All the Stuff

I guess I'd better kind of catch up on a few things and post a few pictures before Easter hits this weekend. Following that we have Spring break and I know I'm going to want to post a bit about that. It would be terribly guilt-inducing to get behind. Let's see...

I buzzed my hair shorter than I ever have before. I really like it and Rophone does, too. It's just about time to do it again. I am so glad that my husband thinks I'm hot with my hair so short because I don't think I could give it up and go back to a more time-consuming style. 

The leprechauns came by and wreaked some havoc for St. Patrick's Day. Thank heavens our leprechauns know me well and only make messes that are easily cleaned up. This year they left all of the cupboard doors open in the kitchen, made a tall tower of food boxes on the table (Unopened boxes just in case the tower tumbled over. Smart leprechauns.), pulled apart the basketball hoop and placed a laundry basket on top, used stuffed animals to make a big letter on the floor, and (my personal favorite) put cleats in the microwave. Silly leprechauns.

My family is pretty silly, too, actually. People may say they get it from their mother.

I sure do love the Spring light, it makes me want to take a lot of photos. Since I need so much extra prodding, right? 

The warm weather turned cold again (See?)...

...but we found things to do anyway.

A hot chocolate date with Edith:

Naps (both real and pretend):

Reading:

Bundling up to "work"...

and then coming back inside to warm up and make cookies:

Edith gained a new skill during the cold snap. One night Rophone went to play basketball after we got the kids in bed. Edith had taken an overly long nap that day and so didn't go immediately asleep. She hollered for Rophone for a minute, but she wasn't too upset so I figured I'd just leave her safely ensconced in her crib. It got quiet after about 5 minutes, so I thought Edith had fallen asleep. Imagine my surprise when, about 15 minutes later, Edith appeared in the doorway wearing her winter hat and said, "Hey, Mom. Where's Dad?". Ummm, what?? Nooooo! Apparently she'd climbed out of her crib and then spent a few minutes rummaging through the winter clothes in the hall closet before popping in. I'm sooo not ready for her to be able to do that. But, oh well. She was awfully proud of herself.

We were so glad when the warmer weather returned. It was a long winter of being cooped up (it was really cold out there!). There's just so much fun to be had outdoors!

Hopefully the nice weather will stick around for Spring Break this next week (I can't believe that it's really here!). 

Individual Style

I think I've mentioned here before Big's love of pairing blue with blue when he gets dressed. It's his favorite color, so he thinks it looks great. "Blue and blue go so well together, Mom." I think he looks like a prisoner out on work release. Except for last week, though. I don't know any prisoner who would wear what Big wore to school that day:

Oh, but I loved it so much, though. Especially the athletic shorts pulled over the sweatpants. So, so awesome. Pen used to pair blue with blue all of the time, too, and she grew out of it, so I'll just enjoy Big's style choices without stressing out too much.

I'm always writing about how different the boys are from each other. I'm really not kidding. I took a photo of Bud's (very typical) outfit a few days later to illustrate. 

The stripe of his socks match his shirt and the toe is the exact same dark burgundy as his pants. All items were bought separately, so it's not like we did it on purpose. And (I promise you) he has coordinated his underwear somehow, too. He always does. Bud has always had a flair for fashion, even if his style used to be a bit more flamboyant.

I love my boys. They both have great style.

Sprung

It's starting to seem like Spring has sprung around here. For this week, anyway. Chances are we'll have a couple more good snow storms in the next few months. But, this week the weather was great and we enjoyed it. We walked home from school, went to the park, and just enjoyed a lot of time in the yard. It has been so nice.

Here's a shot of Edith enjoying watching some chickens on the walk home from school. 

Both Big and Edith were over the moon to make our first park outing of the year. I was over the moon that Edith was able to do a lot more climbing on the play structure without assistance. 

After lunch Edith took a nap, so Big and I headed outside so he could play some basketball and I could take some photos of him doing it. I love the joy on his face while he plays-- it's the same as when he was two.

Big has been working on his long-distance shots lately, so he was really hucking the ball. Not great for shooting form, but great for some fun pictures.

He is just so much fun to watch and take pictures of as he plays because he loves it so much and works at it so hard. I could do it forever. Can you tell? Just a few more...

And then, when she awoke from her nap, Edith Big, Jr. came out to join us. 

I think she loves to play basketball almost as much as her brother does. And she let me feed her a yogurt as she played. Girls are so good at multi-tasking. 

Her ball didn't always stay on the court, but she's working hard on it. 

Big sets such a good example for Edith of dedication and determination. Way to go kids! We had such a great week, and when Rophone came home early on Friday and joined us in the backyard it was the perfect way to cap it off. 

Just ask Edith.