The cutest cowpoke...

Clayton and Gwen like to play a pretend game amongst themselves. Gwen is the princess and Clayton is the superhero. It truly is the cutest thing to hear them calling each other 'princess' and 'superhero'! Well, about 2 weeks ago when we were driving to Manhattan to pick up Case from school, we drove through a cattle drive on the road. The way to school was quick, the kids were enthralled with the cattle so close to the car and the 3 cowboys driving them. The way home was another story...we had a very leasurely drive through the herd. Clayton got to observe the cowboys and apparently they left quite the impression. The next morning I woke up to this...

I decided to help him out a bit and added the holster and bandana...

In the two weeks since, when he wakes up, he gets dressed and immediately puts on all his accessories and wears them EVERYWHERE...even Costco...

I mean, really, can this kid get any cuter? Because of the daily occurance of the cowboy-ness, I tend to forget he is wearing it...until people comment about it! You should see the smiles he gets...everywhere he goes! It kind of reminds me of being in Italy! People LOVE it...especially the men...maybe it just brings them back to the good ole days! I don't know, but Clayton sure does love it!

Well, spring has finally sprung here! My tulips are growing in force and they are starting to look fantastic! I love bulbs! So much bang for your buck...and so little work! Plant in the fall and forget...then you get the most fantastic spring show!

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!
Ciao a tutti!

Look what I found...

Could it really be Spring? I was cleaning up one of my flower beds and this little daffodil was just smiling away! It may be the only one. It may be snowed on at any moment. But it sure makes me happy!

To those of you in warmer climes...it might not be super exciting. But here, where we have had the coldest April on record...it is something to shout about!

Have a wonderful spring day!

Ciao a tutti!

Easter Outfits...

Easter morning, before church, I get to sneak in a few pics of my kids. I think they are super cute...

As usual, Gwen declares she is a princess...one just needs a party dress and instant princess...

After church and lunch, a little egg hunting in the snow does a body good...

Checkin' out the treasures...

A fun low-key Easter weekend! Fun was had by all! I hope your weekend is warm and spring-like...we are enjoying our snow!

Ciao a tutti!

Eggstravagansa...

Easter was SO late this year, and it still was a snowy weekend! Go figure! We had a more low-key weekend...my back wasn't feeling too great...so we dyed Easter eggs! Doesn't that make everyone feel better! I thought you might like to see the kids at their egg dying best...

This is Gwen's first time actively participating...she loved it! Of course, she was in charge of the pink and purple cups...

Case, our resident egg dying pro, was in charge of the more difficult colors...orange and yellow...though this year they were the best ones...go Case!

There you go...3 dozen colored Easter eggs! I am imagining spring is occurring in most of the US at this point...I am watching the snow fall from my craft room window. I have decided that I love snow in April...if my tulips can handle it...so can I!
I hope that you are having a wonderful Friday!
Ciao a tutti!

That's some crazy hair...

Yesterday was a crazy, busy day! It was my birthday...yahoo! It was also the day my newest nephew was born...who knew that Kendra would have a kid as cool as me! And (if that wasn't enough) it was crazy hair night at Awana!

Clayton's hair got the fro look...

And Case went ALL the way to crazy! I have been waiting to give him a hair cut for at least a month...driving me crazy with hair sticking out in crazy angles...you tell me, was it worth the wait...

Tobin starts shaving his head with one of the guards on the clipper...Case says 'This isn't short enough, I can still feel hair'...so it got shorter and shorter...then there was none, but a double mohawk...

A little hair gel and comb, viola! The craziest hair in Sparkies...

All I can say is 'That's my boy'! His adventurous spirit makes this mom's heart warm and fuzzy! Nothing like a little mohawk to make a mom proud! I do have to admit, the red hair certainly adds a bit of flair! Not to mention the WHITE head! The kid was SO proud of his new do, he went to school with it like this...as he said 'Even the big kids thought it was cool'...

Well I hope that you have a wonderful day! Ciao a tutti!

PS...sorry about the broken links! Hopefully this fixes it!

Peent...

Aaah, the amazing new world of girl toddlers. Gwen is so funny to me sometimes...this girl LOVES 'peent' (or pink to the rest of us)! I just had to take this picture (and of course post it on the web)...it looks like she tackled her dresser and found anything and everything that was pink...it must be fun to be 2!

