Curly and Ropers

We had another busy weekend. It all started Friday night when we met Mark and Betsy +kids for pizza. We then came back here to play for awhile. The kids had so much fun. Here they are with their fancy smiles!

Jacob, Madie, Emma

Grandma and Grandpa R. made the trek to see us this weekend to celebrate Miss Madie's birthday. She got new Roper boots and a sweatshirt. She picked out the boots all by herself. They even light up!

My little fashionista

Ropers...

We are actually starting to look like a real "farm" around here. Earlier in the week we got 3 six month old kittens from a work friend. They are getting used to their new surroundings as well as being manhandled by 2 girls. Em and Madie and loving having something to cuddle and pester while they are outside.

Emma loving on Tiger.

Grandma and Grandpa R. also brought us 2 miniature horses and a miniature colt this weekend. The kids have fed them, watered them and given them a good brushing. That and rode them a little bit. The little colt is named Curly...he is adorable. The other mini is pregnant and should be having a colt sometime in April. Oh...the excitement!

Grandpa giving Madie a ride on Lotsa Colors

Introducing Curly...he gets his name from his slightly curly mane and tail.

Matthew petting Curly...this also gives you a good idea of how big the colt is.

Steely Blue and the Black-Eyed Peas

Well, the painter finished up today with the master bath. It looks divine! Goodbye to the last yellow room. Don't get me wrong, yellow is a great color...just not in every room. Our master bath went from sunshine yellow to Steely Blue. Not blue...not gray...perfect! Notice my model in the picture again! He was in rare form this morning!

Good bye Yellow...

Hello Steely Blue

I worked from home today doing progress reports for report cards this week. I don't know that there is anything more boring! 40 students to review progress and write a note to parents. I find that after the first 10 I am saying the same things over and over. Way to go! Great work! Keep it up! You get the idea...blah...blah...blah. The one thing I will say is that a typical day in my job does not leave me doing the same thing for more than 20 minutes at one time...7.5 hours of the same thing...no thanks!

My friend Katie called me this morning. She won tickets to the Black Eyed Peas concert tonight from a local radio station and asked me to go. I am super excited! I have not ever been to a concert...should be a great night. Thanks Katie...you are the best! I will post more on that later! Gotta run...lots to do before show time!

Herbal Wash

Two more rooms - done! Yippee! Have I said yet how much I LOVE having a painter! Yesterday she did the spare bath in the basement and the kids bathroom upstairs. They both look great! Herbal Wash looks fantastic in the basement...

It is a small bathroom so it is very hard to get a good picture of the whole thing.
Upstairs she painted Pavillion Beige in the kids bathroom. It perfectly matches the puppies on the shower curtain. And I didn't plan it that way either! Notice the model in the last picture!

Today...the master bath and then we are good with paint for a while. Our master bedroom still needs to be done but I am not sure yet what color I would like in there. That and the current color is tolerable for now.
*sigh*
What a great feeling to have the house basically the way we want it. Bye bye bright yellow!

Football Brown

Matthew's room is a new soothing shade of football brown. Brandon likes this color much better than the neon green of yesterday. The previous colors were Ohio State red and gray. This is much more "us". Tomorrow's room...the spare bath in the basement. Another soothing shade~sage green!

Sorry about the quality of the second picture. The window light didn't allow for a good picture but you get the idea!

Gotta Wear Shades...

We have been slowing working on making the new house our own. I forgot to get a before picture of the girls room but it was bright pink and purple. It also had an excessive amount of nail holes - large and small - on the walls. The girls were super excited to get home from school today as the painter is back (I love her!!) and doing her thing. She started with the girls room today. I got the girls new bedspreads for their beds. They also got a full length mirror and lamp from Grandma and Grandpa G. for their birthdays. Voila...they have a brand new room. Warning: It's so bright, you gotta wear shades! I wasn't exactly expecting neon green when I picked out this color. I kinda like it though. Tomorrow...Matthew's room. A more subtle shade of brown is on tap.

The new paint and bedding...

Another view...

The previous owners had put shelving on two walls. The girls love it for their nick-knacks. How do you spell that?!?

Party Time

Today we celebrated Madie's birthday with half a party...Betsy's family all had colds and Grandpa and Grandma R. missed due to a little something called snow. We made the best of it and had a great time! Here is a little photo montage of our day.

Madie and I getting ready to party!

Matthew enjoyed his cake or should I say frosting.

