Wow, I have so much to share. I really need to be more faithful. Anyway, onto the good stuff:

Ethan did it! He can officially ride without training wheels. Several more practice sessions was all he needed. Andrew and Ethan headed down to the Bike Surplus store and found Ethan a Green bike with a water bottle (very important!) He still needs to work on his confidence, but we are well on our way!








Ames has experienced some major flooding, with water levels rising very quickly with very little warning. This spring has been really wet, but Friday night we had a major rain storm with rain totals around 4-5 inches. By noon on Friday, the water had rose enough to close most of the north /south routes in Town. Even, target's parking lot was under water! Later that evening Interstate 35 and US 69 were also closed.

We survived the water with very little damage. We had a little seepage in our basement, but nothing to be concerned about. This is only the 2nd time in 4 years that we have had water come up through the floors. We are pretty lucky.

Ben had his 3rd birthday party on Friday evening. (Yes, He is spoiled! Party 1 - Just the 5 of us; Party 2 - Shared party with Grandpa, Nadia and Mother's day; Party 3 - his long awaited hockey party) We invited his hockey team to the rink. Almost everyone was able to attend, we had a great time! We were worried some people might not be able to make it due to the flooding, We had about 20 kids + parent and siblings. Everyone skated for an hour and then we had cake and ice cream. It was a little chaotic, but all in all a good time.











This morning we biked to Brookside park to survey the flood. Wow! It's a unbelievable to see the destruction left by the rushing water. We saw a dumpster in the swings, and several picnic tables in the trees. We spent a few minutes walking through the park and splashing in the water. The picture shows how high the water was last night. Wow! Most of the streets have been reopened and life will return to normal with lots of cleanup ahead.

Ben has been working on this paper-maché guy for several weeks in art class. I wanted to share it with you because he decided to create a replica of Grandpa in the field. See the little corn plant at his feet. Ben noted that it looks more like a rapper / rock star than Grandpa. We all had lots of laughs! Grandpa's a rock star!

Wow! What a great weekend we had.
We took the family to Sesame Street Live on Friday evening! Nadia Loved it! Actually the whole family loved it, well except Andrew. He had several complaints. I reminded him that HE was not their target audience!!!! I took 2 photos and the camera went dead! My helpful husband said, " Who doesn't bring extra batteries!" Unbelievable! In Andrew's defense, He did sneak down to the front to take a few pictures with his phone. They are really terrible quality, but I might be able to rescue them. Does anyone know of anyone that took their children? Would they be willing to share a few photos?

Saturday was my day to teach the coaching class at DMACC. I really enjoy teaching this class, but it's a really long, long day. My family was very productive, they planted the garden. Keep in mind our garden is only about 8 feet by 4 feet. Enough room for several tomatoes, a row of beans, and we squeezed a few sugar peas in the back corner. We planted a few cucumber plants in the back corner of the yard. They even had time to watch a Hockey game!

Sunday afternoon was gorgeous! We got the bikes out of the shed. Our boys have never enjoyed riding their bikes. Our bike outings usually start with complaining and sometimes crying. I think we might have made a little progress today. Ben seemed more confident and Andrew helped Ethan ride without training wheels. Ethan actually admitted that he had fun! A new bike has been promised when he can ride without the training wheels. I hope to be showing pictures of Ethan riding his new bike sometime this summer.

The smell of spring is here. Our street is lined with flowering trees, including the lilacs. It smell amazing around here.








I love the surprise that spring brings. We plant bulbs in the fall and pray that the squirrels do not eat all the bulbs for dinner. I was surprised to see some beautiful yellow one with red edges.

Ben has been home all week. He has a low grade fever, sore throat and headache. He had a strep test on Monday, which was negative. I guess we just wait it out! He is going a little stir crazy, but he has been a great playmate for Nadia. I will miss him when he get better.

Yesterday was a day of Celebrations at our house:

1. 3 Birthdays - Nadia, Ben and My Dad ( he is 60!)
2. Mother's day - I hope everyone had a fantastic mother's day
3. Leah ran the Tim tam marathon in Ames; she finished it in 4 hours and 14 minutes. I am completely in awe.
4. Great-Grandpa still able to get out and enjoy our celebrations.

Where did the time go? This first week of May has just swept past us.
Spring semester at DMACC is over, this week I had papers to read, exams to correct and grades to assign. I finished all that late last week and have been turning my focus to scrapbooking. Saturday was National Scrapbook Day: I met with my friends at Ames Area Croppers. We had a fantastic time; I was very productive. I completed 9 pages total. Check out my gallery at Scrapaddict to see them. http://www.scrapaddict.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=2822

Ben's birthday was Saturday, We had a small celebration with more to come.
9 Years - Time still flying. He has decided not to get a hair cut. I bet he will change his mind when the heat of summer hits!

Where did Winter go? I don't know, but I am so glad that it's gone for now. My front garden is in full bloom. Daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths. I love spring flowers!



















Where did my supplies go? I have lost a few scrapbook items..... It is actually driving me nuts! The kids and I have cleaned out the playroom and closet in case they wondered in there. NOPE! Really, Where did they go?

Where did the boy's Lego go? Lego has been disappearing as well. Another cleaning session, this time under the beds. Last night we saw Nadia drop a piece of lego down a hole in the floor. Oh No! The hole is now covered with tape. How long has she been doing that! Did she stash my stamp set down there? (Just kidding, the hole is not that big!) But it would be nice to know where they went!


Happy Spring!