whirlwind

Well, Spring is definitely here. As soon as the temperature starts rising, our family gets into high gear and we barely have a chance to catch our breath until October!



Allison got Marble (her stuffed monkey) back from the bear hospital. I had contacted Build-A-Bear because the battery seemed to be dying on the sound mechanism. This toy is so special to Allison and she was quite tearful about not being able to hear mommy and daddy say "I love you." They sent a pre-paid mailing label! When we got Marble back, she came with a bear hospital t-shirt, a special bow around her neck and tail, a coloring book, stickers, and a prescription for lots of hugs. Excellent customer service, in my opinion. The sound is back to normal and they even repaired a small hole. I was impressed.



Along with our new school books, came a huge sheet of packing paper...which turned into an afternoon activity - snow!

Saturday, we headed out to Gresham where Chris helped his dad with chores and the girls and I attended my mother-in-law's fabulous cupcake party! Thank you so much, Andrea - we had a great time!



There were so many pretty details. Andrea even had cupcake aprons tied around each chair for us to wear and keep!



The kids did crafts.




Andrea showed them how to make fancy cupcake pictures. Even Abby got to play with glue and glitter (a very brave grandma - I tell ya!).



After a delicious lunch, we got down to the decorating!



Allison couldn't be happier!





Everyone had fun with their creations.


Abby didn't decorate - she just ate! "Ummm....cake, mom. Ummmmmy."




Here are my 9 cupcakes (Andrea made 75 cupcakes, so I tried to do my part to decorate as many as I could!).



Allison and Tatum had lots of fun playing together.



The big girls each got a cupcake shirt to take home and Abby got a cupcake sweater - so cute!


After the party, I went to WinCo (best grocery store. ever.) for my big April grocery trip. I had guesstimated my total cost, based on my grocery list and managed to cut $40 off that! I am eager to see what my month-end total is.

Yesterday, after church, Chris and I did yardwork! Can you believe it?! We actually haven't ever had much of a yard to care for before (mowing and weeding, mainly). Yesterday, I weeded and pulled out all the dead foliage. Chris pruned and went to Home Depot. He got new flowers for the flower box on the front of the house (sorry, Amy - the old ones died last summer!) and grass seed. I am hoping to grow a few vegetables this year, we will see how it goes. I don't have much room, but am considering getting a large planter to help with space. I wanted to take a picture, but I think I'll wait until Allison and I plant the flower box.