Heart of the Valley Children's Choir:

Breanna & Aubrilyn both wanted to sign up for choir this year and we felt that would be a good experience for them, so they have been going there since September - once a week for 1 hr 15 min. I think it has been really good training for them! I'm not sure if we'll continue next year or do piano lessons instead. Breanna will be in middle school and I hear they have a choir there. So we'll have to see. We did end up getting a piano in December and I know Breanna really wants to learn piano! I'm not sure if we can juggle choir, piano, activity days, girl scouts & sports all together. So we'll have to see what gets cut out. We have tried to stick to one thing at a time but that rule hasn't worked that well this past school year. We've managed so far - but Baseball & Softball season hasn't started yet! Yikes!

Our "new" piano -- we looked around for a couple weeks in the newspaper and in craig'slist. I saw this one and I really liked the antique style & carvings! I was really leery, but it sounded good (tune wise) and in talking to a piano tuner he told me what good & bad things to look for in an old piano. I think I got a pretty good deal, but we haven't tuned it yet. After we do, I'm sure the piano tuner will say whether it was a "deal" or we're a "heel!" I like it none the less!

Jenelle the explorer has turned 3 years old!

Jenelle had a Family and then a Friend party to celebrate her turning 3. Jenelle loves Dora and Diego so we had a Dora the Explorer Party for her. We played a few games and had cupcakes - Dora & Diego cupcakes! (the cupcake idea I found on nickjr.com - they were quite the hit!) Actually, most of the Party ideas came from nickjr.com. I got some game ideas from there and the invitation too. I found some Dora & Diego card games at the $1.00 store for party favors and some fun bracelets. Jenelle got a Dora big wheel too from her Mom & Dad, Dora Balloons, Dora Lego's and many other fun gifts! To say the least, Jenelle was in Dora Heaven!

Zerrick 9 mo. old

Zerrick seems to be following in his Brother's footsteps! He is a stiff legged boy and I fear he is going to start walking soon - (his brother took his first steps at 8 mo. and really didn't look back!) Zerrick is pulling himself up on things and takes a few steps along the furniture; however, this little guy is still army crawling mostly and is just starting to regular crawl. I think he just wants to get up and run to keep up with his older Brother and Sisters! Zerrick is starting to be a little tease and have a slight stubborn attitude - which I'm sure he gets from his older Brother's example (not to mention his Dad). Although the dominate attribute that shines through right now is his happy countenance and his contagious smile! He his quite social and loves to be in the center of attention! I call him my hunk of cheese and love to squish those chunky cheeks!

Zerrick is 6 mo. old now...

I can't believe 6 mo. has gone by already! This little man is growing up quick! Zerrick loves to smile and make faces when there is an audience (he sometimes gets mad when there's not)! He is a very easy going little fellow! He puts up with a lot of things: hugs, kisses, dancing, and slight dog piles from his 2 yr. old sister. Zerrick loves to eat food! He watches us eat our dinner and wants a bite or two. He has tried almost all of the single flavor baby foods - pears, apples, sweet potatoes and carrots are his favorite. Zerrick is starting to scoot a little...meaning he pushes himself forward a little. Usually it happens when he is mad and wants the toy just out of his reach. He loves to roll over - back to front, front to back. I think he's quite proud of himself! He is definately a cute ball of cheese that you can't pass by without wanting to kiss, smile at or squeeze those chunky chipmunk cheeks!

Zerrick is 3 mo. old

Time is flying by, but it still seems like yesterday when we brought this little bundle home! Zerrick is very alert and starting to grab at things near his hands. Of course he immediately takes them to his mouth. He has started sucking on his fists a lot more and occasionally I have seen his thumb in his mouth. He loves to stare at his brown bear holding a soccerball and a painted name board that I have on the wall which is mostly black and white. Zerrick has quite a happy disposition over all. He loves to see faces and will follow them around the room. Of course he has 6 different faces to look at so he is hardly ever bored. Zerrick is quite a good sleeper so far. He will usually sleep 6 hours at night and then a good nap in the afternoon when his sister takes a nap. He also takes several little naps throughout the other parts of the day & night. I can't complain much! Over all, my main complaint is that when I am nursing Zerrick, the other kids (even the 2 yr. old) knows it is nuring time and they test my limits because they know it is hard for me to come and dicipline them. The phrase "this too will pass" comes to my mind and sometimes calms me down, but not always! That's when it becomes a "Calgon" moment! Life with 5 kids is definately busy!

The Easter Bunny came to town...

A Cadbury creme egg, twix bars, bubble gum eggs, Russell's raspberry creme egg, a notebook, gel pens, socks and of course cereal were all some of the goodies that the Easter Bunny dropped off in our Baskets Saturday morning, April 7th, 2007. A couple years ago, we requested that the Easter Bunny visit us on Saturday morning so that we could keep Sunday a Jesus day and Saturday could be the Bunny day. It made Sunday less hectic and the kids didn't have the sugar rush before church! It has made it nice to not try to cram everything in on one day. The tradition in our house is that the Easter Bunny hides the baskets somewhere in the house (downstairs) and when the kids get up and we tell them it is OK to go down, we take turns finding our baskets. Usually the youngest goes first. The kids enjoy the hunt! Usually we let them have a piece or two of candy and then have them pick which cereal they want to eat for breakfast.

After breakfast we usually have a egg hunt, but with the bad weather this year, we didn't end up having an egg hunt outside (nor inside for that matter - we had several other activities later that Saturday!) We did manage to decorate a few eggs the Thursday before Easter, although that is all we have done as far as coloring and hunting eggs goes this year. The moment may have passed, we'll see!

Family Easter Photos...

Smile for the camera...
The only way I can get my family to smile for a picture is if we promise to take at least one silly picture at the end. Usually a bribe of candy helps too!

The Jensen Bunch of Bunnies...

Aubri (8) Jenelle (2) Kyle (5) Zerrick (2.5 mo.) & Breanna (10)