We've been invaded...

...by Spring!

Okay, hee hee, we did it ourselves.

But we HAD to.

If Spring won't come on its own, well, maybe it just needs a little push. ;)

I will disclose that Alex was not at all into this project at first...until...he realized that I was going to let him hang the butterflies on the wall by himself.

This is how the 'butterfly compromise' began.

You decorate a butterfly, you get to hang it on the wall.

Genius, right?

This is also why the butterflies started getting higher and higher.

By the last few, I was having to stand on a chair and lift Alex up from there. Yikes.

But, in the end, that's the part about this 'wall art' that I love the most. It looks like a bunch of butterflies gathered in one place and slowly starting to spread to another...LOVE.IT.

Random March Montage

Cutie Pa-Tootie with a purse and heels to match!

Tinkerbell is our current favorite movie,

and Grandma made this beautiful fairy costume for Grace for her birthday.

Perfect timing!

In the process of creating a masterpiece!

Voila! Rainbow jello!

'Playdough Pick Up'

I am pretty lax about where play dough goes...as long as it stays in the kitchen!

This day, I ran into the other room for just a minute and while I was gone, the kids decided they were finished, and it was time to clean up! I walked in to find them both cleaning up the playdough. Now that is my kind of awesome!

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Pre-Haircut

I love pictures of the bottom of the kid's feet. They're so cute. But also, it's fun that Grace is wearing Alex's winter PJ's from last year. And, we found this Santa hat stashed in with a bunch of toys, so it was fun to listen to the kids 'Ho Ho Ho-ing' around the house for a day!

My Buzz Lightyear

Tumble Time!

We usually go to tumble time every other Thursday, but this is the first time we've been back in a Loooong time and boy have we missed it!

Here Grace is jumping with the instructor, Kim.

Jumping on her own...

and a big 'Thanks for helping' hug!

There is a great group of us that go, and because of life happenings, it seems like the group is different every time! That's a good thing. But this time, we were really missing the Koeppens!

Kim helping Alex with the 'big blue ball'.

As you may have guessed, this is Alex's FAVORITE thing to play with during tumble time.

Kim helping Alex with on the balance beam.

Mom cheering on the sidelines,

"Woo hoo! Way to go Alex!"

Often times, the kids are having so much fun, the moms have to get in on it too!

Here is Julia, bouncing around!

Crazy silly Canyon is a super duper climber...and hanger from bars!

Raylene brings all three of her children to tumble time:

Skyla, Canyon, and Parker!

Parker had fun this time on the floor mat...his first time really participating!

Here is Jill with her daughter Kambrie. Kambrie's favorite thing is the trampoline. She's just learned how to really jump on it, and she is SO cute!

Last year, Kambrie's older brother Tanner used to come tumble with us, but, he's a big kindergartener now, so he's busy at school.

So, there you have it, a view into our fun tumble times!!

On the mend.

Our poor little Grace had an infected lymphnode. Two weeks ago. I don't know how or what happened.

After three different antibiotics, her lymphnode was still huge and warm to the touch.

So, we took her to Children's Hospital.

They admitted her, did an ultrasound, started IV antibiotics, drained the lymphnode the next morning, and voila!

Well, almost!

They gave her Versed, and after surgery she had the 'Versed Blues'. I think it should be called the 'Versed Reds' because there was much more anger in her than the average persons bluesy down day.

Not the most pleasant thing. Screaming, climbing, jumping, clawing, puking.

But, luckily, mostly there was peaceful (or heavily medicated) sleeping.

And then just like that, she was better!

The nurses, doctors, and hospital staff all loved her...and she loved them!

She is a super rockstar 2 year old and I am so proud of her!

This puppy's name is Nel. Unfortunately, because we didn't know what kind of bacteria Grace had, she was on a 'no contact' thingy, so we couldn't leave the room, people had to gown and glove to come in, and so, no cute puppies. :(

Luckily for us, we ran into Nel after we were discharged and got to spend some time with her.
I don't know who's cuter in this picture!

A big super duper thanks to Nancy who watched Alex ALL week, and I mean from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday. She is an awesome amazing rockstar friend!

Also, thanks Grandma Pam for taking off work, hanging with us, bringing meals, letting certain people shower and use the potty, bring treats, and being a shoulder to lean on (or lay on for Grace)!

Nametags

After our MOPS meeting this morning, we came home and were eating lunch when Alex remembered he still had his nametag on his back.

I took it off and showed it to him. Here is how the conversation went from there:

A: What are all those letters, Mom?

M: You tell me.

A: A-L-E-X

M: So, what do they spell?

A: Um..."PLEASE DO NOT MAKE A MESS"?

M: Um...no...let's sound it out together.

A&M: A-l-e-x R-a-s-m-u-s-s-e-n

A: (with a baffled expression) Wait a minute. I'm CHRIS?

M: What?! No, you're Alex!

A: Oh, yeah, Alex. Alex Rasmussen. That's right. Wait a minute. No, I'm Buzz Lightyear!

M: Oh yeah!

Geesh! Nametags can be so confusing! :)

Great Grandpa Joe Turns 100!

Happy 100th Birthday Great Grandpa Joe!!!

Grandpa Joe turned 100 on February 24, 2011, and we were lucky enough to be there (well, at least for one of his parties!)

This is a thank you note from back in the day when Grandpa Joe drove a school bus...

...his army uniform (his postal uniform was there as well)...

and family!

Joe's three children:

Marilyn, Neal, and Kermit

Neal and his wife Eleanor, and daughter Emily...

Love this pic!

Betty and Kermit...

...and us!

Grace wanted to give Great Grandpa Joe some smooches...

...so she did!!!
We were also lucky enough to see Grandpa's sister Sherrie.

(Doesn't Grace look so grown up here?)

Grace's bow was a hit, here Eleanor is modeling it's versatility...

...and gorgeous Emily wears it with ease as well.

While at Grandpa Joe's new pad, Grace fell in love with this little puppy and just HAD to show it to Emily.

Alex, on the other hand, fell in love with this organ.

I think what's happening here, is that Betty is sucking up to Grace in an attempt to get her turn with the bow! Am I right, Betty? :)

We had a great time. It was such an amazing thing to watch four generations together. It was wonderful to sing Happy Birthday to someone turning 100, and even more special because it was Great Grandpa JOE!!! I was so thankful that we made the trip, and that our kids got to spend some time with family.

It was also great for me to spend some more time getting to know Chris's side of the family. They are truly a joy to be around, and I hope we get to celebrate again together soon!