Gone Fishing

The boys all went fishing on Saturday. Everyone had the chance to catch at least one fish in Gary's pond. Uncle Doug took everyone and supplied them with the necessary equipment. Mac had a good time hanging out with Alex and McKenzie who were up visiting for John's blessing and Easter.

Easter Eggs

On Good Friday the Stapfs, Smiths, and Guadagnins got together to dye Easter eggs at the Stapfs home. Delayne had a great set up and before we knew it, we had dyed 55 eggs! One egg cracked, otherwise we would have done 56...

Mommy's Store

Bonnie came over to have a sleep over with Maddie. When they are together, big messes ensue. When I ask them to clean up said messes, tears always come. In order to avoid the tears, I decided to play a game. They could earn bonus bucks by cleaning up their mess when they were done playing. With the bonus bucks, they would come to my store and buy treats to eat while watching a movie at the Smith Family Theater. Well, Maddie thought, if a small mess cleaned up earns a few bonus bucks, a large mess cleaned up earns a large amount of bonus bucks. So, she and Bonnie decided to make the biggest mess they could in order to then earn the most bonus bucks. BACKFIRE! So much for my great idea... This is a picture of Maddie's room when the had finished making it messy. They even emptied her dresser!! It took us hours to clean up. The didn't get to play store, but they did get to watch the movie.

They look so cute and innocent. It's hard to believe these same children made such a mess!

The Camping Trip

This is Macky, Ethan, and Uncle Brett just before they left to rough it in the wilderness.  I was hoping to have a great after picture as well, unfortunately camping didn't go that well.  Mac was back before dinner.  It was drizzling and cold.  By the time he got home his feet were wet and he was miserable.  Thanks to Uncle Brett for all of the effort!  I'm sure it will work out in fairer weather!

Turtle Bay Trip

Last Wednesday (April 8th) the Smiths, Stapfs, and Guadagnins took a road trip up to Redding, CA. We went to see Turtle Bay Museum and the great Sundial Bridge.  The kids had a marvelous time!  The boys road up with me.  They watched Bedtime Stories.  Shannon and I got to chit chat for an hour while we drove up the freeway.  
Once we arrived at Turtle Bay, we started by having lunch in the Paul Bunyan playground and looked at the logging museum. I nursed John and changed his diaper, and then his clothes, and then we were off to the museum.

Here are Macky and Ethan in the museum.  They were watching a solar panel power the lego pendulum thing.  They were totally into it!Chandler turned the crank on this box to power the light bulbs.  It showed how much power it took to power different types of light bulbs.

I wouldn't drive with these crazy kids!

Jaycee and Maddie had tons of fun together.  Here they are trying to make a "tornado."

This is in front of the aquarium filled with local fish.  The kids had fun trying to identify the different kinds of fish.  Ryan was so into it, we couldn't get him in this picture!

After looking through the museum we walked across the Sundial Bridge.  This is a suspension bridge over the Sacramento River.  It is a huge sundial.  It really is incredible.  We walked across the bridge with the intent to walk through the gardens, but the gardens weren't very interesting.  So, we walked across the bridge again!  Then it was full speed ahead to get home.  John did amazingly well and we had an uneventful drive back home - this time with a car full of girls!

John's First Ear Infection

Friday morning I took John into see Dr. Brown for a fever.  He had been up and cranky all night.  Now I know why - ear infection!  It's in his right ear.  He has started on some medicine and hopefully will be doing much better by tomorrow.  

Mac's First Base Hit

Macky had his first base hit last Thursday!  He came home so excited!  At his second at bat, he bunted and ran like mad.  The catcher was right behind him trying to get the ball to tag him, but Macky made it!  He went on to steal second and run to third on a hit.  The team got three outs before he could make it home.  He was super happy and can't wait for his next game.