Lauren's artwork

On Thursday my grandma watched Lauren for me while I went to the Dr. When I returned Lauren ran up to me as she always does, and she told me that she made me some cards. So I open them one by one, and Lauren explaines what each picture is about. The majority were rainbows and stick people portraits of our family. (very lovely i might add) The last one I opened had me and the kids, but this pic of me was special. I had all kinds of short lines coming off of my legs. Lauren said those are the sticks on my legs that always poke her.

Hooper Birthday Party

Last Saturday was a Hooper birthday party. My uncle Micky turned 50, we also celebrated my aunt Teresa and my uncle Carl's birthday. It was nice to see everyone. My sister and her family, my little brother and my mom all came. I made a crockpot of chili and some sweet cornbread with corn in it. My mom made her special chicken nugget platter, they taste just like chic fillet. Heather brought my favorite, BROWNIES! I was waiting at the door for the brownies. lol Actually, I told her that I would stand at the entrance so she would know where to go, which was a good cover.
It was so nice to talk to everyone, and I wish I was able to see them more often. It is strange to me that the family that got together 4 or 5 times a year, when I was younger, I haven't seen in so long. Seeing the birthday boy is always bittersweet. My uncle looks so much like my dad, that no amount of preparation can prepare me for that first glimps of him. It broke my heart to see him play with Lauren, something my dad never got the chance to do. I know he would have adored the kids.
It is sad to think that my children will not have the HUGE family holidays that we experienced. The Easter egg hunt at my grandparent's house was always amazing. Their lawn was the perfect place for a hunt, there were millions of hidding places. The adults and the older kids would hide a couple laundry baskets full of eggs. Then the hunt was on, when there is that many cousins trying to get the eggs at the same time, it is not always pretty. If I find any old easter pics I will post them.

What a great day!

Today we were scheduled to get up early and go to the park. The early part just didn't work out, but we did make it to the park. I guess everyone had the same idea, because there were lots o' kids! The boys ran around determinded to climb anything that could be climbed, slide each slide, and swing on each swing. Lauren ran around trying hard to keep up with her boys. She and Gavin ran to get a swing and had me push them for a while. They each wanted to "go higher" than the other. Vinnie was in a tire swing. He asked me to push him, so I did, around in a circle. He really seemed to enjoy that, with all the laughing he did! The kids eventually got sweaty and thirsty, and wanted to go to the car. We left the park and were on our way to the local put-put golf establishment. We went in and got our golf balls and clubs. Lauren picked out a purpleish tinted ball, but changed her mind and chose a yellow ball. She was disapointed when she didn't get a pink club. Gavin decided on a red ball and club. Vinnie had a green ball and a black club. Gavin and Vinnie both enjoyed put-put, but Lauren did not. She was sleepy and the game was very slow-going. We quit our game after the 9th hole. I told the boys that next time we would leave the other player with her granny. We then went in to play games, Gavin and I had a heated match of air hockey. Lauren won the jackpot on the Spongebob Squarepants game and got 50 tickets. Vinnie played every shooting game in the joint. He was very excited to shoot the bad guys. Gavin had some luck in the basketball shootout, which suprised me because it was so tall. After all that we went to granny's house to watch a movie that we rented earlier in the day. The kids are tired and I am tired, but what a Great Day!

School's Out

I am so happy that the kids are out for spring break. I do not have any reason to get up, so you can bet I will be sleeping in almost every day. The boys have been counting the days for 2 weeks! We hope to have a lot of fun. They are going to invite their cousin Abby over for a sleep over. They have the days planned, the movies they want to see, a trip to the zoo, and a couple of museums. I may need to send them back to school so I can rest! Wish me luck!

hairstyle 2 cents

My sister is getting her haircut tomorrow. When I talked to her earlier she said she was still undecided on what style she was going to get. She keeps her hair shorter than I keep mine, so I didn't have any ideas about what style she should choose. So I did some research, and I found some styles that I think would be cute on her. She will probabily not see this before she goes, so this is just for fun. I guess I'll see if I get close. These are in order.

Today is my favorite national holiday, National Napping day! This holiday was started in 1999 by a professor at Boston University Mr. William Anthony. Mr. Anthony is the self proclaimed Napmaster General. In celebration of this grand holiday, I took the required nap. After which, I decided to do something special, I would like to share some holiday pics. This pictures are of random holidays and family gatherings, at each I have captured a picture of our Napmaster Anthony. ENJOY!!

New Eye Story

So, as I wrote in my last blog, my eye has been bothering me. The good news is, the swelling has gone down, the bad news is I am still experiencing pain. Thats all I've got for today.