I am so far behind... St. Patricks day pictures and other fun

Leading up to St. Patrick's Day the kids had been talking non-stop about catching Lucky the Leprechaun. This is no small feat since leprechauns are tricky and magical creatures. We decided to build a trap to attempt to catch Lucky. Here are some pictures of the fun (and a few other pics as well)...

While I was out one evening the kids got to cut pencils...

They had a blast...

Until...

That's Kate for you... Even after many instructions on safety she still managed to cut her finger (it really wasn't big, the blood just spread).

Luckily, we had a Spiderman bandaid nearby - then all was made right with the world.

On to the trap making...

While we were doing the work Joshy got bored and began running around in circles in the living room.

Everyone was so proud of the trap... the kids did a great job with it! It was wrapped in foil because (as the kids learned at school) leprechauns are attracted to shiny objects. We added a piece of fools gold in the middle to help lure Lucky in.

The next morning Lucky had, indeed, come... there were little footprints all over the lid and inside of the box to prove it. Leprechauns must be magic though... by the time we woke up he was gone. He knew our gold was fake, but thought we were very clever so he left us a treat of gold chocolates.

Here is a little video of our trap in action...

Okay, so, on to Easter pictures next... stay tuned... Maybe someday I'll be caught up.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

So the other day I was sitting on the couch talking to the kids when they got home from school. There is this kid on their bus... you know the kid... the one you have already decided you don't want to have in your house or let your kids play with - we knew him in Caleb's kindergarten class and thought that, but gave him a chance now that they are in 1st grade - lesson learned - never again. Anyhow, this kid - oh, lets call him Monster - told the kids something that was completely wrong. I said something to that effect and then Kate said that Monster's mom had told him and that Monster said his mom is "NEVER" wrong and that she knows "EVERYTHING"... ummm, yeah... okay. So, I said, "No one knows everything, Kate".... Much to my surprise I hear Caleb (who was standing there also) whisper very quietly, almost to himself (as if he was assuring himself - not to be some Know-it-all), "Except Jesus." That's right, Caleb... except Jesus. Glad he's learned those important lessons. Sweet child!

Snow/Ice Storm Pics - Finally :)

I have so many pictures that we've taken this past month that I just haven't gotten around to posting. We've told family that we'd get them up soon ... so, though details may be sketchy, here are some happenings as of late...

Ice storm

The wild after the storm... some fun in the snow

So, that's the first set of recent pics... We've got many more we're working on getting up... Look for them soon.

The following slideshow is of the pictures above in the mosaics... not sure why, but they won't open up when clicked on, so, for family I decided to put them up as a slideshow also so they can pull out individual pics... Hope y'all enjoy!

lots of pics

I am finally getting around to putting up some (a lot, really) pictures of my Brother's wedding. Rick and Janin got married the weekend Ben got sick, so I have been dealing with other things besides putting these up. They weren't planning on having much of a reception and had no real plans for the wedding (maybe just something in their house), so James and I offered to help put on the wedding/reception. We went ahead and got the LDS church in their area to let us use the building for both services. It turned out to be a wedding ceremony - short, but extremely sweet, and a great reception - everyone seemed to love it (and they all lingered, which I view as a compliment).

Making the boquet.

The kids before the wedding.

One of my favorites - Janin getting ready.

Kate (flowergirl) and Janin

The kiss

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Wilson

The Wedding Party

Beautiful rings

So much in love...

I do believe that I did mention in a previous post that we are stellar parents.

Josh liked his too (yes, folks... it's just cider).

James was so great - dealing with the sick & tired kids while I tried to get some pics.

Janin, Rick, & Rebecca Wilson

A few spontanious dance steps.

The Bride & Groom

Beautiful Bride

Janin & Rebecca

To my friend...

M, I am glad we got the chance to talk a bit tonight... it's been too long. I look forward to hanging out sometime soon (really soon) - don't forget to think about a list! :) I'll be thinking... Reading A's post made me remember some of the good things around that often get put aside, so, here's y'all - good times, good friends.

