Someone Once told me...

That all good things must come to an end. And sadly, our long weekend with Grandma and GrandDude has come to an end. Boo. Makes me so sad. I wish we got to see them more. :(

Here are some pictures of the girls before Grandma and GrandDude left STL...well, for the airport, b/c my Dad insists on being there 2 hours before hand (boy could I tell you some stories of our escapades to be at the airport INSANELY early, but I'll spare you...however there was the one time that we didn't get something to eat on the way to the airport b/c we didn't have time (b/c there would be food at the airport for sure) and all 9 of us (we had 2 additional people with us)....we starving b/c there wasn't food and our plane was seriously delayed...fun times!

The girls wanted to be fairy princesses for Grandma and GrandDude, so we wore our ballerina dresses (god bless the clearance rack at Old Navy)!

 Going Downstairs to visit one last time.....

 Playing around in the guest room!

 Enjoying our toys that hide out in the basement....we don't visit them very often apparently!

on the way to the airport, my stepmom called me to share how horrible the devestation was from the Good Friday Tornados we had here. Makes me so sad that so many people's lives were changed in an instance. THANKFULLY no one was seriously injured. Of course, this was just fuel for the fire under their pants to try and convince us to move to AZ. Oh, how I wish. Hopefully, in the next couple years, we'll be able to spend more time there (You know, when we're rich b/c we're not paying one whole pay check of mine into daycare (not that it's NOT worth it, b/c it is). But after the girls are in Elementary School, we'll be able to sock more away and working on getting out to see the Grandparents WAY more frequently, AND we'll have the added bonus of GrandDude being retired! YAY!

Looking very forward to our summer vacation at Grandma and GrandDude's house....already!

J

Happy Easter!

Easter..my favorite time of the year....really, because it's SPRING, but also because of who comes to visit our house! I know I'm behind on my postings, even though it's going to look like I posted this in April, I REALLY am posting this in May, but the last two months, have been craziness at work (MAP testing and then getting my 8th graders transitioned to the high school and signed up for summer school, some days I blink and it's over, and all I KNOW is that I met with students and teachers all day long)! So, anyways I apologize for being so tardy in updating about all the fun we've been having!

Back to programming.....Easter is my favorite time of year, in terms of visitors. For those who come around frequently, you are aware that every Easter weekend, my Dad and Stepmom come in to visit, and it's ALWAYS a grand time. This year, was absolutely no different!

Easter Sunday was so much fun! THis year, the girls were able to spend Easter with ALL of their grandparents, which was awesome! Sadly, they were terribly spolied and are STILL eating Easter candy, minus the pieces that we've both stolen (yes, I just admitted that)! :)

WE had an Easter Egg Hunt and all that Jazz in the morning...and then had cinnamon rolls, which the girls LOVE, and watched the Glee music video that the girls got from the Easter Bunny ALL DAY LONG...and we wonder WHY they are continually asking for glee music and dancing around the house and constantly breaking into song! Everyone took naps and then around 4:30, our guests began arriving....each guest came accompanied by a gift of some sort that the Easter Bunny left at their house for the girls....it was craziness....

My favorite family picture...

Olivia and Mommy and Daddy....she wasn't wanting to be so cooperative!

 Sydney and Mommy and Daddy...always willing to HAM it up!

The girls with Grandma and GrandDude...

 Showing off their Eggs that they made in the morning with Daddy and GrandDude......

 Miss Sydney....

 All decked out in some of her many Easter goodies.....

 Miss Sydney sharing her Easter goodies with Grandpa....notice HE'S wearing a princess Tiara too!

 Opening one of our many Easter Baskets....this set from Grandma Pat....

 Neena Bunny, bought us fairy wands....they also doubled as microphones....big big hits!

 Miss Olivia...man she was fast in getting that Reese's Easter Bunny opened....

 All decked out and playing with her new stuff....

 Easter Dinner was Yummy...we had Ham, Asparagus, Deviled Eggs, Jello Salad, Stuffed Mushrooms...and My favorite.....

