April Showers



April was one of the wetest on Ohio record.  So, of course, our sump pump picked the wetest day, of the wetest month, of the wetest year to give  up the ghost.

There was about 14" of water covering our entire basement.  Brandon was the first one home and immediately went to work hauling it out in buckets.

But as fast as he and Brady could haul 5 gallon buckets up our stairs and out into the grass, the water was pouring in from the sump pump drain!

With the help of amazing friends in our ward--people from Ohio "deal" with this sort of thing, we obtained a HUGE pump and it was literally pumped out in about 25 min.  The very next day, a wonderful ward member installed-not one, but TWO new pumps.  One works without electricity because...well, you know.

Lexie's baptism!

 Even though Lexie turned 8 in January, she waited patiently for

Easter weekend to celebrate her birthday.

 She wanted her whole family there when her dad baptized her.

 Even though Grandparents couldn't make it for Lexie's special day, she was able to wear the same dress that Alyssa did for her baptism in 2000.  It was custom made by Grandma Nancy.

 The usual suspects were present for the big day.

 No one told me to wear white!  ;(

 The after shot.  Wearing her special new Easter dress, a sweater that was mine

when I was a girl, and a scarf purchased for her on the steps

of the Vatican.  Isn't she beautiful?

 After the baptism, Lexie and her friends adjourned to the cultural hall for...

 gourmet cupcakes made by Alyssa and me.  Yes, we are a bit too addicted to the Food Network.

 But you gotta admit, they do look amazing! 

 It was really fun for Lexie to have her friends there to support her,

 and give presents of course!

 All in all, it was a pretty amazing day and she said it was TOTALLY worth the wait!

I love, love, love this picture.

Easter 2011

This spring brought a lot of fun with decorating sugar cookies.  We all got way into the act of decorating and eating.  ;)

  Easter brings our annual egg coloring madness.

 Yes Alyssa, there is an Easter Bunny.  I know, CRAZY huh?!

 Brandon has a future as an egg artist. 

 My cute little pinata; I was looking forward to killing the chicken.  Gary tried in vain to save him.

 There is a reason that Lexie's basket is bigger than she is; that kid made a haul!

 I am sooooo happy that my big kids still love the "little kid" holidays and all the activities that go with them.  I hope our family never grows out of all the Easter trappings.

 I do need to try to convince Brandon that we do not eat the Easter Eggs! 

 I think it took 2 hours to find all the eggs. 

 Some people get a little bored and decide that harrassing their mother seemed like more fun.

Brady is the "numbers guy".  He makes sure that all the real and all the plastic eggs are found and that they are evenly divided. 

In the end...the chicken got what was comin' to him.  But, true to form, his dismembered little body is still in the trunk of Gary's car.  Bwahahahah. ... . yea so we had a creepy little twist--it seems like it may become a new tradition.  ;)

Brady goes out for Track!

Brady decided to go out for 8th grade track this year.

He never missed a practice nor a meet.

He got really got at throwing the shot put.





But said he only did it to get in shape

for football.

Lexie gets braces!

January 19 was Lexie's 8th birthday.  She celebrated 3 days later by getting her braces on! 

She was really looking forward to finally getting her teeth straightened and having "tooth bling"!

The before shot.  She has a complete underbite
and her bottom teeth are hurting her top teeth.



Gotta love the goo!  Try not to gag.

She was a total trooper about all the huge stuff they put in her tiny little mouth.  Band colors?  Blue and White.



The Worst Part of Christmas!

After having her home for almost a month, the worst part of Christmas break was when we had to say goodbye to Alyssa.  ;(

Putting Brandon Hales in charge of the goodbye photos makes for some silly shots.

Group Hug!  Peace signs included!

Camera Ham!

Gary is looking a bit rough from all the merriment!



I love her enough to share the last of Amani Snyder's AMAZING little biscuits that she shared for the New Year's Eve party.  They are tasty and it took a lot of willpower for me to share.  True love baby!

Happy New Year Bowling Green!

 Happy New Year 2011!  We are so lucky to have friends here in Bowling Green who happily came and played with us on New Year's Eve.

We played cards, and the wii, and ate lots of yummy food!

 It was one of the funnest parties I have ever had and I was so grateful to be surrounded by such fun and kind people.