in May, but get right back into it in June with Kristen, Tanya and Leo. Grandpa, Aaron and Colin like the fall months and then we are right back to the beginning! I can't believe that time is flying by so fast...everyone says it does...but when you actually stop and take a look...it really is. Enjoy all of your precious time, I am sure going to try to!