It's been way too long!

I can't believe that it has been two months since I last posted anything.  Even for me, that's pretty bad.  So much has happened in the last couple months, it's hard to know where to start.  We spent a few days over spring break down in the Ozarks, way back in March.  We had one really nice day down there, then it went downhill.  But it was better than the Iowa weather at the time.  My Grandma rode down with us and it was great that she could come!  The drive is always long, but it's worth it once we get there.  I always wish that we could stay longer.  Hopefully we'll be getting down there in the next month or so.  Here are a couple pictures from that trip.

 

 

Gracie taking a walk with me along the lake.

 

 

Owen playing outside

 

 

Following the Ozarks, ISU hosted the NCAA National Wrestling Tournament in Des Moines.  Nick had a lot to do with that and spent much of spring break in Des Moines...lots of long hours.  From what I could tell, it was very successful and I'm so proud of Nick for the work that he does!  Nick's mom also came up and spent a day helping me clean some stuff out of the basement.  We got so much done and it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would.  We were hoping to clean out the future spare bedroom in the basement so Nick can start working on it....

 

 

EASTER

 

Next up was Palm Sunday and Easter.  Again, the weather was not that great, so the Easter egg hunt in Cambridge had to be moved indoors.  It wasn't really a hunt; more like retrieving Easter eggs.  Gracie and Owen were both pretty excited about getting Easter eggs and candy.

 





 

Gracie "finding" her eggs

 

 

Look what the Easter bunny brought!

 

 

We spend part of Easter Day at Nick's mom's and got to see all of his siblings over the weekend.  Gracie and Owen went bowling for the first time at Bass Pro Shops, which was pretty fun.  Of course, I forgot to bring my camera in there, so didn't get any pictures.  Luckily on Easter, the sun came out for a little bit, but it was still pretty cold looking for Easter eggs and playing outside.  Gracie and Owen still had fun with all of their cousins, though.

 

 

Owen on the little 4-wheeler

 

 

Gracie, Ryleigh, and Grandma leading Dancer around

 

T-BALL!

 

We signed Gracie up for t-ball this year and that started early in April, weather permitting.  Amazingly, they got three practices in before their first game.  It has been entertaining watching a bunch of 4-6 year old girls learn how to play ball.  Most of the girls have never played before and have no idea what to do.  Gracie was hit by a ball at practice on Tuesday and has a couple of marks from the stitches.  Oops.  Owen usually tags along, too and always wants to participate with the girls.  While Nick is helping coach, I play catch with Owen.

 



 

Gracie playing in the dirt.

 

 

Ok. now we're ready...standing right on 1st base.

 

 

Ready to hit the ball

 

Birthday parties

 

Along with everything else, Gracie has had quite a few birthday parties to attend this spring.  She had one at Ada Hayden Park in Ames.  I dropped her off at that while I took Owen to the ISU spring game for a while.  It worked out pretty well.  She also had a "Little Diva Party."  This involved about 10 girls going to Stacey's Bridal in Urbandale and spending the afternoon looking pretty.  They got their hair, make-up and nails done.  Then finished with a fashion show.  They each got to choose a dress.  Gracie LOVED it!

 

 

 

Gracie and her friend Jenna.  Believe it or not, they are in the same class...same age.

 

 

Owen wants to play too!

 

Right now, we are kind of winding down the year, but that definitely doesn't mean we have time on our hands.  Gracie still has t-ball games that go through June and we are gearing up for her 1st dance recital which is June 1.  Gracie will have her preschool graduation May 23, also.  Along with that, we start high school graduation open houses this weekend.  There get to be quite a few to attend when I work at the high school and Nick is the the high school wrestling coach.

 

I feel like I've talked about Gracie a lot, but Owen is doing a lot, too.  He loves playing outside and finding worms with all this wet weather we've been having.  He is starting to be a lot more helpful when Gracie allows him to be.  Most of the time he and Gracie get along pretty well and play together.  Owen is riding his bike really well and can climb all over our playset.  I think we have finally come to the time that we have both kids completely out of diapers and neither of them are having accidents.  Ah, sigh of relief!  Owen can even get himself dressed now.  His choices are sometimes questionable, but he's doing it by himself!  He has also learned to push the stool into the pantry so he can reach the food that he wants on the shelves.  He actually shuts the doors behind him, too, so it's harder to tell that he's in there.  He's so sneaky!

 

Gracie has learned to tie her shoes!  That was all Daddy!  She ties them exactly like he does, which is a different way from me, so I wasn't a whole lot of help.  She's so proud of herself!  She is looking forward to being a kindergartner and had an awesome time at round up.  The kindergarten teachers couldn't believe how young she is, but didn't hesitate to put her into kindergarten rather than EK.

 

Three weeks until I'm done with the school year at work.  Then I will start my summer school classes, which are twice a week.  As far as school for me, I am taking two classes right now and will be done with those June 14.  It's very time consuming and I am really looking forward to getting courseroom work done in the next year.  Nick and I are going to try to get down to Missouri again soon.  Hopefully after the 1st of June sometime!  I know there are probably things that I'm missing, but it has been a busy spring, so I hope I hit on some of the highlights!