REWIND: Egg hunting and other Easter Treasures

The incredible-six split up for Easter, some of  us heading to Nashville and some heading to Denton...but everyone heading to do something they love best, VISIT GRANDPARENTS!

But first, we couldn't miss the school Easter egg hunt.  Another fun memory at our little preschool.

 
And then some of us "hunted" again in Nashville.

But eggs weren't the only treasures we found while we were there.

We found fun times with NONNA! (and Papa Jim, too, but unfortunately he wasn't feeling very well)

And an unexpected blessing of some time with Wes and Lauren

AND these fun friends that we found at church

One of my favorite treasures was lots of time together. 
Snuggles. 

Acting crazy together.

Walks to the park.

 
And playing in some of my favorite childhood spots.

And, if that weren't enough...
I also got to spend much of the weekend celebrating another beloved treasure. 
I've loved this beautiful bride for longer than I can remember.
The four of us have more memories together, covering a broader scope of life, than I do with just about anyone else I can think of.  Such a blessing to be able to add this day to that list of treasured-memories!

Indeed, I'd say our Easter "hunting" was VERY successful!
ABL

REWIND: Sites to See

I'm still trying to go back and do a few more "rewind posts" to bridge the gaps this spring. Bare with me.

Another of our early adventures involved taking the "circus" to the museum.
Before we even got inside, there were sites to see.  Unfortunately. 
WE were the sites for others to see.
Sorry, people.  We're still getting the hang of this corralling business.

Once we got inside.  There were lots of sites for US to SEE, as well.

We saw toy trains

snakes

and bubbles.

 We drove rescue vehicles

and shopped for groceries.

  

We played with water guns

and built waterways.

(Did anyone else think the reflection of the water was playing tricks on you?  nope- those are just the matching-but-not-twin brothers at work.  Oh, and after snapping the photo, I did explain to Cbug that we don't taste the exhibits.)

But, for one momma whose "baby brother" had just returned from Afghanistan, these were some of

the VERY BEST sites to see:

Lots of sights to see, lots of fun to have, lots of memories to make.

I love the museum.

And Lt D!

but I could do without the snakes

ABL

REWIND: Our first adventure

CAMPING.

Only a few weeks after our nephews and niece came to stay at our house, our family was planning to go camping with some friends. Keep in mind, the kind of camping we do is very conducive to small children. BUT STILL. Could we do it? six kids. eight people. A 10-month-old. IN A TENT?

Sure. Why not?

Now would be a great time for me to pause and say...

We have some INCREDIBLE friends. Friends who jumped in to love these kids and help make a trip like this possible. It was only one night, but five precious kiddos loved every minute of it. (Verdict out on baby B's enjoyment level). They helped us survive our first party-of-eight adventure. 

I'd say we even better than survived,

We got to be with some of our favorite people, and we did what we do best on the farm...

Took rides in the jeep.

Made Friends with large animals.

And when the squeals of delight ran the animals away, we found something standing still...

And climbed on it,

rolled down it

or jumped off of it.

Since this was our first party-of-8 adventure, we also worked on important skills.

Like helping take care of anyone littler than you

holding onto the orange rope to stick together,  

And how to sleep 8 people in tight spaces.

(poor baby B will have to cut us a little slack for only have pink bedding in the beginning...sorry bud, this has now been remedied)

We learned that ordinary objects can turn into fun and useful objects on the farm.

Like rocks for noses and a swing built from a tire.

As you can plainly see...

There was no shortage of adventures,

and we all had just a hay bale of fun!

But sheesh- I'm tired just from looking back at the pictures. 

Thank the Lord for our amazing friends, willing to help my our first adventure a success.
ABL