Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny was able to find our new house, thank goodness! Kendall and Braden both received new bicycles. Kendall's old bike was quite small for her, and Braden's new bike has no training wheels, so I guess he'll need to learn how to ride without! Avery was the lucky recipient of a ball, some stickers, a book, and Minnie and Daisy figurines. After checking out the goodies, it was time to get fancied up for church and breakfast with the Walden/Gray families.

Our Easter babies.  Avery doesn't look so sure she wants to be standing by them.

Some awesome aunt and the Easter bunny were smart enough to give kites as gifts.  It was a perfect day to fly them!

Mimi and Papa have a big yard, but with 4 kites at once, we had to stay vigilant!

Time for some bubbles.  We learned the hard way a few weeks ago that it's smart to go ahead and pay the extra dollar for the "name brand" bubbles.  The other knock offs are NOT GOOD!

So pretty in pink!

Ok, try to get my picture...GO!

Only when she stood by her daddy did I get a really good one!

Papa fixed up our old 4 wheeler and that's all Braden wants to do when he's at their house.  I can't say much, I used to ride them all the time when I was his age.

Mimi and Papa got the swingset for free from our old neighbors.  They installed it in their yard and the grandkids LOVE it!

Time to hunt some eggs!

I'm pretty sure she's actually saying cheese in this one.

The girls and me.

Color coded eggs were a great idea!

Braden was blue...

Kendall was pink...

Amelia was green...

and Avery was yellow (Addy had purple, but somehow we didn't get her picture).

I had to help open the eggs.  Full of what I'd call "junk" but the kids loved it!

Dance Recital Time and Another Lost Tooth

Kendall has been taking dance classes at the YMCA since she was 3. Each spring, they have a dance recital to show off their moves. This year it was held at the renovated Wildey Theater in downtown Edwardsville. Mimi was able to sneak out of work early to come watch Kendall perform. Her group did fantastically! I can't believe how big she is getting. She still loves dance, but I'm not sure how much longer she'll hang in there since she'll be starting Kindergarten in August (tear, tear). For now, here's our beautiful ballerina!

Actually, here's Avery who insists on having her picture taken whenever there is a camera, but who doesn't like to actually stand still long enough for said photo to be taken.

Pretty in purple

She's on her toes, but you can't tell ;)

Braden finally lost another tooth (that makes 3 total).  It's funny to hear him say "slithering snakes," which I make him do often just to hear his lisp!

Let's Sell Our House!

So, we were looking to refinance to get a better rate and decided to check out what was on the market. We found a house in a great neighborhood and decided to check it out just for fun. Luckily for us, we know a great realtor and she was able to show us the house. Dustin's Aunt Sandy helped us buy our house before so she was happy to help us look at another one. From the moment we walked in we knew we loved it. The question was, would they accept an offer and would our house sell?? We put in an offer on Monday, it was accepted Tuesday. We had to list our house!!! We had a lady hired to take pictures of the house and she did a great job, but we had to get it ready for her. We thought we'd have a couple of days, but unfortunately, we had from 8:00 pm on Wednesday night until 11:00 Thursday to get it ready. Talk about hard work!! We de-cluttered and cleaned and removed excess toys and furniture. Our house looked great on the inside by about 1:30 am. At 6:30 the next morning, Dustin was out cleaning the siding (this was January, mind you). It all paid off and our house looked the best I've ever seen it. We listed it on the following Monday and it showed 3 times Tuesday night. By the next morning, we had a full price offer from the first couple who walked through it. Sold after one day on the market!

Dustin and Sandy...a meeting of the minds.

Ok, let's do this!

We moved on March 17th, closed March 19th, and it is starting to feel like home. We have sod down and things on the walls, but we still have some work to do organizing the basement and garage. I'll post some pictures soon.

Overall, we feel so blessed to have been able to take this journey. I cried a few tears when we left our house for the last time. We brought all of our babies home to that house and have so many wonderful memories there, but I know we'll make new memories at this house. We have had so much help from our family and friends. We couldn't have done it without them. God is good!!

100th Day

For the 100th day of school, Braden had to come up with a project that included 100 of something. He was (and still sometimes is) into Pirates of the Caribbean, so we made a replica of the Black Pearl complete with a crackin' in the ocean. I helped with the outline and he and Daddy glued on the toothpicks. Great job!

Pinewood Derby - Completed

I had a previous post (I think) where Dustin and Braden were building the derby car. Here is Braden with his finished product. He didn't win, but he had fun racing!

Happy 7th Birthday, Braden!

On January 20th, our first baby turned 7. I can't believe it!  He had a party planned for the following Sunday, so on his actual birthday we gave him his gifts and went to eat dinner at Braden's current favorite restaurant, IHOP.

Birthday Braden

Kendall took this one.  Not too shabby!

Braden was able to have his very first party outside of our house this year.  He chose a Phineas and Ferb themed skating party at the YMCA.  He invited his buddies from school and cub scouts.  We had a fun time, and I enjoyed not having to clean up afterwards!

Braden, Mimi, and Ethan

Daddy and the birthday boy.

Alayna and Sarah

Jackson and Jaycie

Baby Ethan and Papa

Zachary and Braden

Kendall all laced up!

Riley and Kendall watch and wait.

Uncle Nana braved the skates and took some pretty girls on a roll around the rink!

Jaycie helped Jackson and Olivia skate!

Can't believe there is a 7 on his cupcake!

Opening his gifts

Avery wouldn't be contained.  We brought her some slide on skates and Mimi took her for a roll.

Sassy!

The "bubbies" were sure they had quarters in their pockets somewhere so they could get a water.  It was adorable to watch!

New Curtains!!

Since my mom has rediscovered her love of sewing and quilting, I've been reaping the benefits.  I have received a centerpiece for our bar table downstairs, a wine bag, a Christmas table runner, and now...CURTAINS!  I've been looking all over for something simple that would fit my kitchen, but hadn't had luck.  I told her what I wanted, picked out fabric, and viola!  We are super excited to finally have window treatments again :)  THANKS MOM!!

This didn't really fit anywhere, so I put it here.  They came out of Avery's room with these on and I had to snap a picture :)

She's just getting too big!

Curtain #1

Curtain #2

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