Spring in the Air...

It's been absolutely perfect out the last few days. When I pick up Lucas from school he's usually out on the little kiddie playground...and as soon as we get home we go right back outside. Here are just some fun pix from the past 2 days I wanted to share. Sorry- there are lots of them!! No, the mower isn't turned on. Lucas loves to watch Eric go back and forth on the mower though. I'm sure he can't wait until he's old enough to help out.
"Sure, Lucas. Pick as many of those pretty yellow flowers as you want!"
Here's the view from our walk today. The trees along the roads in our subdivision are all blossoming. They're really pretty (...but they smell really bad.)
I can't take credit for these beautiful tulips. When we moved in 5 years ago, they were already planted around our house. I love them!! It seems like each year, though...a late frost nips 'em and they go away too fast. Hopefully this year they'll stick around for awhile.
Wow...this picture just reminds me of how fast he's growing!!! He's just such a "little man" already!!! Time needs to slowwwww down!
Last count...16 teeth. We had our first steak off the grill last week and Lucas LOVED it.

Conversation at School Today...

Setting/Synopsis: 5 kids and Mrs. Bland sitting around a small table during Guided Reading Group reading a magazine article about fossils

Mrs. Bland: Paleontologists learn a lot about animals by just looking at their fossils. Like the dinosaurs for example...

Girl #1: Did you know dinosaurs were the first living things to walk the earth?

Boy #1: Nu-uh. Jesus was first! My dad told me so.

Girl #2: You're both wrong. Monkeys were first!!

Mrs. Bland (while glancing at her watch): Oh, look at that. We're out of time. Time to switch groups! Good discussion today kids!

Big sigh. I love my job! Kids are so funny.

Boys will be boys...

I decided no caption was needed for this picture. Look VERY closely at its "contents."

Nope-- not Cheerios. Oh yes, that is oatmeal spread all across the kitchen floor. I had my back turned cooking dinner, and was just thinking, "Wow, Lucas is sure entertaining himself nicely!" Then I hear it... the spillage of the oats. At least he did it in a nice little path for me.

Of course, Lucas, right away thought, "Ohhh.. instant sandbox!!" After cleaning up, he was kind enough to put the lid back on. I thought that was very thoughtful of him.

Nick and Debbie Visit...

Our great friends, Nick and Debbie Runyon, were in town staying with us the past few days. We had a blast catching up and watching our boys play together (Aidan is 9 months old... 2 year old Carter stayed with Nick's parents). The weather was perfect so we spent a lot of time outside. Here are a ton of pictures from our time together. :) What can I say....we had to document all the fun!

**And by the way, click on Nick and Debbie's blog (then click on "Learn More about Global Media Outreach") to find out what Nick and Debbie are up to! It's pretty amazing stuff!

Visit with Grandpa and Grandma Rupp

This past weekend we went to visit Grandpa and Grandma Rupp and had a really fun time as usual. :) Lucas goes pretty crazy now at their house because he gets to see choo-choo's about every 15 minutes throughout the day. And...he loves the dog (Buck!), and...the big tractors he gets to ride in. Here are some fun pictures of our weekend.

Eating fresh-baked bread at Great-Grandma Rupp's house-- what a treat!!
We also went to the park twice...and had Dairy Queen twice, too. :)

Children's Museum

It's spring break week so we're squeezing in all types of fun things for Lucas...including a little trip to the Children's Museum. I invited a friend of mine whose son is in Lucas' Tots class and of course, they had a blast!! We literally spent 2 1/2 hours in the Playscape area alone. They loved all the things you could do. Lucas especially liked the water. :-) And the sand. :-)
Camden and Lucas playing in the big sand box.




Afterwards we took the boys to have a picnic in the park. It was 70 degrees that day!! Can you believe it? We soaked up lots of sun....and all took long naps afterwards.