AND ON THAT FARM WE HAD A ...

A BUNNY! E-I-E-I-O! We are now the proud owners of a lion bunny. Benson named him Errplane. Packer named him Simba. Uncle Nick named him Richard the Lionheart. So our bunny is now: Errplane Simba Richard the Lionheart Bunny Atkin. You can call him whatever you want for short.

Note his fluffy mane: hence a lion-bunny.

And on that farm we had a: KITTY! E-I-E-I-O! This little guy came to us shortly before the bunny did. Benson found him at preschool at a neighbors house and wanted to bring him home. What's a farm without a cat? So here he is at his new home. Benson named him: Cheetah!

Atkin Farm

What's a farm without a Goat?

This goat is coming to live at our house for a little while.

She's very friendly, and the kids love her.

OOOOH

Andie has recently learned how to shape an "O". Now she'll pull an "O" face whenever you talk to her. It's pretty dang cute and pretty dang funny.

She's also crawling all around the house faster than we can keep track. One minute she'll be pulling DVD's off of the shelf, the next, she's on the other side of the house locking herself in the bathroom. But when she's tired of exploring, she's off to the kitchen, because more than likely, she'll find her mommy there!

"O'! Hi mom!"

Pretty Little Girls

McKelle, Andie, & Brooklyn on a pretty spring afternoon sporting their pretty spring dresses!

Dinner Time

Dinner Time Again?! Doesn't it always feel like it's meal time! Like you just barely got done cleaning up the last meal, and now it's time to make another?

It wouldn't be so bad if I was always the one who just got to eat it, but being a mom, I have to make it all the time too. And it's not that I hate cooking, cause I don't. It's the fact that I have to decide what to have each and every meal, each and every day. No worries. When you can't think of anything to fix for dinner... Ranch Noodles is a quick, easy, and successful fix every time. At least for my family.

Easter Time

Everyone's favorite part of Easter: Eating the Candy. SWEET!

Me and Andie-girl watching the hunting commence.

HAPPYE EASTER!!

Hmmm... What do we have here?

EASTER EGG HUNTING! My boys' most favorite part. Especially when it's time to open all the eggs and see what's inside!

Packer is waiting patiently at the door behind cousin Haylee for the Hunt to begin.

WAHOO! Look what I found!!

EGG PAINTING. You know, sometimes I wonder why I put myself through craziness for my children. I mean, would it be so bad if I just skipped all the fun stuff so I never went crazy? Well, fortunately I love my children enough to go through the insanity of traditions: such as painting eggs.

It makes me wonder how my mother did it without going loopy. It aggrivated me to see each egg being dipped in each color making them a lovely...BROWN. Oh good. That's beautiful! But I guess it's not about the beauty or the HUMUNGOUS mess it makes, but the fun of making Easter Eggs and the joy and smiles it makes on my children's faces.

TADA! Look Mom! How pretty! And Don't worry, we only broke 7 of the 12 eggs! (Good thing the eggs were hard boiled.)

Spring Fever

"I'm just doin a pwoject mom!" That's Packer's new explanation about anything he's working on. A project. Where did that come from? Can I tell you how nice it is to have a lawn. It's not a real pretty one yet... But it will be. Let the Spring begin!

Tres Chaquitas

Andie, McKelle, & Brooklyn at 9 months and crawling.

These 3 wee lasses are 2 days to 2 weeks apart. McKelle (white shirt,black collar) is the oldest, then Andie (in blue), with Brooklyn (in Pink) as the tallest but youngest.

Building Blocks

Benson, Packer, and Andie... all playing together so nicely. THANK YOU CHILDREN!

RED

I guess we're going for a themed color today. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint: It starts with the letter R and ends with ED. You will also find it on Valentines Day, Apples, and Iron Man.

And here is Andie working on her Balloon Animals. I think she's getting the hang of it.

Packer has such a huge personality I can't believe it fits in his little body. He is small for his age, and looks to be 10 pounds heavier than he really is. We call him a little bulldog because well, he is one. He looks like he should play toddler football. And maybe he should to get some of that energy out. Above he's pulling a "woe-is-me-I'm-so-Sad" pout. He obviously wasn't getting what he wanted at the time.

Benson has a more docile personality. Still quite the character, but in a more subdued way. He's got his mother's walking coordination (ha ha ha ha ha) but a softer voice. He's a good brother and lets his little brother and sister beat up on him until he cries. I'm hoping eventually his siblings will help toughen him up. Here he is winking at the camera. He's been practicing.

And here is Andie-girl and Daddy. Yes, she is dressed like a boy. It's okay. I had 2 boys prior. What do you expect. And when I put a cute little blue flower or bow on her head, it becomes a girly outfit, kind of. Dadadadadadada. First words. Of course. Daddy. He's the fun one.

Happy Birthday #27

Benson & Packer LOVED helping me unwrap... and Andie (above in pink) loved just sitting on my lap.

Now you know why I post pictures of my husband and my children more than I post pictures of me. Just don't look real close. Yuck.

ANYWAY! It's my birthday. February Birthday's Rock! I know cause I have one. And I'll tell you what: Ben is the awesomest-coolest-best husband ever. I'll tell you why. For my birthday he makes a scavanger hunt. He buys me gifts that I actually want (usually shoes!), wraps them, and then hides them around the house. Then he gives me clues so I have to hunt to find them. I love it. The kids love it (until they find out that none of the presents are what they want: ie. rocket ship). It is so much fun. This year he gave me pants (I know - DARING husband, but he did an incredible job. One of the pants actually fit!), some hoodie jackets, swim bottoms, a shirt, and best of all... he took the day off so we could go out to lunch and he could help me with the kids all day long. It was absolutely wonderful. Thank you honey! I love you!

Andie-Girl 7 mo

Andie is 7 months now. And I think she is just absolutely a beautiful girl. However, I have some major bias-ism going on.

She is a pretty happy girl most of the time. She's my easiest and hardest baby at the same time. Easy because she's a happy easy going baby. Hard because she's my 3rd.

And here is Andie's famous crooked smile. She's starting to out-grow it now, but from day one she had a crooked smile/cry. We call it the Buddy Hackett smile (He's an old actor that was in the old Love Bug movie). However, she's MUCH cuter than Buddy Hackett.

A Church Going People

Isn't she ADORABLE?

And speaking of adorable... Here are my 3 handsome boys. All ready for church! And Mommy? I'm ALMOST ready for church!

YOU try getting 3 kids plus yourself ready and being on time for 9 am church. Not as easy as it may seem.

Andie Balerina

Andie LOVES her bouncy thing. I have it hanging up in my kitchen so she can bounce around while I cook/clean. She loves it, which means I LOVE it. I think it's pretty cute too. So I thought I'd share a clip of her doing her thing.