HolleMama: February and March

To be honest, I have never really been a big fan of February or March. There is nothing particularly bad about these months but they just feel like "filler" to me...you know, just something to kill time in between Christmas and summertime. Thankfully, we have had one of the most beautiful winters and so it hasn't been gloomy like this time of year can sometimes feel. We didn't really do much and I have decided, for the billionth time, that I am really a homebody and the days that are my happiest are the ones that I get to spend at home with my family just doing...well, nothing! Of course, there are many things "going on" but no matter how many dishes I do, no matter how many times I clean my kitchen floor or the toilet or make the beds or put clean clothes away, or tell my children to be kind to each other, that at the end of the day, you would never be able to tell that anything had gotten done! EVER!

Even still, I am getting better about rolling with this kinda life and not letting the things that I did not get done (or the things that were done that are now undone) keep me from enjoying all the fun that goes on around here. A friend of mine told me that her neighbor has a sign on their front door that says something like "Please excuse our mess: Children making memories inside". Isn't that just perfect? I love it.

I think I will make that the title of this chapter in my life.

(And by chapter, I mean the next 20 years of my life!)

Some cars, a snack, a little sunshine and a brother to play with...life is GOOD for these little pumpkins!

My dear friend Jessica came into town for a very unexpected and exciting visit. She moved away to start her own family right before Sean and I were married and so this was the first time that she got to meet my kids. She has 3 little boys of her own so it only took her 42 seconds for both of my kids to fall in love with her. We picked her up and dropped her off at the airport and Oliver has cried on many occasions since then, begging for us to let him "go on an airplane with Jess". She left quite an impression on him, which is good, because we plan on keeping her as our friend forever!!

I do not have a very good explanation for what is happening here but I can tell you that Oliver put a lot of thought into where and how he wanted to sit for this event. This looks like fun, but this is serious work here folks!

Grandma Gloria always brings a good time!!

I love these moments!

(and look how close in size these boys are getting!)

Ok...thanks to my friend Evangeline, the "gift" of my trip home to visit my mom on her birthday was out done by the 5 Kunkle boys each bringing her a few roses one by one as they paraded down to the creek where we were playing. On top of making her feel very loved and special, the bouquet was gorgeous and lasted for at least 2 weeks on her dining room table. :)

So we did make it out of town!!

I have been craving the beach and so we just bit the bullet, filled up our tank with gas, and made it happen.

Worth every cent!!

Looking for shells for Mama

Ever have a moment where you are so happy,

that things just feel so right, that life is just so beautiful, that you cannot believe that this is your life,

that you just want to cry?

This whole day was one of those moments.

I love the beach!!

Back on the homefront...

So, remember how I said that we have had one of the most beautiful winters? Well, these pictures were taken before 7am the first morning after a light rain. Oliver was freaking out and giggling about the footprints that he was making while Elliott found a nice puddle of water that had formed on top of our corn bath table.

Yum?

And Starbucks, our faithful friend come rain or shine :)

Celebrating the rain with the Sorbello girls and some hot chocolate.

Such happy little friends

I love to watch these two interact. How I wish that camera actually had a memory card in it!

Cutie Pies!

Do you see anything special in this picture? Oliver sure does!

How about now?

Every once in a while, we all get lucky and Sean shows up in the ambulance and we get to visit!!

(This parking lot is one of the regular posts for his job....so perfect, right?)

A man and his machine...girls go crazy for this stuff!! :)

A recent development in our household: Fort Building

I stuck my camera up inside their fort and snapped these :)

They sure make me smile!!

I have been emphasizing Oliver's role as the Big Brother and I think that he is taking it very seriously. One of his new things is to tell me that he is going to watch brother in the tub and that I should go "check my email". The first time he did this, I was curious so I just watched from the hallway. I don't know what I was expecting, but he really did just want to be in charge for a minute. He bent down towards him and said softly, "it's ok, it's ok Elliott" as he gently patted him on the back. Then he sang him the ABCs...it was so cute!!

He did such a good job caring for his little brother- he even offered him a sip of his (usually coveted) drink!!

The hardest part of the month was when both my kids woke up with horrible diarrhea and vomiting. Right after Sean left for the weekend long men's retreat aaaaand right before my washing machine broke (!!) Thankfully, Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Gary risked their health to come and rescue me (read: take 7 loads of nasty laundry to the laundry mat) They are angels!

Oliver has discovered his inner engineer. He is very particular about what block he wants and exactly how it should be placed. He will often ask me to build a road with him but then he disapproves of everything that I try to contribute so I end up just sitting there watching him build...oh well, I still love to see what he comes up with.