shout out to the zimmermans!

last month (i know, i'm slow getting this posted) our friends jason & dusty were in town. we were delighted that they were able to spend so much time with us! they came over to eat at our house one night, then the guys took in a unlv basketball game while dusty hung out with the kids & me. another night was reserved for board games ~ we love to play games like trivial pursuit & cranium. the last night of their trip we went out to eat & then had some drinks. it was so fun to see them! they are great people ~ can't wait to see you again this summer. :)


jason & dusty came bearing gifts from harry & david ~ yummy!!



dusty telling a funny story that i can't repeat...partly because i can't retell it the way it should be told!

potty training...of a different kind

PLUS



EQUALS

lauryn's potty mouth! she's been saying "tammit" a lot lately...really we don't know where it came from. the other day when she was going potty she said it.
j ~ dennis, did you hear that?
d ~ yeah, why did she say it?
j ~ because i had to put a new roll of toilet paper on.
so the next morning laur is in the kitchen with dennis as she's putting a puzzle away.
l ~ tammit! (as a puzzle piece falls on the floor)
d ~ no lauryn, you don't say that word
l ~ yes, i say it when i get mad
where in the world did this come from? when she says this we tell her she can't say it, it's a bad word. but of course, that makes her only want to say it more. so then i flick her on the mouth with my finger, but more drama ensues when i do that. my girlfriends told me that we just need to ignore it so i guess we'll see how that goes!

easter

the week leading up to easter started off with the kids receiving identical easter baskets from g'ma & g'pa bedford. isaac & lauryn were very excited, to say the least!


a few days later, isaac's buddy michael stayed overnight & they dyed/decorated easter eggs.




then on saturday while dennis was out of town, i decided i'd take the kids (plus michael) to a new shopping area for an easter celebration: free easter egg hunt, free face painting, free games, etc. on our way to town square, i realize my mistake when traffic is getting worse & worse as we approach the exit. after hunting down a spot, we get our baskets & head to the center of town square. it is utter chaos! the boys need to use the bathroom immediately & we have to wait in line for 10 min. there are people, strollers, baskets, and more everywhere. guess everyone else in town had the same idea as me. as we are waiting in line at the restrooms i talk the kids into a trip to dairy queen instead.
mission accomplished:

yesterday was easter & we went to church, came home to relax, & susan came over to enjoy a grilled turkey with us. later, friends della & mike and their kids michael & matthew came over to spend the evening with us. it was a great day!

then the easter bunny paid a visit to the kids here at the house.

pictures from when nate was in town for 2 hours...

this was from the middle of march when he was driving on his way from omaha to fresno. he & a friend stopped long enough to have lunch, lucky us!

this is what happens when your 2 & 5 year old kids help put your groceries away. you end up with bisquick, crackers, & chicken bouillon in the fridge. :) i do LOVE that they want to help! guess they just knew i needed a smile when i opened up the freezer later to find the syrup in there.

are you on "the list"?

today as we were running errands, isaac saw one of these:

then he proceeded to give me a list of people he knows who eat wonder bread!
B.E.W.A.R.E.~
if you're not on this list, for sure he's got another one for something else with your name on it!

the real allen fieldhouse

here's the real thing...

Named in honor the late Dr. F.C. "Phog" Allen, the Jayhawks' head coach for 39 years, Allen Fieldhouse is labeled by many as one of the best places in America to watch a college basketball game.

The actual playing surface is the James Naismith Court, honoring the inventor of basketball who later established Kansas' basketball program and served as its first coach from 1898 to 1907.

Before the start of every home game, it is tradition to sing the National Anthem, followed by the school alma mater, "Crimson and the Blue"; finally followed by the Rock Chalk Jayhawk Chant.

dennis & i are huge jayhawks' fans! we would someday love to see a game in allen fieldhouse. we were lucky enough to see kansas play here in las vegas in a tournament over a year ago. the energy was amazing! actually, our goal is to attend the ncaa tourney sometime...
go jayhawks!

pix from mom's visit

mom with the kids all dressed up for church


mom & the kids made & decorated (& ate) easter cookies...yummy!


here the kids are being so helpful in lauryn's room while we are taking down the old border.


in this picture, mom is laughing at lauryn because after i had found her (mom) some rubber gloves to work in, lauryn went in search of her golden gloves too!


grandma & the kids in lauryn's room when it was all finished. lauryn loves it & thinks it is "so pretty".


lauryn is very shy & bashful, not really acknowledging people when they say hi to her. grandma was no exception for the first hour that she arrived here in vegas. when lauryn was ready, she warmed right up to her...& she definitely warmed grandma's heart on her last night when she asked to rock with her (& lauryn usually isn't a rocker either!).

potty post again! sorry!

ok, i know i just posted about lauryn going potty, but this was funny! each time she successfully goes to the bathroom like a big girl, i reward her with a chocolate chip. so after she just finished going i followed her into the kitchen as she's singing, "this is great, mommy, this is great!" she just really cracks me up...
i will TRY my hardest to refrain myself from posting about my kids in the bathroom...

bathroom buddy

i bet you are all on the edge of your (toilet) seat, wondering how lauryn's potty training is going...
well, lucky for you i'm going to tell you! lauryn has been wearing training pants here & there for the last week and doing a pretty good job. she's been wearing isaac's 'boy' training pants but that hasn't bothered her. she says, "look at my cute underwear" even though there are trucks all over them. :)
today she wore a pull-up for about 5 hours & kept it dry. then she soaked up a diaper during her nap. after she woke up, i took the diaper off & left her in her bare butt. we were coloring with isaac when he asked lauryn if she needed to go potty. surprisingly, she hopped up & followed him to the bathroom! i heard him say, "i'll go first" then he assisted her & cheered when she went. then as he was helping her get soap on her hands to get washed up, i hear lauryn say, "not too much, isaac, not too much". i had a huge grin on my face listening to their conversation & enjoyed the fact that i didn't have to help at all! we're making progress...

what's new?

1. my mom left today after visiting for a week....she found such a good deal on airfare, she couldn't resist! i admit, it is hard to resist isaac & lauryn. :)

2. she brought a new printer/copier/scanner with her to give to us so when i figure out how to use it all, you're in for a treat of some "old school".

3. for some reason i can't download anything from our camera so can't show you all of the great videos & photos from the past week.

4. my brother was driving through town on his way from omaha to fresno (remember he's with the national tour of mamma mia) & stopped to have lunch with us. we met at caesar's palace to eat at the cheesecake factory (YUM!!) & we surprised nate by not telling him he'd get to see mom too! our lunch went way too fast. dee & lilia flew to fresno so we missed out on seeing them. :(

5. mom & i painted lauryn's room & added new border, etc. so cute!

6. isaac started t-ball practice last week & loves it. it's little league with much more instruction than the previous league he was in, with more practices & more games. fun!

7. our niece jordan is expecting & planning a june wedding at the same time! so we're looking forward to our summer vacation in north dakota.

that's all folks!
what's new with you?

tiny tim

tim got a chance to get out & stretch his legs while dennis cleaned out his habitat. isaac had a blast with him! tim got to walk around on isaac's car rug. he's actually a quick little bugger!



isaac enjoyed putting up some of his army stuff for tim to play with.


here tim mows the army guys down...


time now for a bath


good...i get to relax now.

ahhh...life is good!