Friday after school Kate, Chris, & the boys went to the skate park while I did grocery shopping and made dinner. After the skate park Chris and Kate tried to go to a bar at the beach that they liked only to find out that it turned into a fine wine and cigar bar. As Kate would put it, "It was full of old people."

The fence is done! Hanzie of course won't spend more than 60 seconds out there by himself. Oh well, at least he has the option. We did find out that we have a neighborhood bobcat so perhaps it's a good thing that he enjoys the indoors! Kate did some investigating and they even hunt deer! We all enjoyed Ethan's art show on Thursday night. Ethan quickly went off with is friends. We had to force him to stay with us for the chorus performance. The chorus/band were quite good. I was impressed! We also ventured to the library to see Ethan's writing sample about the rainforest.

We have fence progress! Hanzie is checking out the new fence and figuring out how he can get a better view of Christie and RJ's cats Shelby and Bailey. They are nearly done and have another half day's work left on it. They promised to have it finished before I got home tomorrow. We are still waiting on the landscape curbing. Who knows when they will arrive.

Soccer was cancelled today because of the fires. The major issue now it that 95 south is closed in both directions from our exit north for 12 miles. This creates A LOT of extra traffic in our area and most are cruise buses and semis! The news said it will be closed indefinitely so it looks like traffic won't be back to normal for some time. 95 south of us is open which is a relief since Chris has to pick up Kate from the airport tonight! She will get in at 11:15 or so and the boys are looking forward to seeing her in the morning.

Well, Chris got A LOT of the house projects done this weekend. He even cleared out the neighbor's yard! Most importantly, he got me Moe's on Friday night! Saturday morning we had our soccer games. The boys had fun as usual. Well, Will did split his lip so he wasn't too thrilled with that. He had a nice face plant. After naps, the girls came over and played in the pool with the boys and they all had dinner together. We all hung out Saturday night and enjoyed watching the Digital Short on SNL with Tom Hanks OVER and OVER and OVER again! Emma spent the night and had donuts with the boys this morning. Today we went book and furniture shopping. We finally got a sleeper sofa for the toy room. Now the boys will have room to play and guests will have a place to sleep. Now we have a queen bed in there which sort of defeats the purpose of a toy room! On the way home from shopping we drove right past a wildfire. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/07/florida.fire/index.html Luckily we got home in time before they shut 95 down. You can certainly smell the smoke when you step outside! The boys spent the afternoon in the pool. Kate arrives on Wednesday night. Hopefully the roads will be open so we can actually make it out to the airport to pick her up. They have been closed more than they have been open for the last week or two because of wildfires!

The hot weather has returned! After our brief cold spell this past weekend, we are back to the 90's! Although Melissa and I were at the gym watching TV and the news was talking about the big cold front that is coming in this weekend that will bring us all the way down to 88 by Sunday. All of my lizard friends love the hot weather. We have one that sleeps in the same spot on our screen every night. When I let Hanzie out in the middle of the night he is in the exact same spot. He sleeps between the screen and the water spout. He is well protected so I guess he is quite clever for a lizard.

The boys have been swimming every day after school and practicing all their sweet dives. Today they got in twice. Apparently all the swimming has made them delirious. Will and Noah could not stop cracking up after we put them to bed. Will ended up with the hiccups which only made them laugh that much harder! Ethan is looking forward to his last 2 1/2 weeks of school. He is ready to call himself a first grader! We will certainly miss his teacher next year. She is absolutely fabulous! Hopefully Will and Noah will be lucky enough to have her in kindergarten as well. They still have one more year of pre-K. Most of their friends are moving on to kindergarten next year so they will have to make a whole new set of friends next year. They were actually not old enough for the pre-K class but were placed in there this year.

I'm excited that tomorrow is Friday. What makes it even better is that Moe's is opening tomorrow. Just in time for Cinco de Mayo! At least I have an excuse to eat a burrito! The boys have soccer games on Saturday. We have a few house projects going on so our weekend will be devoted to that. Ethan has an art show at school on Thursday so he is anxious to take Aunt Kate to that!

