You guys? I've decided to stop blogging.

I'm pretty sure this is a permanent thing although there is a possibility I'll get the itch to share something and may come back from time to time. (I don't want to make any strong statements without leaving myself a loophole!)

I've really enjoyed sharing my family's lives through my eyes on here. It has helped me focus on good moments over bad, it has been fun to share those embarrassing and silly stories, and it has even been nice to just admit when I've been wrong.

Which, by the way, I received the best compliment from a distant family member recently! Her husband saw Max and pointed him out saying something along the lines of, Look at him, he looks like a nice, good boy!  in comparison to their own boys. And she knew, KNEW, that he did look that way but that he at times is not always that nice, good boy. That is exactly what I've been going for, through this whole blogging experience, that my family and friends are able to see that my kids are amazing, truly something spectacular, yet they are still just regular kids that do regular, frustrating things. I mean, if there is anything I'd like to take away from this experience, I'd like to believe that I was honest. I may have chosen to focus on something fun but I certainly didn't pretend there weren't hardships also.

And with that I need to be honest. I'm struggling now and it isn't fun anymore. I don't enjoy posting photos of  just special occasions and holidays, having to narrow down all my photos to just a few favorites is seriously frustrating. My internal debates on if I should or should not post a funny, yet embarrassing story about my (now older) children leaves me drained and confused more times than I'd like. With these struggles I've also spent more time on this blog than before; forming a post when I'm up for it, deleting ones I've decided just won't go up, and trying to gather photos of events that can tell a story yet don't use up too much storage. (Another issue, I'm creeping up to my limit on my photo storage account which means I'd have to research to find another one and spend MORE time on this blog.)

So instead, I'm going to let myself be done. I'll use the time I usually used to blog to work on other hobbies I enjoy. My amateur  photography isn't going anywhere, I do really love looking through a lens and seeing what I can make! Of course, there's always more time with my husband and kids, or just some more time to myself. Nothing wrong with being a little selfish, right?

I'm sorry, I know a lot of you enjoy coming here and hearing about our adventures, and whenever a blog I follow decides to stop it leaves me with a hole that can't be filled. I don't wish that on any of you but since this is a family blog and I know most, if not all, my readers personally, I hope you won't hold it against me. It's just time to wrap this up. I'll still have funny stories and photos that I'll be happy to share, just not here, but instead in passing.

Thank you for your support and love and laughter and kindness. Thank you for loving my family. I really, truly, do appreciate it!

Auntie Katie and the girls came over today to decorate eggs with us. The kids and I had driven to a nearby farm to get fresh eggs, which happened to be brown, earlier during the week. I was really excited to see how they turned out as another blogger I read had used them and really liked them.

The kids dyed them first.

Then we had tattoos, stickers and markers at another table for decorating the dyed eggs once they dried.

Those brown eggs turned out gorgeous! We'll definitely being doing that again next year.

The kids did really great with listening and taking turns with the colors which made it a lot easier for Katie and I. We're so proud of our munchkins and how well they're growing!

Happy Easter!

This past weekend the kids, Dusty and I went to our local gym for their Easter Egg Hunt and various other activities. Since there is still a ton of snow on the ground they had to move everything indoors. Our gym was packed with lines everywhere! This? Is my Easter Bunny photo, because Dusty was not going to take a lot of time getting a shot when there was such a huge line and some parents further ahead of us really ticked everyone off by taking way too long on their turn. So, Rory is covering the Easter Bunny.

Thankfully, I don't really care for these photos as the Easter Bunny is sort of creepy, life sized that is, but the kids wanted to see him. They had a disco themed egg hunt this year, where they weren't really hidden but laid out on the floor for the kids to run at with a limit of 5 eggs each.

We also got to pet animals, dye eggs, and make other various crafts. They also had face painting but the line was incredibly long so we told the kids when we got home that Mommy and Daddy would paint their faces with our own face paint. Max suggested that the kids get to paint our faces too. I had plans that evening so my face was not getting painted, but Daddy was game.

Didn't they all turn our marvelous?

As I was writing this? Rory got sick on my sock and the kitchen floor. Between, Rory, Max and I we've had an illness in our home since last Wednesday. And I've now been puked on twice, once by each kid. Thankfully it seems to be a short lived virus but send some healing thoughts?

P.S. to Brookey - I blame you for asking if my kids were sick; I knew you'd jinx us!

Spring has officially started according to my calendar, yet the weather outside seems to want to stay dormant with winter. So this week I've been keeping the kids entertained in the kitchen. Max picked out a dessert from one of the cookbooks I picked up at the library (this is a new hobby of mine) and made it with a little help from Uncle Cecil and I. Rory has been busy baking cupcakes and helping me prepare our dinners while Max has been in school. And of course, we've had some teamwork too!

Between all the new meals we've been trying and all the sweet treats and desserts we've been having, it's been an OK week even if spring doesn't want to show up just yet!

The kids got in a little sledding this weekend...

With Grandma and Bopa!

Rory was the spoiled one in this situation as she got to ride with both Grandma and Bopa.

Bopa of course made the trip a little more exciting; almost flipping the sled over!

After all that sledding? A nap was needed.

It was a good weekend.

Auntie Katie invited Max, Rory and I to join her and the girls at the Children's Museum, and who says no to that? We started out by visiting the Dora and Diego exhibit.

Max, Lyla and Rory had fun pretending to be astronauts and helping Dora avoid asteroids.

Nora had fun helping the piggies drive the pirate ship.

We learned all about circles and how they enhance our lives at a different exhibit and the four of them actually played together, learning how to get the gears all lined up to make all the various objects move.

We were able to paint our faces, which is always a favorite at the museum!

Max had fun racing boats down the waterway, while Rory and Lyla practiced their bubble making.

For lunch we were able to meet up with Auntie Cyd which was exciting. She brought us up to visit her work which was 17 stories up where we got to look down from the windows.

When we returned to the Museum the kids had fun pretending they were in a music video.

Once the big kids were out of her way? Nora was ready to try it out for herself.

Lyla practiced her cooking skills while Max served the meals.

We did a lot more than this of course, I had the hardest time picking photos to share! The Children's Museum is set up so nicely for littler kids and I think our kids touched every single display between the four of them. Thank you Auntie Katie, cousins Lyla and Nora, and Auntie Cyd for our very exciting day; we had a great time! 

The kids and I have spent a lot of time at the farm this week helping get the greenhouses ready for plants. The few photos I've taken have been on my phone, so they aren't the greatest but they're still cute. Max was always asking for "important jobs" and the jobs we gave him he was very patient and worked very hard to do them right.

Rory was off in her own world. Whether playing with the toys we brought or making up her own games, like with this discarded garlic clove from last year, that she found on the ground. Would you believe she's my difficult one?!

And of course, there was lots of dirt, even the tractors were involved as they hauled the dirt over to us. You can't look at a tractor's bucket of dirt and not climb into it once it's been emptied!

After a long day of working at the farm the kids are usually pretty tuckered out which works out well for me. Plus, they look so cute and innocent when they're playing together nice and quietly.

Of course they're still filthy from the farm, curled up on my furniture, but I suppose I might as well just settle down and get used to it. This is my life.