my kids are officially really helpful around the house. elle just put away all the silverware in the drawer and silas picked up his toys. they worked together to empty all the small trash cans in the trash and they helped pick up the 10 changes of clothes that they left on the floor. it is amazing! a three and four year old can totally contribute to the family chores. *(thanks mom and dad for teaching us the value of work and for starting us so early too!)

what to do when your son refuses to come inside on a beautiful night and take a bath? grab your camera of course and catch him being funny. we love our funny son, so if you can't beat em, join em. si decided to be difficult tonight (in more ways than one) so we eventually just gave in and started playing along. this one is priceless!

i'd like to see anyone try and do what my wife attempted this afternoon...let alone being 32 weeks along. this one goes way back to those gymnastics days at the K-1 gym. i'm sure that Pappy would be really proud of his little girl :)

we took a little family trip to the gentry wildlife safari this afternoon. wow! africa, no less than 30 minutes from our home. silas, of course, had some adventures along the way. enjoy the animals from the zoo...

after i got the kids to bed...i walked out into the living room and found finley sound asleep under the couch pillows (hmmm!!). i was surprised that fin didn't walk back and kiss the kids goodnight...but he couldn't he was buried! silas fessed up to "putting all the pillows on daddy while mommy was brushing elle's teeth...daddy wanted to go to sleep too"

pappy came to visit and taught the kids how to color eggs...with beat juice.
NOT KIDDING! all organic baby...or nothing at all.
cindy got creative with the decor.

one of our FAVORITE people is jenn!
God put her in our lives at the perfect season.
she loves on elle and silas like they were her own.

taylor brought her puppy over the other day. i could hardly get the sweet pup away from elle and silas. i on the other hand...could smell puppy breath all day! yummy!

what is the one thing this rain has brought?! WORMS!!! they are everywhere.
and still wiggling around with no hope.
this afternoon elle and silas busted in from the backyard with a great idea...
LET'S KILL THE WORMS.
(anyone who knows me understands that is just one thing i do not do...no squirmy or hoppy little creatures...can't handle)
but i thought it was so funny...i went along with the plan.
Elle's plan was to get some scissors and cut them in half. Silas moved quickly to the knife set in the kitchen...here are the pics that tell the rest of the story.
(OH...the funniest deal was that after elle cut one in half...it wiggled even harder...but in two pieces instead on one...YUCK!)

be sure to check out the fsm spring break trips at www.fsmonline.com and click on the blogs icons to see what all is going on.

what does one do on a snow day with a 4 yr old and a 3 yr old?
our day started with an early curiosity of the "snowy" ground.
so they suited up and headed out, it lasted about 10 min.
so...we progressed to playing house, then we went camping, we
had a soccer game, made a band, went to the 'doctor', cooked up a few good meals, played with animals and dolls, got creative with crafts, vacuumed the entire house...together, pretended we were in a space ship and finally my favorite...elle came out of her room dressed in nice pants, shirt, heals and said she was going to shoot a wedding.
Finally about 3:00...i gave in a let them watch Racing Stripes.