My soccer superstars have done it again! Ethan scored 4 goals on Saturday. They won their game 7 to 1. Will also scored 4 goals in his game and Noah scored an awesome goal as well! They too won their game by a killer win. They all worked so hard at soccer that they earned themselves a trip to McDonald's for a Happy Meal. After the excitement of soccer the rest of the day felt fairly average. We are having some landscape work done so Chris spent the day digging up grass. The Eagneys came over for dinner and then the adults went in the spa and played Rumikub. You can guess who won! Kate will be here in 10 days!! Woohoo!! Bill, Steph, Gavin, and Evan arrive in late May and Lori, Alina, Aidan, and my mom arrive in June. We are all anxious to see everyone and to spend some time hanging out at the beach and pool.

The week is over! This week has been very hot. Today it got nice and cool and the weekend is supposed to be just as nice! The girls came over for a dip in the pool today. The pool was 89 degrees and it was only 77 outside. They froze when they got out. Emily came home from school with us so she swam for a bit too. I think they were doing a study to find out how many kids could fit in the spa! Sophia was the only smart one and had the whole pool to herself! Tomorrow we have soccer games. This week has not been very exciting. Ethan had a rainforest show at school. They brought in rainforest animals from the zoo and did a presentation. He thought it was really cool.

Today was so hot. I can't get used to 90's in April. Fortunately, by the end of the week it is supposed to get back to the normal low-80's. Ethan and Noah dove into the pool the second we got home and I got in with him. The pool was 91 and felt quite nice! I won't get in under 88. Ethan is doing water acrobats in the picture. Noah is into a new fashion, tribal ankle bracelets! He wears many colors on each ankle. He even sleeps and takes a bath in them. Will relaxed on the couch and watched his new favorite movie, Home Alone 2. Unfortunately we only recorded half of it on the DVR so he only can watch the second half but he doesn't seem to mind! 24 days of school left!!

The weekend is almost over and we are ending it on the boys' least favorite activity- haircuts! They should be happy with all the fun stuff they've done this weekend, but sadly all they will remember is the torture of the haircut. Friday night Ethan went to a school fair with his friend Emily. She went to a different school last year so they went to visit her old school. Chris and I took Will and Noah to the river playground and got them pizza for dinner. They were happy because they found a gigantic horseshoe crab on the beach. Saturday morning the boys had their soccer games. Both of their opposing teams had to forfeit since they did not have enough players show up. They just played the games as scrimmages. Saturday afternoon the boys swam and the girls came over to play for a little bit. Today was filled with the park and swimming. We went to their favorite park which they call the wood park. Normally it is super busy. Today was nice. It was only the boys and Will and Noah's friends from school. Meghan and Morgan (also twins) were there so Will and Noah got to play with them for a while. Ethan was having so much fun that he insisted that he wasn't leaving. The picture of him was taken as he was running around the corner to catch up to us once he realized that we really would leave him at the park! Ooh.. I almost forgot our best news of the weekend. Kate bought a ticket to come visit us. She arrives on May 10th and we all are super excited!

My poor Noah is still sick. He's been asleep since 3:00. I'm thinking he might just sleep right on through until morning. His fever peaked at 103 today and it was at 102 when I gave him Motrin at 3:00. I just checked on him and he was super sweaty. Hopefully that is a good sign!

Well, Noah had 105 fever all night last night. He was still at 105 at 5:00 am when I gave him his last dose to Motrin. Will has a fever as well, but his is a modest 102. I have a low fever as well so the three of us stayed home today. Of course, I am just thinking of the million things that aren't going to get done at school today and the meetings that I am missing. Oh well! These last six weeks of school are quite busy. Ah... only six weeks!! I actually do have to go to school this afternoon to pick up Ethan so I can at least grab some stuff to do tonight.

Easter dip!

