Visit from Vanessa

Vanessa came to visit us this week. Arilyn and Addison were so excited. We didn't do much, so I don't have a lot of pictures, but we had a good time!

Playing with Arilyn sitting on top of Owen's car.

And Addison on the car.

It took a little while for Owen to warm up to Aunt Vanessa. She hasn't seen him since he was a week old. He came around though.

Pretend fishing with sticks.

Arilyn being silly with weeping willow leaves on her head. She said it made her a mermaid.

Addison riding her tricycle that's getting way too small for her, but she loves it.

Owen looking too big in his hat! He's growing way too fast.

Owen loves to be outside and discovered the dirt in the planter. There's nothing planted in it, so I let him have fun.

I thought this was funny- Addison doing sidewalk chalk with her helmet on. It is a pretty dangerous hobby! Haha!

Family Picture

After we got home from church on Easter, it was beautiful outside, so we attempted to get a family photo. To our surprise, it actually worked! I took some extra pictures while we trying to get everyone contained that I thought were pretty cute, too.

Shawn and Owen

One more kid in the picture...Arilyn was in it a few seconds before this, but then yelled- I have to go potty!

Arilyn has really been into her baby doll, I mean Julia. She takes her everywhere and treats her like she's real. It's very cute...most of the time. Sometimes it gets kind of annoying, like her insisting that Julia be in the picture because she's part of the family. So here is the picture with Julia. Everyone was about to lose control, but Arilyn loves it!

And here it is! I'm not sure how we did it, but this was the very first picture we took. The camera is set on the timer and everyone is actually looking at the camera. We're going to print this one and replace our family photo on our wall. The one we have now is from right after we moved to MA. Arilyn just turned 3 and Addison was Owen's age, so it's a little outdated!

Easter Egg Coloring

I know this is late, but we colored Easter eggs and thought I should post the pictures! Shawn had the camera, so the picture are more creative. Arilyn and Addison had fun. Owen missed out this year, so we'll see about next Easter!

Arilyn waiting to start coloring.

Addison patiently waiting, too.

Arilyn with her name egg.

Addison with her name egg.

Owen didn't get to color any eggs, but he got to wear bunny ears.

Trying to get a picture of the kiddos...didn't go so well. This was the best one.

The finished eggs.

The Easter baskets Easter morning.

Easter Egg Hunt

We went to an Easter egg hunt yesterday. The kids were so excited, but we got up and it was pouring down rain! The Easter egg website said 'rain or shine' so we decided to brave the weather! It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it! There were a lot more people there than I expected. These pictures are from my iphone, so they're not the greatest. We didn't want to ruin our nice camera in the rain. Happy Easter!

Beautiful day! Arilyn and Addison running out to get eggs.

Owen just hung out in the stroller and stayed dry.

Arilyn enjoying the rain.

Addison didn't mind the rain either.

Headed back to the car the girls splashed in every puddle possible.

Shawn in his rain gear.

Back in the car. I think Owen stayed dryer than anyone else!

Addison checking out what's inside her eggs.

Arilyn checking out her eggs.

Me in my rain gear. It looks like I'm soaked. The outside of my jacket was definitely soaked, but I was completely dry. I love Gore-tex!!

First Bonfire of the Season

We played outside the other night and decided to have a bonfire and roast some marshmallows. It was pretty fun and the kids loved it.

We had the wheel barrel out picking up sticks from the front yard, so I gave the kids rides. Here is Arilyn and her 'daughter' Julia.

Addison waiting for her ride to start.

I was trying to get a picture of Owen in the wheel barrel, but he wouldn't sit down. Addison was trying to 'help' by yanking on his hood.

But then she apologized.

Ellie was feeling quite frisky and was jumping up trying to get a stick from Shawn.

A nice picture of Shawn.

Shawn and Owen trying to find the moon.

You can barely see it, but Owen is pointing to the moon at the top of the picture. He kept saying 'moo!' He couldn't quite put the 'n' sound, but it was really cute.

Right before we were heading in the house, Arilyn scraped her finger on something and it was barely bleeding. She was flipping out. Not crying, but very concerned that there was blood. I looked at it and said we could get a bandaid when we went in. Apparently Shawn and I weren't concerned enough to her satisfaction. (In her defense, Shawn was laughing) So she told us that we weren't "understanding her." It was pretty funny. We came in and washed it off, put a bandaid on it and she was fine. This was her showing Addison her wound.

Hiking with Ellie

The weather is finally starting to warm up a little, so we took advantage of it last weekend. We took a hike in the woods. I only took a few pictures with my phone, but thought they were very cute.

Owen, just like Arilyn and Addison, loves being outside.

Ellie cuddling with the girls, although she wouldn't look at the camera because there was another dog coming our way.

On the trail. I thought this was such a cute picture. Ellie was happy to be outside hiking, too.

Owen's Pouty Face

Owen is getting pretty good at whining and fake crying. He makes the funniest face when he does it. It is so funny. And like the great parents we are, we got video! Here it is...

Dr. Seuss Sculptures

Arilyn and Addison are obsessed with dinosaurs right now and there is a museum nearby that has a big dinosaur exhibit with a 20ft t-rex. We went to check it out and the girls loved it. However, I completely forgot to get the camera out while we were looking at everything! I remembered when we were outside looking at the Dr. Seuss sculptures. We've taken the girls to see them before so I thought it would be funny to post those pictures, too. It's amazing how fast time goes and how grown up they look!

This was June of 2008. Arilyn was almost 3. I was trying to get her to stand by the Grinch, but she wouldn't get any closer because she was scared! It was too funny!

Addison was 10 1/2 months!

How fast time flies! This seems like it was just yesterday!

Here we are a few weeks ago. Arilyn was pretending to be afraid because we had just been talking about it.

Addison wasn't afraid of the Grinch at all.

What a difference 3 years makes!

Arilyn sitting in the chair in front of the giant book.

Of course Addison had to sit in it, too.

And then there were three!