Easter, Lohn's Bday, my very own pet, and Seeking Validation.

I was excited to have Easter at our new house. Turns out, the forest in our backyard is a GREAT place to have an Easter egg hunt.

It took a while, but they did find all of their eggs.

Lohn found this, which is way better to him than candy. (Not to eat, he just thinks they are cool)

Lohn's birthday fell on Easter this year, which he only remembers happening once before. Here he is unwrapping things he always wanted…

A garden hose. The indestructible kind. 

See how much they love him?!

New house numbers that Ander has offered to put up himself. (Ours were faded, and who doesn't love house numbers for their birthday?!)

Closing his eyes awaiting Tamsyn's gift

 Yay! The very first house plant for our home!

Also not pictured, Gunnar gave Lohn grass seed that is guaranteed to grow in shade. Since we bought a house in the forest, this was necessary. He told Dad he would help to spread it. Every one loves grass seed for their birthday, right? (Good thing he also bought himself a $50 turtle for his birthday)

I got myself a pet. Meet Bella. (Pronounced Bay-Uh) It's Spanish for Beautiful. 

 The kids love her. She came litter trained, and is super lovey and cuddly. The kids are absolutely in love and enjoy sitting on the couch, where she will curl on on their laps and purr. So far I haven't noticed any shedding, the house doesn't smell like a litter box, she's had 0 accidents, and she has done very little to interrupt my mode of living. Cats are WAY better than dogs. (Sorry dog lovers, but it's true!)

We had an interesting day yesterday. There was a Tornado watch that turned into a warning. I kept an eye on the sky, and when the sky disappeared, everything turned a weird shade of green and the trees started swaying, the kids and I squished into the teeny windowless bathroom to wait it out.  Doppler indicated there was a tornado, but I don't think anything ever touched down.  

Later in the day, I gave Tamsyn a women's sized Multi vitamin. Have you seen those pills? They are gigantic! She's a wee bit anemic, and the doctor said one a day should do the trick. I held the horse pill out to Tamsyn with my eyebrows raised, and said "Do you think you can do it?"  She said she would try and swallowed it. The nasty pill must've turned and it got lodged in her throat. She immediately started throwing up, gagging, gasping and crying. She was able to breathe, but nothing would go down her throat, including her own spit, which she would throw back up. She couldn't swallow, and was freaking out. I freaked out too, watching my daughter retch and choke, and called 911 against my husbands wishes.  The paramedics were there with in 3 or 4 minutes (wow!) and stayed with her until she calmed down and she felt like it went down. Now here is where I am seeking validation. Lohn thought I was over reacting, and shouldn't have called 911. I said things could have gone south really quick. What if she had coughed it up a bit and it went down the wrong hole? Anyway, feel free to leave a comment that I was totally right in calling 911, and if you agree with Lohn, feel free to bury that deep within yourselves and we can still be friends. HA!

Massive Spring Break Picture Overload.

I guess a good sign that we've had a good spring break is lots of pictures to prove it!

We took the kids for a walk along the James River. That place has some crazy vines...

We dog-sat my sister-in-laws dog, Moab, this week. However, he probably thinks his name is Fuzz now. (After my Mother-in-laws dog. We really struggled calling him the right name.)

 Sylas was terrorized by the dog. He seemed to think he would be safe if he put his arms up in the air.

He stayed on the back of the couch most of the week.

He asked me yesterday, "Mom, when is Aunt Amy going to come and take her dog back?" Yeah, he's not a fan.

I took the kids to Krispie Kreme Donuts that just opened up near me. 

 The glazed donuts were still warm. Have you ever had a Krispie Kreme that is still warm? Soft, fluffy crack. I couldn't stop eating them. I took a picture to send to Lohn who was at work, how rapidly they were disappearing. He wasn't too happy with the visual torture.

