Ah...Minnesota "Spring"

It happens every year...the stores start clearing out the winter gear and replacing it with spring and summer clothing. Easter is around the corner, so all of those cute "springy" decorations come out...but in Minnesota, it looks nothing like spring. Oh, it will tease you...start to warm up into the 40s, with the snow melting and birds chirping. But DON'T BE FOOLED! Winter is definitely not over! In fact, you have to be well into May before you can even start calling it "spring." We've had about 8 inches of snow over the past few days and lucky Grandma Sandi (visiting from California) got to help shovel the driveway...
Kevin had to help, of course...

Ethan was an excellent sled-puller...

And you've just got to love those pink cheeks! (minus the perpetually runny nose.)

One of the good things about Minnesota spring snow is that it is nice, wet, and sticky, perfect for snowmen and snowball fights. Robert and the boys came up with these creative snowmen...

Can you name those Star Wars characters? (Hint: you need to know your light saber colors.)

That's right...the epic light saber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. (Luke could really use a nice, shaggy blond wig, don't you think? We have a purple light saber, so the lack of hair would have suited a snow Mace Windu, but Ethan was determined to make it a Luke Skywalker.)

Happy Birthday, Trevor!

Today my little boy turned 9! I can't believe it! He is such a great guy. He has the greatest sense of humor and he scares me a little with how quickly he catches on to things. He's also kind and loving. He so curious about the world...I find myself explaining things like insurance and investing to him. Last night, before he went to bed, I told him I would never see 8-year old Trevor again. He thought that was funny, but then got a little sad about it. He said, "It was fun being 8." How awesome that he knows it's great to be a kid! I assured him that 9 will be a great year, too. Here's a picture when he was about 6 months old:What a face! Look at those cheeks and those little ears that stick out! Where did the past 9 years go?!

On Friday night we had a Wii Sports party with 8 boys at our house. It was a lot of fun. I borrowed a Wii from a friend, so we had two Wiis going, so all 8 boys could play at once. I got them headbands and wristbands to wipe off all their "sweat" while they played Wii bowling and tennis. At the end, they all received trophies with their names and "Wii Sports Champ" on them. Sandi (Robert's mom) flew in to help with the party. I think we were both exhausted after a couple of hours with those boys! I think I'm done with big at home parties for a while.


Today Trevor took St. Patrick's Day pencils to school, along with some fun worksheets for his "birthday treat." (Our school has asked that we cut back on all of the sweets for birthdays.) We opened presents after he got home for school, went out to eat at Trevor's favorite restaurant (Chili's), then checked out the new Nickelodeon Universe at the mall. It was fun! Afterwards, we had a giant cookie cake that Sandi picked up for his birthday cake. All in all, a fun day!

Kevin's First Haircut

Yes, yes...I'm a lazy blogger. It's been 2 months since my last post...and I'm sorry! You've all probably given up on me by now. I'll try to catch all of you up on the daily doings of our family. Here are a few pictures (before and after) of Kevin's first haircut, which I reluctantly agreed to. The male contingent of our family were very pro-first-haircut. I just knew he wouldn't have that little baby look anymore! Ethan told me one day that he looked like a girl, so I sadly agreed. (I just had to memorialize those little curls with a few pictures.)
Kevin was very into the suckers at the hair place. He had the first one unwrapped and in his mouth, with the wrapper thrown away before I could even blink. We did have a few tears when she put the cape on, but he endured as best as he could, as long as no one touched his sucker. I love the last picture because you can see the bits of hair stuck to his chin with sucker drool.