Molly comes to visit

Mollyariotti came for a visit right before Easter.  Had been a while since we had seen her and she fell right back into place at our house.

See?  She is right in place in Molly's loft bed, with all the kids too!!  I think they were all up there for like 2 hours.

Molly and Potter playing a violin duet.  They did this many times over the weekend, it was such fun to watch and listen!

And, that sums up her cocktail hour every night.........

Caleb's gymnastics demo

On March 17th, Caleb had his second gymnastics demo.  Now that he is in the boy's class, one of the events they work on are the rings.   He really loves this event, as he does all of gymnastics in general.  

Caleb swinging on the rings

Pulling into his upside-down form

Part of his floor routine - the bridge

Getting his award - I mean, isn't he just the cutest kid??

Father Daughter Dance

Molly's elementary school hosts a Father-Daughter Ball every winter.  Molly was very excited to shop for her dress and dress shoes with a heel!  Dave even bought a new tie and dress shirt for the occasion.  From what I've heard about that night, it was an awesome time and Dave may have busted a few moves.  I'll have to hunt around for anyone who has video of that!!

Molly dressed up and ready to go!

Dave and his beautiful date!

This is what they look like in real life!!!

Cute kids

Just a few pics of some cutie pie kids...

My kids and Cameron over at Wendy's apartment.  

Molly and Cameron (he is about 11 months old here)

First day of ice cream at Smarty's....pretty sure this was in mid March.  Who would have thought that?

Field trip with UPK to Consol's Family Kitchen

This year, one of Caleb's classmates has a parent that works at Consol's restaurant, so we were able to work out a field trip there to make pizzas!!  It is an awesome trip to make, some kids have never made their own pizzas before, and everyone leaves full :)

Ignoring my finger (?) - Caleb starts off by drawing what his pizza will look like when it is out of the oven

Squishing the dough

Over-exaggerating his moves

Sauce spreading went smoothly

Wondering if anyone is watching him start to take the whole container of cheese

Victorious with a pound of cheese

Finished product!

One day of sledding this winter!

This was quite possibly the LAMEST winter ever!!!  We had virtually no snow, we had exactly zero snow days and only one delay day for school.  Fortunately for the kids, the one day that we had a significant (read: 4 inches) amount of snow was on a weekend.   I was feeling poorly that day, so I didn't go sledding, sadly that meant I missed my chance for snow fun for the whole winter.  Dave bundled up the kids and the sleds and headed over to the berm.  The kids reported to me upon arriving home 'Mom, you could still see *grass* on the hill.'  I mean, that is just wrong.  Wrong, wrong, wrong. They had a fun time anyway, and came home to hot chocolate with peppermint and marshmallows!!!

Headed out with one of the new sleds from Santa

Whooshing down the hill!!

Ready to ride

Molly's new room

Right after the holiday craziness was over, Dave took on his big project for the BU break - totally redoing the playroom downstairs for Molly's new bedroom.  Molly selected a beautiful lavender color for the walls, and then Dave and I decided that it would be too much purple on the walls.  We decided to put a chair rail around the room to break up the color.  I must say that Dave did a masterful job of that and it is truly amazing!!  It makes the room look more grown up, and it will also work well in many years when it isn't Molly's bedroom anymore. 

To save floor space, Dave built Molly a loft bed.  It is totally wicked!!!  She has long wanted one and this room was quite suited to having one.  Dave drew up all of the plans and constructed the entire bed on site!  When we ever have to take it out, it will need to be at least partially disassembled!!   Also to make use of the space more efficiently, Molly's desk now lives under her bed.  This leaves room for her dresser, a bookshelf, and toys that she likes to keep out to play with.  The room is the envy of her brothers, who I think wish they had something like this as well.  Being the only girl has its privileges!!!

After the room is painted, the chair rail is up, and the bed and ladder and put together.

Molly just testing it out to make sure it is weight bearing!

Wow, it must be weight bearing with all three of them up there!!!

Molly's desk, with her new desk lamp installed on the underside of the bed frame - super idea!

First night in the new bed!!!!

Caleb was having a little trouble letting go of his roommate, so he had a sleepover in Molly's new room for the first couple of nights.

Starting up again.....soon!

Yes, I have heard from several different friends and family that the blog isn't what it used to be.  The sad part is, we have been very busy, there are lots of pictures to post, and I even got a new camera at Christmas.  We (read: I) am so busy most of my days, by the time it is evening, I just want to collapse.   BUT, I will be getting my act together soon.  Check back.  I promise!!