Sunday, April 29, 2018

Spring Break 2018

Happy Spring Break! Although the weather wasn't too warm, we had a lovely time just hanging out with each other! 
Bunny Peeps gluten free cupcakes for Maddie's class

Sugar Rush

Maddie's Spring Party at school
For Lindsay's class I saw a cute recipe for Bunny Cupcakes... I love the marshmallow ears!


We had one day where it was sort of warm, and the kids played ball outside..
Went to Terhune Farm and pet some animals..

Andrew loved the tractor
We did an indoor activity and visited the Bug Museum in Toms River, NJ...

Butterflies!


Pretending to be ants in a colony...


They touched a scorpion... so cool they glow under a black light!

Giant bug picture
We colored Easter eggs outside...


and worked on planting our garden! A huge thank you to Daddy who built us these garden boxes!




A couple weeks later when it warmed up we planted our seedlings we started!

This is the side of the house with the most sun, so we planted here!


We planted: Tomatos (cherry and regular), Squash, Zucchini, Mint, Basil, Rosemary, Cucumbers, Jalapenos, Kale, Spinach, Green Onions, Cilantro, Butter Lettuce and a few flowers.

See the cage in the back? I built it to keep out all the critters.. deer, rabbits, ground hogs squirrels and birds. 

The kids are SO excited to eat some of the things they planted... hopefully we'll have some success! The girls put on a Circus show for us and pretended they were on a trapeze... LOL. 




Friday, April 6, 2018

St. Patrick's Day 2018

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! 
Andrew Brooks, 2.5 years
Lindsay Diane, 8 yrs and Madison Grace, 6 yrs
We attempted to get a picture with ALL THREE KIDS TOGETHER... we had some pretty funny outtakes....
Try #1 Open your eyes Lulu

Try # 2    Grumpy Boy

3rd times a Lucky Charm
The kids had a fun day at school and were happy to report when they got home that no one was pinched ;)

Jarrett's Birthday

Happy Birthday Jarrett!! 
Shh! It's his last year in his 30's...
Your family loves to celebrate our amazing Daddy! He requested for his birthday dinner a tasty meal of Tri-Trip, Baked Potatoes and 7 Layer Salad with Lava Cake Ice Cream Sundaes for dessert!


He had several helpers to open his gifts....

Sweet picture from his sweeties

His electric toothbrush went out, so he got a new one!

Did I mention it was cake + ice cream + home made caramel and hot fudge?!? So. good.

Love, you are the rock of our family. Your leadership, patience and the way you constantly put our needs above your own inspires me. I appreciate your hard work and dedication to all you do- whether it be professionally or the way you invest time with each one of our children. I cherish our times spent together doing anything- watching TV on the couch or going to a fancy event in NYC. You make us feel special,loved, and secure and I hope that with every passing birthday we can show you how much we love and appreciate you!  xoxo

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Snow Day 2018

This year our winter has been crazy, and we've had 6 Nor'easter in the past 4 weeks! In one of them we lost 2 arborvitae trees and a ton of branches. And we got 13 inches of snow. 
This dude just barely missed our house
Since we don't own a chainsaw, and I have forbidden J to buy one (not much experience=losing a limb) so we busted out our hack saws and got to work chopping up the trees and dragging them to the curb for yard waste pick up. It took us two days, but we did it! Whew. It saved us some serious $$ too. 
The next morning the kids and I went outside for some fun!


Penguin sliding on their bellies down the neighbors hill


Andrew had so much fun sledding. He kept telling me, "One more time Mama."
The girls had fun taking turns pulling each other down the hill on the sled.

Wheee!!
Our angels making snow angels...

Andrew: "I don't get this at all"
We built a snow man in our front yard who looked strangely like someone we know....


Papa?! Is that you?!

After a fun time in the snow it was time for cocoa and marshmallows...

Winters are crazy and FUN in the Northeast!!

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

All About Lindsay at 8

Lindsay Diane, 8 years


Rainbow Tie Dye and sequins is so Lindsay

Crazy hair day at school
Stats:
height: 49 inches
weight:  47.6 lbs
shoe size: 11
clothes size: 8
teeth: has lost 6
hair: blonde (although darkening slightly)
eyes: green

*Favorite Song: "One Call Away"
*Favorite Book: Dork Diaries Series, Magic Animal Friends. She loves informational text books, about Volcanoes, Mummies, Archaeology, Oceanography and fantasy books about unicorns, fairies, mermaids etc..
*Favorite Color: Pink, Purple, Turquoise. Rainbow.
*Favorite Foods: Mashed potatoes and gravy, twice baked potatoes, roast beef, steak, any dessert, especially ice cream and double chocolate cookies, broccoli, asparagus. pizza. Dislikes: Cheese, hard carrots.
*Favorite Places to Go: California, my room and Justice.
*Favorite Animal: Unicorn
*Best Friends: Archana, Mackenzie, Madison. She has tons of friends, and makes them wherever we go!
*What I want to be when I grow up: "I want to be a scientist!"
*Favorite Movie: "Moana"
*Favorite TV Show: "Trolls" on Netflicks "Superbook" on Right now media
*Toys: Hoola Hoop, jump rope. She loves to see how long she can do it before it drops. Playing school with her Sister and Brother.
*Favorite School Subject: Science

*Personality: Lindsay is our laid-back, resident home body and girlie girl. She is growing more independent, and more opinionated. She likes to be comfortable, and prefers to wear leggings and tunics, and especially anything soft. It seems like this is the year of Emoji's, plastic choker necklaces and anything with glitter. Lindsay's favorite place to be is at home in her PJ's playing with her siblings, doing crafts or reading one of her favorite books. She is still very much a little girl, and likes to daydream and do all kinds of acrobatics on the sofa and doesn't realize how big she really is now!
Madison looks up to Lindsay, and I think that Lindsay has enjoyed Maddie being in the same school as her. When I pick them up after school they are talking a mile-a-minute about their days, teachers and kids they both know at school. Lindsay is very helpful and will surprise me by setting the table or helping me cook dinner. She enjoys her slightly later bedtime than her siblings and takes the extra time to read or pillow talk with Jarrett or I about whatever is on her mind.

Unicorn shirt
*Learning: I have been really proud of Lulu this year in school, especially seeing how disciplined she has been about getting her homework finished. She has a snack and then dives right in, doing a little every day instead of procrastinating and until the night before it has to be turned in. Her grades reflect her hard work and dedication. She has become a book worm, and it is never a problem getting her to do her reading log.

*Spiritual: Our sweet girl has been going to Pioneer Clubs this year at church and we have seen so much growth. She is excited to dive into God's Word, and seeks to understand His character as she gets to know our Savior. She is growing in knowledge, and beginning to see what it means to be a follower of Jesus. What a gift and joy to disciple and walk with her on her faith journey. Our church blessed us with a membership to RightNowMedia, and it is fabulous! It has tons of Christian studies, children's shows and movies. It's like a Christian Netflix, and the kids (and me!) have been loving it.

Our precious daughter, you are joy to us and we love you more than words could say. We are to lucky to be your parents!!