Most of March

Zane did a biography project at school - he wrote 5 pages about Ben Franklin, and then got to present with a speech while dressed up like him. Our sweet friend lent us an awesome costume, and we added glasses and a kite and he was transformed. He stayed in character - pretty serious face. What a cutie.  I'm so proud of all his work on it too - he was so passionate about checking out books, researching, writing, working on the computer at home, etc.  We all learned a lot of Benjamin Franklin!

 Little Ben.  (Smith had to try on the costume too)

 We had friends over for dinner and last minute decided to keep two of the kids for a sleepover. Clare and Gray are such sweet friends to Emmy and Smith (and Zane too). We decided on a girls' room and a boys' room.  They were so excited and actually did really well!

This spring break was a weird one.  We had plans to go to Glenwood Springs for a few days at the end of the week, so we just took it easy at the beginning of the week.  Hung out at home, went to the park, went on walks, etc. What we didn't know is that instead of going on our trip, we would end up snowed in at home for the end of the week.  BUMMER!!
Here are before and after pictures of our blizzard we had over spring break. This is the day before it snowed - we were wearing shorts and short sleeves that evening, playing outside for hours.

 THEN, we woke up to this, on the morning we were going to leave for Glenwood.  We knew it was going to snow, but figured we could make our way there slowly but surely.  Nope!  We ended up with about 2 feet of snow and roads were closed in the mountains, etc.  We were snowed in big time.

 We played inside.

 We played outside.

 We finally dug our car out and got out the next day to go sledding.

 The next day, we went to the Museum of Nature and Science to see the new Robots exhibit and the Chocolate exhibit...

 The kids got to play tic-tac-toe against a robot.  Smith beat him once - it made his whole day!

End of February

Zack spent the first two weeks of February in Africa with a group of 20 men who went to run some retreats for men there. It was an amazing trip and they did a ton of really awesome work.  The kids did really well having him gone for so long. It went by pretty fast and we had tons of people supporting us and praying for us while he was gone, which I know helped a bunch. 

We all went in to greet the guys when they arrived back after two weeks gone.  

 Big hugs!

 While Zack was there, they pulled one all nighter for the super bowl party.  You can see Zack's head peeking out from the back middle/left. It started at 2 am their time. So we got to face time him during the super bowl.

 I'm so proud of Zack and all he did in Kenya and Uganda!! Such an awesome opportunity.

 Some pics from his trip...

Meanwhile, I got to go away for Soul Beauty weekend, with some of my favorite women. It was such an impactful weekend. The kids went to stay at Judi and Bob's house - we packed all of this just for two nights.

 Love these ladies...

 I chaperoned Emmy's field trip to the Arvada Center to do arts and crafts and to see Junie B. Jones the musical on stage. 1st grade girls are too cute.

 Smith and Zane love to collect stickers on their helmets.

 We've only spent one day out practicing baseball so far.  It was a beautiful day and the kids got to take turns batting and being in the outfield.  Starting soon, all 3 kids are going to play (baseball, softball, and t-ball).

 Cute, handsome haircuts for the boys!

 These guys sat and read together for a half an hour while I waited for my car to get repaired.

 Wind tunnel at Jump City with buddies.

 Emmy's journal entry: "When I grow up I will have 10 or 5 kids. I hope Zane will be an inventor because he will make massage slippers. I love Star Wars and Harry Potter."

 A big part of our February was when we started watching baby Gabby when Jord went back to work. I have to say, this girl is adorable.  She is sweet and loves the big kids.  She smiles all day and is pretty irresistible.  It's made it harder to get anything done - mostly because I just want to talk with her and snuggle her all day.  So far so good.

Gabby's first official day at the Weingartner's...

 I took G on a walk one crisp morning - so got her all bundled with a too-big hat, socks for mittens, and a blanket under her cover. She looked so tiny all bundled up.

I hope her and I are buddies, just like Molly and me. :) 

iPad time - I love when they choose to snuggle in together.

 Just a quick shot of our billboard before they took it down.  It's always fun to see on our way downtown for church...

 We did a sleepover at the Mendoza's house, so we could all watch the Oscars together.  We let the girls sleep in Molly's bed together. They did great and loved it. Smith slept in Jord and Ben's bed and kept asking when they were coming to sleep with him. Haha.

 Sometimes I stop in to church and let the kids play in the one of the kids' classrooms. The rooms at our church are amazing and have full playgrounds and tons of fun toys.  So, while I fed Gabby, Smith and Molly were totally contained and occupied.  Brilliant I must say. This day, they put on a puppet show for me.

 And then I did a puppet show and Gabby was my puppet - the two big kids thought it was hysterical.

 Zack and I don't go on a ton of dates, so its always nice to get out.  We got to go see Miguel play acoustic on Pearl Street in Boulder.  He is so talented!!  It was a really fun night.

 Quick pic of Emmy at Hannah's birthday party at skate city with her friend Cecilia.  They are so cute on their little skates.

 Smith invited his friend Franco to come with us to "Discovery Days" up in Longmont.
Rice table...

 Slime!

And a Starbucks birthday cheers for Franco.

 More fun with our new toy ( I mean baby niece).

 Em loves to feed and burp Gabs herself. I love Emmy's little smile peeking out behind Gabby.  And meanwhile, Zane was making Gabby smile the whole time. This girl is already getting completely spoiled by all the love and attention!

 As all the kids were hanging out with Gabby, she let out a huge poop right on Emmy's leg - and I caught Emmy's reaction in this picture.  They all started cracking up like crazy.

 Sweetie pies

 I LOVE this action shot of Gabby tipping over and Zane ready to catch her. He caught her btw.

 Smith and Molly had an Easter egg hunt at their school the week before spring break. They were showing me all their eggs on the way out.

 We try to visit Grandma Shirley and Pappy as often as we can. We bring them lunch and they pay. It's a good deal! I am so thankful for grandparents who are the most loving and supportive people in the world. They joke around with us, ask us about our lives, listen intently, care, encourage, admire, and lift us up every single time we see them.  And for my kids to get to have a relationship with them is so amazing.

 Emmy's art work - cherry blossom tree. She was proud of herself for this one. She calls herself an artist (and she is one).