These three love to FaceTime with John when he's out of town. The usually fight over the phone but I'm not sure if its to actually talk to their dad or if its to make faces. Either way, John loves it.

James got to wear his favorite sport team to school and of course he picked Ohio State. He has a hand me down jersey that is still way too big but he didn't care!

It has been so nice outside (high 80s) that we planted our garden and new grass seed in the backyard, and now we just hope that the last frost date was wrong! Madeleine loves gardening and she is such a big help.

This is Lucy! She is out first official foster through the Greater Charlotte SPCA. We have volunteered with them for the past few months and have temp fostered a few dogs but she has been so easy and the kids love her so we are going to keep her until we can find her a great home.

This kid! This kid LOVES water. The other two love water but they are nothing compared to Matthias. If he hears the bath or shower running he immediately goes into panic mode that he will not be included. He is constantly trying to make his way out to the front porch to play with his water table and will always pitch a fit when its time to go back inside. I think we will spend a lot of time at the pool this summer.

Last week of Spring break and we didn't do too much but on the last day we took the kids mining. They had the best time and are begging to go back.

Our praying mantis egg hatched! We have let them all go now, but its so fun to see how many there are once the egg hatches. The kids love finding them throughout the garden over the summer. We are going to try and catch one once they grow a little bigger and keep it over the summer.

This is the most relaxed I have ever seen a kid sleep! Love it!

All of my kids have always been amazing sleepers. Until this past year, James was still taking daily naps - and he still (at 7!) takes a nap at least once a week if not more and they all sleep VERY heavily, a tornado could not wake them. Matthias usually wakes up with some crazy bedhead and its amazing.

James had to be a noun for school (person, place, or thing) and so he came up with the idea to recycle last years Halloween costume and was a paleontologist. It was a great idea because I was totally stumped.

Matthias is a happy kid, but no one makes him happier than Madeleine. She can entertain him and make him laugh like no one else. He will sit with her and play with her and follow her around for hours. Its an amazing bond and I know he will really miss her once shes in school full time next fall.

James has to do some weekly reading on the ipad and most of the time he sits in the study or at the counter but there are some days when he picks a spot on the floor and without fail he has two dogs and a sibling or two snuggling up to him.

A local high school was putting on the musical The Little Mermaid so of course we had to go! Madeleine took her friend and they dressed up to the nines and enjoyed their first real play! They both loved it and could not stop dancing or singing along with the actors.

I think they perfected their fish faces!

Nana got Madeleine a new sleep mask and it was a huge hit!

James and his friend Wyatt dyed their hair green for St Patrick's Day. They thought they were rock stars!

Matthias' hair was getting too long and was constantly in his eyes so I trimmed his bangs a little to try and hold off a real haircut for a little longer but that just made his hair look like a mullet. So I caved and he got his first real haircut. He did amazing and just watched himself in the mirror the whole time.

Now he looks like a real toddler!

James is playing his first real soccer league and he is loving it! After two years of Spring baseball, he decided he wanted to play soccer - and it was a great decision!

For James' birthday we took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge. It was SO much fun and the kids had the best time. This is the only picture I took the whole time we were there because there really was just so much to do and so much fun to have! Madeleine wants to go back for her birthday so this might have to become an annual tradition!