Some of you may remember this mini album back from last summer . . . it's been on display (empty) at the local craft store all this time. One day I literally went through hundreds of pictures of Jakob and came across so many that were HIM just being the BOY that he is . . . they were PREFECT for this! He'll always be our little Dennis the Menace! tfl!!!

Or so I thought . . . early last week we had another freak hail storm. But on Monday and Tuesday it almost felt like Summer rather than Spring. We hit temps in the upper 80's, then yesterday we only got in the upper 70's. Today was even cooler . . . I don't even think we reached 60 degrees. When I woke up this morning it was freezing, only 39 degrees. Bbbrrr . . . It looks like it's going to be a few days before some of that warm weather returns. And as long as the wind keeps blowing . . . looking at this picture is going to be the only way I'm going to be able to enjoy my tulips.

I planted some flowers over the weekend, I think it's been four years since I planted flowers. I forgot how expensive they are and how fast it adds up, but I have to say that it looks so much nicer with some color out there. Now it's time to start working on the backyard, lots of weeds to pull and I'd like to do some landscaping around our lawn. I've also got to get the garden ready, last year was our first attempt and I think we were pretty successful with it . . . Joe has mastered the art of salsa. It seems like as soon as the nice weather hits, there's always a ton of projects to keep us busy. With Joe working nearly 16 hours days right now, I only get to see him for about an hour before he's off to bed. We've managed to make Sundays mornings our little getaway . . . to the grocery store. He works hard therefore he needs to eat good!

I've managed to be a little crafty with all my free time lately, can't share just yet, but soon . . .

I watched this when it aired on the ACM's a week or so back . . . it made shivers run down my spine. It's very touching and I am very Proud to say that I am an American!!! I support all of our Troops . . . PAST . . . PRESENT and FUTURE!

***Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of my blog and turn off my playlist as you watch this video***

When we got back from Jakob's wrestling tournament Saturday night, Jakob was pretty persistent about borrowing a carrot from Grandma so that he could leave a little snack out for the Easter Bunny. We got home, he wrote out this little note, wrapped it around the carrot and off to bed he went. It never fails though . . . it doesn't matter how late to bed we get either on Christmas Eve or the night before Easter, Jakob's up before the crack of dawn and can't wait to dig into his goodies . . . Kaitie doesn't seem to care about getting up too early anymore as her sleep is a little more important, but Jake always busts into her room before he comes into ours. I think the Easter Bunny was good to them this year as he is every year! I finished up the treats for all the kids, we got ready and headed over to my parents house. It started to rain just as the kids were starting their egg hunt, that didn't seem to stop them . . .
I wasn't very good at getting any pictures this year either, I didn't get a single family photo taken, not even a single picture of Kaitie and Jakob together . . . I guess I was just still too tired from the day before and just wanted to relax and enjoy the moment.

Well, Jakob just finished up with another wrestling season, he also insists that this one was his last. It's a little sad to hear him say that, he's put so much time and effort into the past five years. Joe and I aren't going to discuss any wrestling with Jakob in hopes of him changing his mind about it come January . . . only time will tell! I know that he gets discouraged, the older he gets the tougher the competition is. I can also see how excited and proud he is when he is declared the winner.

This past Saturday was the Jason Crawford Memorial in Cheney, WA at Eastern Washington University. It was a very long day, we woke up at 4:30 AM with weigh-ins starting at 6:00 AM. At this tournament only coaches are allowed out on the mat, which means I'm up in the stands with my zoom lens. Jakob won his first match, then lost the next two. It's always so exhausting . . . that ride home is always the longest trip EVER, stopping halfway home for a caramel sauce white mocha frappuccino at Starbucks helped though, we finally pulled into the driveway around 9:00 PM.

Yesterday was the BIG reveal party over at GCD Studios . . . I wanna shout out a BIG CONGRATS to my sis, Renee' for getting one of those 13 phone calls and although it's not near as exciting my name was picked along with 39 other ladies to be featured on the GCD blog over the next 3 months.