Madie opening her gift from Aunt Shel.

Make a wish!

Nothing runs like a Deere! Madie got a new hat from Grandpa G. Cousin Jacob rejected this hat....yuck-pink!

Watch out WebKinz World...here comes Madie!

Happy Birthday Miss Madelyn

Happy Birthday Miss Madelyn!
Miss Madie turned 5 years old today. I can't believe how fast time flies! She has kindergarten round-up next week and before you know if she will be off on her first day of school!
We had a very busy day today. Daddy decided to take the day off and play with us! First we headed to town to get some new swings for the swing set. The old ones were pretty rough and pinched fingers quite often. When we got home, we decided to start a fire in the fire pit and roast some hot dogs for lunch. I can't even begin to describe the yummy goodness that was roasted marshmallow!
From then on, it was play outside. We walked, swung, slid, rode scooters, all sorts of other fun outdoor activities. Brandon and I have decided that spring and summer are what is going to make the move to the acreage well worth the work and hassle. We are loving it already and have spent the better part of the last 2 days outside.

Miss Madie blowing out her candle!

Yummy!

Matthew enjoyed the marshmallow this afternoon too. I at one point had his nose in the bag!

Ready for a picnic!

On the schedule for tonight...NCAA basketball and baths!
Happy Birthday Miss M. It was a fabulous day!

Random

It has been a very busy week around here. We finished up our last two days at the old school this week and prepared for the new. Emma cried most of the day on Monday anticipating what I can only assume was the worst possible thing she could imagine. Tuesday, we were on cloud nine and had the world at our feet. Wednesday...the big day was a late start due to fog. Not. Good. We dropped Madie and Matthew off at the new daycare. They did fabulously and I had not one tear as I left. Emma had a little more trouble being dropped off at school. She eventually got settled in and the rest of the week went much better. She is now much more relaxed and I think we will survive this most traumatic time in our life! *sigh*

Here she is...ready for the big first day!

Playing computer before we left. I love it when all three can sit by each other. Quietly, without poking, pinching, hitting or kicking, yelling, crying, screaming, etc.

This week we get to celebrate Madie's 5th birthday. We started the celebration early. She had her friend Cate over last night. Today we tried out the new decorating skills on some sugar cookies. The kids had fun decorating some of their own. Matthew even got in the mix and quickly learned how to squeeze the bag, lick the frosting and then go back for more.

Emma and her butterfly. Impressive!

Matthew pointing out his pile of frosting.

These are the ones I did. The little green guys are dinosaurs - Stegosaurus I believe.
Madie has also decided that these are the cookies she wants to bring for treats to her new preschool for her birthday. Looks like we will be making another batch of cookies! Madie did quite well at her new school too. It helps a lot that the little girl she goes to daycare with is also in her class. Madie and Sydney are having great fun getting to know each other.

In other news...
I have decided to pitch a tent outside for the summer. Matthew loves being outside. In fact, just try to bring him in. Back bending, feet and arm flailing tantrums soon follow.

Brandon has what probably amounts to a couple hundred pounds of rock to pick up off the yard. The snow + learning how to run a new tractor/snowplow = a lot of rocks on the yard. I picked up four 5 gallon buckets yesterday and didn't make a dent. Sounds like fun. Brandon offered to pay the girls a dollar for every bucket they picked up...just like Uncle Mark when he was little. They haven't taken the bait yet. Looks like they just get to do it...without compensation.

Buddy got a long overdue haircut this week. Emma and Madie thinks he looks like a Chihuahua. I think we just forgot what he really looked like.

Rain, melting snow and more mud than I care to think about. Pray for sun and 60...
Later!

Courage

Emma decorating cupcakes last weekend.

Courage is a pretty big word...even bigger when you are age 7. The move to the acreage was a huge decision as it had implications for the girls as well. They would have to change schools. We let Emma stay at her current school since I work there as well and it wasn't a big deal. We decided that she could attend her new school at the beginning of the next school year. She, in her 7 year old emotional maturity, is not handling the anticipation and stress of a new school with new friends. Tummy aches, tears and nail biting are just few of the symptoms making themselves known. I feel horrible. I am going to go back on my word and send her to her new school to end the knot-in-her-stomach torture. Hopefully I am making the right decision. She is being very brave about it all and isn't fighting me like I thought she would. The definition of courage...I know she really doesn't want to go but at the same time I think she is curious about her adventures to come. I'll keep you posted!