Here are some pictures from the Easter egg hunt we had this morning. Emma, Paige, Sophia, and Kyle joined in for the hunt. They had loads of fun and even more fun going through their loot after the hunt!
Here they are preparing for the hunt. Kyle is hiding behind Colleen. I guess he isn't as accustomed to the camera as the Eagney girls and Schrader boys!








There was one golden egg and one silver egg hidden. If you found one you got a bigger prize at the end of the hunt. Here is Noah trying to convince Will to trade his silver egg for ALL of his green eggs. I must add that he carefully checked his basket to see which color he had the least of before offering up his greens. Will said, "No deal!"






More hunt pictures...

























Apparently Kyle was a little confused by our directions and thought there was a prize for having the biggest egg in your basket!

On the way home from miniature golf we stopped at a park on the river. The playground is on a sandy beach so the boys love running from the beach to the playground in the sand. There were a pair of entertaining dolphins playing right off the beach. The boys had fun watching them.

Easter weekend is here! The boys really wanted to go miniature golfing as their special Easter treat. We went this morning and the weather could not have been more perfect. The boys had a great time although it took them almost half the game to learn the rules and etiquette of miniature golf.













This picture is of Ethan after his first of many hole in ones!

Noah woke up with a fever this morning. It never ends!!!

Looks like all of our chocolate will melt in the eggs before the boys can even find them again this year!

Today was Easter party day at school for the boys! I was able to attend Ethan's party. The kids had tons of fun. His teacher is from England so she taught the kids some really cute Easter songs that I had never heard before. They also had an egg hunt. Of course there was tons of food as well. I couldn't go to Will and Noah's party, but Melissa was able to go and took lots of pics of them having fun.

Well, I am officially old! I had a good birthday yesterday with my boys. It didn't start out that great though. Ethan woke up with my alarm at 5:30 only to sit up and throw up all over our bed! I thought he felt warm before bed on Sunday. I guess I was right. Chris stayed home from work with him. I would have liked to have stayed home on my birthday but the 2nd graders are still testing and I have to be there. Melissa cheered me up by bringing me a yummy smoothie and an equally yummy angel food cake that Mike made. After school I came home and we went to eat at a new Mexican restaurant. We took a nice stroll around the neighborhood after dinner. While Chris gave the boys a bath, I took another loop around the neighborhood with Christie and cutie pie Drew. Finally it was cake time. The boys thought that the number of candles on the cake was hilarious! Chris took a few pictures of me modeling my sweet new presents. I took my Nano to the gym tonight with me. I was super cool! I listened to the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack on the treadmill and bikes. I still haven't baked anything with my new apron from the Eagney's. I'll have to do some Easter weekend baking! Katie just dropped off some super soft slippers and cute pajamas. I guess she wanted me to fit in with the old ladies in my neighborhood! I think my pajamas are too trendy for them!

Ethan ended up staying in my classroom with me most of the day. He tried going to class but started feeling really sleepy and achey. He still has a low fever. I gave him more Motrin before bed.

This weekend was very busy! Saturday morning we had the two awesome soccer games. After the games we came home and got ready for our cookout. Sophia came over around 4:00 and helped me clean Will & Noah's room. After that we tackled Ethan's room. Mike and Melissa were at the movies with the other girls so Sophia got lucky and was able to spend some quality time with me! Chris' friends from work came over around 5:00. Michelle, Bruce, and Allison (16 months) came over first. Allison and Sophia spent some time checking each other out. Then Allison just stared at the boys. She was completely bewildered by their hyperactivity. Justin and Leah arrived shortly after. Mike, Melissa, Emma, and Paige came just in time for a short swim before dinner. Emma decided to spend the night. This morning Will and Emma woke up at 6:45 and kept each other entertained for a while. Once everyone rolled out of bed I got the kids their official 2nd day of the weekend breakfast (AKA- Dunkin Donuts). After donuts we decorated the house for Easter with some help from Emma. I took Emma home around lunch time and went to Wal*Mart and K-Mart to buy some Easter basket goodies. Right when I got home Ethan's friend Emily knocked on the door. They went swimming for a bit. It was only 72 degrees outside and it was very cloudy and windy. I can't believe they got in at all. The pool was only 82 degrees. Will and Noah stayed out and we did puzzles on the patio table! Once they thawed out they played spies for quite a while. I can't even begin to tell you how many "Official Spy Meetings" were held in my house this afternoon. I'm sure the CIA is watching our house! Chris took the boys to the YMCA to play soccer in the gym for about 45 minutes before dinner. After dinner and bath we did some Easter craft projects and read every Easter book in the house. Finally it was bed time! Ah... I just finished school work and am off to bed myself. Or perhaps I should stay up and savor my last two hours of being in my 20's.