Guess you can tell we had a great great time! ALL of us!

J

The Easter Bunny

He Came He came, and of course he spoiled! Apparently, he's ALMOST as cool as Santa, but he brings CANDY, which we rarely get and it's so so yummy. Hopefully Mommy and Daddy will share all our candy!

Checking out the goodies left by the Easter Bunny on the hearth. FAIRY wings and bubble guns are a big hit, THEN there's all the candy....

it took a little while of playing with our toys before we realized that we may be able to sneak in some candy!

After checking out our Easter Baskets, we had an Easter Egg hunt, that was super super cool, especially since the Easter Bunny filled the eggs with  jelly beans, peanut butter eggs, WORMS, and mint candies.

Sydney...filling her basket with Eggs she found hidden around the house by the Easter Bunny, he sure did make a lot of eggs!

Miss Olivia, giggling it up!

After the Egg hunt, we cuddled up with GrandDude on the couch...probably because we knew that he wouldn't steal our candy! :) Too bad his eyes are closed in this picture, oh well, at least it's cute!

After Breakfast, Daddy and GrandDude dyed eggs with us...it was awesome...Mommy and Grandma made food for dinner tonight.

Sydney modeling Grandma Carol's turtle necklace that she always manages to finagle from her, the funny thing being, that OLIVIA likes turtles more than Sydney does...guess she's out for the bling!

Looking forward to the rest of Easter....you  know, after naptime!

...A LONG Evening...

After our visit to City Museum, we stopped at Steak and Shake and got lunch and came home, while all the Grandparents went out to lunch on the hill (stinkers, and I noticed that not one of them brought me any yummy leftovers...boo). After lunch, we all took a nice long nap, while Grandma and GrandDude did the obligatory run to Target (I think this was their second run).....when they got back, the girls were up and ready to play! We watched a video and chilled until GrandDude and Grandma Carol came up...well, GrandDude came up first.....and was quickly immersed in Shrek with the girls....

Olivia hanging with Daddy....

Apparently, it's cooler to hang out with GrandDude....

Matt says this picture proves that he really IS my Dad, because like me, whenever he sits still for too long, he falls asleep...Olivia has inherited this trait as well.....Matt calls her Little Jeni.....

HA HA HA...I LOVE this picture...it goes down as one of my most favorite pictures EVER! Sadly, Carol missed it....

ahhhhh..mooching off of Grandparent's a favorite for ALL Grandchildren! Sydney is no different, however she just likes to mooch, doesn't matter WHO it is!

Grandma decided that everything needed a little livening up...so she and GrandDude gave the girls their Easter Presents....a big hit as always. You can tell Grandma has practice at getting awesome stuff, since the girls always LOVE the things she gets them!

YES! New dresses! Awesome....the girls love clothes and Mommy and Daddy LOVE when someone else buys them clothes! :)

Dance Party...

TIRED....

 A little later, after present time, my Uncle John and Aunt Nancy, who live in southern Missouri came over to spend the evening...sadly it was an eventful evening, but it reminded me how much I ADORE my finished basement!  Here we are hanging out before dinner....

 After dinner, we busted out the wine...which we made sure to take downstairs when the sirens went off. My poor Dad was freaking out, especially as Matt and went around the house getting all our tornado stuff (my bag with cash and a couple emergency items and shutting all the doors)...poor guy.

Watching the news....we never even lost satellite, shockingly enough! In 2006, a tornado hit in our neighborhood, so we know what the train sounds like, and it really does sound like that....they were not so happy to hear that when we shared that information. Apparently tornados have a tendancy to hit again in the same places due to the terrain...not good to hear. :(

Playing with our basement toys....and the few that we HAD to bring with us...of course we brought our wubbies and our hippo pillow pets......and a couple more stuffed animals....

 Sadly, an area very close to where we used to live was hit pretty badly. All of those families are in our prayers, thankfully no one was killed. Gotta thank the weather service and basements for that. PAY attention people to these weather warnings and PLEASE take them seriously....getting off my soapbox now....

I hope you and your loved ones were not affected,
J