Here I am!!! (Recap Post)

I really am here; I've just been busy ever since spring break. As a special treat, I'll recap since our minivan trip to Missouri (if I can remember much of this month so far- much of it is a blur due to my being a sleep-deprived mother of an infant/3 kids-age 5-and-under state).

Our family of five plus my parents piled into a rented Dodge Caravan on Tuesday, March 31 and headed down south to Branson, Missouri. The kids were really great travelers, and we only had to stop for Colin's feedings. The Branson area was really pretty, and the weather was just what this cooped-up mommy needed to brighten her spirits. We went to see a dam and a fish hatchery, took a tour of a winery, but other than that, just played on the playground at the resort, and enjoyed the 70 degree weather. I especially enjoyed seeing the colorful foliage- the purple-budded trees we saw everywhere were called Eastern Redbuds. The kids enjoyed taking a jacuzzi bath with Grandma each morning, and getting into the van for the drive home on Friday wasn't as painful as one might imagine. Branson, MO photos- April 1-3, 2009

Annalise has been taking ice skating lessons since Valentine's day, on Saturday mornings at Braemar Arena. It has been a lot of fun watching her improve, and she has really enjoyed herself. She's also decided that she wants to be a figure skater instead of a hockey player, because figure skating "doesn't have penalties." We accepted that reasoning, without telling her how figure skating is judged. Her last lesson was on the morning of her birthday, and she really enjoyed getting a ribbon and some patches from the US figure skating program.

Our baby is five! Happy Birthday to our dear, firstborn daughter. Annalise was born at 3:54 pm on Easter Sunday, April 11th five amazingly fast years ago. We love you sweetheart! We celebrated A's birthday with a bowling birthday party at Park Tavern. The kids had fun bowling, both with the aid of a ramp and without. Bowling has changed since junior high phy-ed bowling in 1987- all of the scoring is done by computer, and using the bumpers in the gutters is as easy as having the front desk flip a switch, and up they pop! About 7 frames was enough for our anxious crew, and then mayhem commenced. Good thing it was time for cheese pizza, tater tots, pink lemonade, and cupcakes. Anne, Annalise's best friend Alma's mom, decorated the pull apart cupcakes with Annalise's chosen party theme- ballerina frogs.

Mike and I hosted Easter dinner at our house this year, with G and G, and Bridget and Steve bringing the components of a great meal (great, at least, for the adults). We had a few bottles of wine from the vineyard in Missouri that we toured on our spring break, and played a bit of guitar hero on the wii. The kids dyed Easter eggs, and we had an egg hunt in the back yard. Super Grandma orchestrated that, as well as hopscotch on the front sidewalk, and plenty of bike riding, and sand table play.

Annalise had her dreaded five year immunizations (and a bonus blood draw to check her iron level) on Friday. We took the day off from school, and after B was done at ECFE, we had lunch at Old McDonald with daddy, and then headed to "the big gym" (as Bennett calls it) for some open gym gymnastics time. Yesterday, after a morning of running around town conducting errands as a family, G and G came over and watched A and B, while Mike, Colin, and I went to Curt Rogers's wedding. It was a nice, early night, and the kids were so nice and quiet this morning, letting Mike and I sleep until just after 8.

And there you have it, our past few weeks in a nutshell. I hope to be better about keeping up with the blog from here on out. Oh, and happy 5 months to Baby C- turning 5 months the same day his big sister turned 5 yrs.