 So, I'm not crazy about camping. At all. But being the supportive wife of a camping/hiking crazy husband, I geared up for a cold, sleepless night huddled on the ground riddled with stones the size of my fist. Because, you know, some people think that is fun.

I do enjoy gathering around the camp fire though. 

 And I won't say no to the scrumptious smores and campfire marshmallows the size of baseballs.

 This was our campground. Not a soul in sight. 

After a super cold night (in the 30's, fun, fun, fun...) We got up and ready for a 5.5 mile hike to the summit of Mount Pleasant.  

Gunnar led the way most of the time. He said, "Dad, it turns out that I like hiking."

 He liked it so much that we were always calling him to slow down and wait for us. See below. That little orange dot is him.

 Another Gunnar quote from the day, "Dad, this mountain goat never gives up!" Referring to himself as we approached the summit. 

There were some cool boulders all over the landscape.

The summit!

 I love my mountain goats!

Today, Sylas started to brave up some around the dog, and asked to hold the leash. He was doing good, until Moab started to tug and pull on the leash and then run along the trail. Sylas held on the best he could, and when he tripped and fell, he still held on, being dragged for a couple of feet before he let go. Sooo, he is back to being terrorized and scared around the dog. 

I took this picture to show the dirt stains he got from the encounter.  

 The end of the 5.5 mile hike. I am so proud of them! Especially my little ones, that didn't complain and  hiked that mountain like a boss!!!

I am glad I put up with the sleepless, freezing night in a tent, just so I could have this fun day with my favorite people!

Kindergarten Screening

Right before Kindergarten Screening, I managed to get Sylas in for a well child checkup. And I mean right before. It probably wasn't one of my best ideas...

It started out okay. They made him strip down. You can see what he thought of that.

They had him pee in a cup, which he thought was hilarious. (Since when do they check kids' pee at well child checkups???) I had to help and he peed all over my hand. Oh the joys of motherhood.

But then the fun was all over when they pricked his finger to test his blood. He didn't cry, but I could tell he was on the verge. And then the nurse gave him 4 shots. Annnd then he lost it. Totally. He would barely walk out of the doctors office, he did this odd little shuffle. He cried the whole way to McDonalds. And even with an ice-cream and chicken nuggets, it took a while for him to cheer up.

He was quite upset with me for telling him that it wouldn't be that bad. "It was way worser that anything, mom! *sob* "

But alas, the ice-cream finally worked it's magic, and he was in a happy mood for the kindergarten screening. While Mom filled out a behemoth amount of paperwork, Sylas was able to rattle off our address, phone number, his birthday and full name. He hopped on one foot with his eyes closed, drew a picture of a person, got quizzed on the alphabet, shapes and colors, and asked to count to 30. He passed with flying colors! Mommy preschool has taught him well!

Way to be awesome, Sylas!

Ander is a decade old!

Per Ander's request, we had a Mac'n'cheese cook off to see which kind is the best. Dad's homemade, Velveeta from a box, or Kraft from a box. Ander's vote was #1 Velveeta (Gag. Too bad, cause I'm NEVER buying that kind again.) #2 Kraft and #3 Dad's version (This one was by far the best. When do little boys' tastebuds turn into men tastebuds?)

Ander of course woke up to find dozens of balloons in his room. Plus a new table and empty tank that wasn't there before…

Pre-present picture

Sylas gave him a Hex bug. Actually it's a hex shark and swims in water.

Gunnar gave him a mine craft figurine. 

Tamsyn gave him a Nerf gun. "With thousands of bullets, too!"

This is Ander reading the email, informing him that his new pet turtle (gift from Dad) is on its way.

 As you can see, there are TWO turtles. Lohn bought one for himself. I'd rather have a cat. You know, something that is warm, soft and cuddly and actually LOVES you back.

And a Minecraft account from me. The computer version. I have no idea why that version is better than the iPad version, but oh well.

And Ander's requested 4 layered chocolate and white cake.

Make a wish!

Happy birthday Anderman!