Soccer season update...
Black Wildcats (Ethan's team)- Ethan scored the only goal of the game winning the game 1-0!
Black Bears (Will & Noah's team)- Will scored three goals for his team winning the game 3-2!

The weekend is finally here! Since it was 90 degrees today the boys went for a swim. Emma, Paige, and Sophia came over for a swim and pizza as well. The pool was 88 degrees so it was definitely warm enough. Kyle came over around 7:00 and is going to spend the night. The boys just left to take Hanzie for a walk. I stayed behind to make potato salad and Key lime pie for our cook-out tomorrow. Yummy!

After Ethan's ear, this week has been fairly routine. We went to Eagneys' one day to bounce on their trampoline. Yesterday was soccer practice. The boys all did great. I only watched Ethan again. They scrimmaged another team and he was NOT happy about being kicked twice by a kid on the other team. He is already worried about really playing them! The funniest part was that the kid spent the entire game tripping other players and one of the kids on Ethan's team finally got sick of him and tripped him back. He rolled on the ground and cried forever. After practice Ethan said, "I don't get that kid. He tripped everyone the whole game and then cried like a baby when he fell!" It took all I had not to laugh. I think that Kyle is spending the night with us tomorrow. We rented The Chronicles of Narnia but still haven't gotten a chance to watch it. Maybe they'll watch it with Kyle tomorrow.

A BIG congrats to Christie and RJ. Their son, Andrew, was born yesterday. He weighed a whopping 9 1/2 pounds and was 22 inches long! No wonder Christie was so ready for him to make his appearance.

Nothing much to report. Ethan went to the doctor again yesterday and has another double ear infection! She put him on stronger antibiotics this time. Hopefully it will work for him. It is the same type Noah was on and his ears are now 85% clear and no longer infected according to the doctor. Will's ears were perfect.

This morning we went to the beach for a couple hours. The kids had fun and it was warm and sunny! The water is still only 68 degrees though. This afternoon they boys have just been hanging out at the house. They took short naps and have been in the pool for 2 hours and still haven't come in!

Yesterday the boys had their first game. Ethan's team played first. They won! Ethan was a little hesitant at first, but then had control of the ball most of the game. Will, Noah, and Emma's team played just after. They won as well! In this game, Will had control of the ball most of the time. Noah didn't want to play halfway through the game. Another kid wanted out so I threw Noah in the game. As soon as he got in he scored. After that, we couldn't pull him off the field! Emma did awesome too. She is an awesome dribbler but isn't aggresive at the goal. She'll get it next week I'm sure! I don't think she wanted to hurt the other team's goalie! They all had a blast and are excited for next week's games already.

After the big games, I came home and started getting ready for Melissa's birthday dinner. She requested cheese enchiladas. Greg, Melissa's brother, is here visiting. He was there for the dinner as well. Katie came over for a bit- just long enough for a strawberry daquiri or two. Coleen, a friend of Chris' from work, came over along with her husband Aaron. They have a son Kyle who is a really sweet kid. He is playing on the boys' soccer team as well. He came over and played with the boys and the Eagney girls. They swam, jumped in the moon bounce, watched a movie, and ran all over the house!