March is marching quickly by...with or without me! I have seen my first robin of the year, little song birds are visiting and it wonderful to sit and listen to them, the trees have their first leaf buds, the grass is beginning to look green (now one has to get on their hands and knees to find it, but it is there) and the 4 inches of snow we get in the morning is melted away by the afternoon sun. The kids are finally playing outside again, only to come in absolutely COVERED in mud, and my mud room looks like, well, a MUD room. Ah, spring time in MT! I have started my annual stalking of my bulb plants...those dang deer can smell them a mile away and if I want to actually see a flower...spray with horrendous smelling 'stuff' and they leave them alone! Success! But I have to spot them first...let the hunt begin! When I first see those glorious green buds springing from the earth...you'll be the first to know.

Have a most wonderful Thursday!

Ciao a tutti!

Happy Leprachaun's Day...

Or to everyone besides my kids, Happy St. Patrick's Day (one day late)! I love this fun green day! My kids love the leprachauns and dressing up like them! So here are the goods...the not so little leprachauns...

Clayton is the BEST leprachaun...if only he came with a pot of gold...

I love that he is so game for crazy things...this moustache just cracks me up...so here is ANOTHER pic of him...

And Gwen found the crown in the box...she was in 7th heaven...and a princess to boot...

In addition to dressing like leprachauns, we brought treats to Case's class (his birthday is in August and so we celebrated on St. Patrick's day). I made some super cool treats...rainbow cupcakes! They turned out awesome, but they took a LONG time to put together! White cake...six different colors...each cupcake...whipped cream cloud-like icing...a bunch of happy kids!

This year dinner was extra specially good...don't mind me patting myself on the back! But last year it wasn't bad, but wasn't super delicious either (I choose to chaulk it up to getting ready to leave the country and NOT to by lack of cooking skills). This year...I hit the jackpot! I used baby new potatoes...they cook faster and hold together fabulously...plus I don't have to peel them! Then I added some carrots to the pot...great addition...great color, taste, and the kids LOVE them! That added to the cabbage and the corned beef...all in one pot...boil practically all day...YUM!

Have a happy green day!
Ciao a tutti!

The karate man...

At least that's what the kids were saying! So, one day after church, Clayton comes running up to us and is yelling that he is the karate man. Picture this, he has a piece of black electrical tape on his forehead, over his eyebrows. 'I'm the karate man' I laughed SO hard! He looked like Burt with a unibrow! Well, he eventually lost the tape and was just heartbroken...so Tobin decided to help them all out with some green painters tape...they loved posing for me to take pictures...

I especially like the hairband and karate man combo look...

And who could forget Clayton's Swan dive karate move...

Dude, we were rolling! The kids thought they were the coolest people EVER! So funny! Well, Clayton didn't much like these 'new' karate man thingys...it wasn't on his eyebrows...where do they get this stuff?

I hope that you have a wonderful and warm weekend!
Ciao a tutti!

This is what COLD looks like...

Well, it is winter in Montana...lots of cold, snowy weather! We have found ourselves with alot of sickness these last 2 months...a bit of the influenza and a pretty bad cold...not too terrible, it just takes a while to work it's way through everyone!

I hope that you are having a wonderful and warm weekend...I am just watching snowflakes fall to the ground!

Ciao a tutti!

February...

We are already in the middle of February! When did that happen? This is the first time January and February are passing without much notice for me...usually those cold, winter months short on sunshine drag endlessly by...not so this year! I can't seem to keep up with life whizzing by me! I guess I can chalk it up to Case being in school...I am constantly surprised how much that changes things!

Clayton and I have been working on his ABC book...each week we pick a different letter to learn about...what it sounds like and how to write it...then we do some schoolwork, I try to come up with fun crafts and foods to eat to go along with our letter. Here is Clayton hard at work on the letter G...

Gwen is growing up into a fine 2.5 year 0ld...with an independent streak a mile wide!!! She is totally into the color pink (or 'peent' as she says it)...I am convinced if you gave her pink castor oil she would gladly take it! She is loving princesses, her jewelry, and her new found friend, Olivia...

She is also loving books...

This big guy is getting so big...I am so proud of the young man he is growing into. His newest achievement is learning how to read. He is super smart and he is blowing me away with how many words he is remembering and already knows! Even all the crazy vowel rules that only work on some words he is plowing thru like a champ! He keeps losing teeth by the bucket load and the tooth fairy just may start living in our spare room...

Tobin is well, work is a bit slow...being winter and all. I am working on a number of projects (of course...that would be why time flies by!)...I guess the most time consuming and pleasurable for me is an internet scrapbooking class that I am taking. I make one scrapbook layout a day, every day for the month of February. I took this class in October and completed about half of my Italy scrapbook...if all goes well, I just might finish it by the end of the month! That would be awesome!

Well, I hope you have a warm and fabulous Wednesday!

Ciao a tutti!