Out of Commission

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything new. Ben cut a top tooth on the night of Wednesday the 20th of February. Along with this came the usual fever, crabbyness, refusing to drink a bottle or eat, etc. We figured it simply had to do with the new pearly white so we, being the stellar parents we are, let it go and went about our business of preparing to go down to DC for Rick's wedding. We left on Thursday afternoon. By that time Ben was completely lethargic. He had hardly moved in a day and had maybe 1 bottle and no food. So, again, we thought "Maybe he's getting a little sick" (he also had a slight cough)... we were actually putting on the reception for Rick and Janin and I was playing photographer so we really didn't have much choice. Our kids had been sick (really sick) before, so Ben may be for a day or two, we'd give him some medicine and then he'd probably perk up a bit. No such luck. He was out the entire time we were in DC. Needed held constantly - not helpful when you are trying to decorate for a wedding and take quality pictures... wouldn't eat/drink... slept a TON! It was not fun. I'll do a whole separate post with some actual wedding pics, but here are a few of baby Ben over the weekend.

The car ride down to DC on Thursday.

Setting up the ceremony room Saturday. Ben is so super sick at this point.

During the reception... I did mention that we are stellar parents, right? :)

Couldn't resist...

Upset at having to be put down while we cleaned up.

Back at the house with the newlyweds... Poor miserable Ben.

Okay, so, with all of that explained, we left earlier than we planned on Sunday to come back home to Cleveland because Ben was so sick. When we got back to Westlake James took us straight to the hospital and dropped me off with Ben while he took the kids home to unload the car, etc.

This is Ben getting his chest x-rays... I know it's a horrible quality - it was with my cell phone, but I just had to get a picture... as sad (and wierd) as it was, I was dying laughing at this strange contraption. He is sitting on a very mini bicycle seat with his legs dangling below the table... then, with arms raised, he is sandwiched in tight by two plastic pieces so he can't move... I guess it was good that he was so weak - he didn't throw much of a fit... how's that for a silver lining!? :)

Ben in the E.R. Turns out he had Pnumonia in both lungs and RSV and some bronchial problem... Fun... Suppose it wasn't the tooth that was bothering him... hrmmmm... good to know.

We finally got a room... at this point I had no idea how long we'd be here (ended up being 4 days). He was very cuddly... wanting held a ton. It was a little nice since so often now he wants to always be playing and crawiling around being a monkey. His breathing was (without the oxygen on) hanging around 90 - they wanted it around 96 to let him go home with a nebulizer... should be around 100 normally.

We got released in the late afternoon on Wednesday. Ben's oxygen levels actually hit 100 on his own right before we left.

While in the hospital I got a call to come and get Kate from school because she was coughing and nearly falling asleep at her table. James ended up taking Kate and Josh in to see the Doc and, though he never did a test, he said it was likely they had RSV too... he said they need to share in the glory of the nebulizer we got for Ben. Here they are doing their treatments.

Clearly, just being home has made Benjamin feel better. He stole Joshua's pizza and seemed to like it.

Kate was exhausted.

Caleb was a trooper through all of this... he stayed free of any bugs... until the next week, that is, after everyone else felt better... then I got the call from school to get him... ugh... can a girl get a break?! :)

Kate was coughing so hard one night that she woke up with a broken blood vessel in her eye. A week has passed and it is just about back to normal.

Just liked this one - such pretty eyes... home from school sick this day.

For how much sleep all the kids got you'd think they be wired for a month, but they seem to still enjoy bedtime.

Another one I liked.

All better... at last, it seems like we are, for the most part, healed up.

So there you have it... a million pics later, the reason why we've been out of commission. Expect more pics soon of the wedding, Rick and Janin's infant shoot I did, and other happenings. :) In the mean time, stay healthy!!! :)