Early Easter fun!

    We celebrated Easter a little early with our Kmetzsch grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles and some puppy 'cousins'. Puppies are the BEST when they're not yours!

Charlie has Kristin's puppy/child, Lettie and Brock has Blaine and Heidi's newest addition, Ruca.

Egg hunt in the basement, fun for the kids and no effort made by me, so the perfect egg hunt.

Crazy Cousins!

     So that was the highlight of our week. We're really looking forward to visiting with my mom, niece, brother and nephew this weekend while enjoying General Conference. And of course, the countdown continues, only 73 days 2 hour 28 minutes until the Atkinson's hit the states!

Continuing changes

    Greg tore apart the 'pony' wall in the kitchen a lot sooner then I expected. Obviously there's still a ton of work to do but it's been cool to see the open concept coming to life.

I can't wait until this is cool railing!

    The boys, Carter and Brock, had a piano recital this week and both played very well and played duets with their teacher. I was really impressed with Brock's duet but of course I didn't get video of that performance.

Pretty 'cool' attire for a piano recital.

Carter was looking pretty 'sharp' too.

    And here's how things are looking as of today. I rearranged the furniture a little. I really can't wait until the floor matches and we repaint some things in the kitchen.

    Currently Greg's on a camp out with Carter and Carter's scout group. Things with Mark are going ok. He meets with a probation officer Monday. He also received a notice from the DMV informing him that his license can be reinstated after September 25, so that's not as bad as we initially thought. Hopefully things only get better from here but that's probably wishful thinking.
     And of course I know you're wondering, only 80 days, 4 hours and 35 minutes until the Atkinson's 'hit the states'!

Change!

This week we've had a few changes, additions and returns. First I bought Greg this lounge chair that he's wanted for quite awhile. (Addition) He's loving it and he was enjoying the sun that was out for a minute earlier this week.

Then we had the Red Pearl returned to her rightful place at the side of the driveway. 

She may not currently run but at least she's home and can be worked on.

       Then we began the remodeling project we've been planning for awhile now. Say goodbye to this massive wall! Getting the electrical figured out may take a minute but I'm glad we've finally begun this 'open concept' remodel. (Change)

The kids sure had fun practicing their graffiti skills before demo began.

What's more fun then writing on the walls!?

     Then today I had a minute of time with this kid and he agreed to a haircut as long as it was at a legit barber shop. I agreed without hesitation and would have paid almost any price for this haircut and it was worth every dime and was even worth Charlie being a few minutes late to preschool. (Which is unheard of for me!) (Change/return)

Seriously!? Why can't he see how much more handsome he is clean cut!?

Our Grand puppy also got a haircut, bath and generally all dolled up. She's so cute!

She's finally getting the potty training thing down but she did pee on my shoe when I picked her up from the groomer out  of pure joy and excitement to see me. Silly puppy!

     So there you have it, change, returns and additions. This week has flown by and only 87 days 7 hours and 49 minutes until the Atkinson's 'hit the states'!

Two

     I took two photos this week. Well that's not true, I took four but only two worth posting. I'd post the photo of Mark's most recent citation but I don't know if I want his 'criminal' history out there for the world to see. He's definitely giving us a chance to learn things we never imagined, like talking with and hiring a criminal defense attorney and finding out that the police aren't out to 'help' you no matter how honest you are with them. Note to self, only answer with yes or no answers when being questioned by the police and don't volunteer anything! Seriously, I hope this last run-in with the law is the final straw to get Mark out of this 'rebellious' streak he's on.
     So anyway, back to my photos of the week. Charlie had her kindergarten check up. Her current stats at 4-1/2 years are: height - 3 ft. 9 in. (99%) weight - 46 lbs. (91%). She'll probably be one of the youngest kindergarteners in her class but she definitely won't be one of the smallest. Ha ha!

She was good until it came time to get a couple shots!

      And Isaac is part of a more official choir group at school and he came home sporting these new duds.

He's looking pretty handsome minus the silly hair.

    So there you have it. Greg and I have been to a couple movies this week. Carter has one more basketball game tomorrow, 2 if he wins the first one, but we're nearly done with basketball season and then maybe I can finally convince Greg to get started on our wall removal/kitchen project. And in case you don't know only 94 days, 1 hour, 27 minutes until the Atkinson's arrive in Utah!

A Break?!

     Greg and I had the privilege of attending the baby blessing for this darling little guy, Logan. He's my cousins little boy and just about the cutest baby EVER! We felt honored to be invited and I was so happy to finally meet this cute baby in person!

      Then we rented this ⇣ for our four day trip to St. George. Greg called it the 'hunter orange special'. Initially we were going to get a little bigger crossover that wasn't bright orange and had a giant sunroof, which I was especially excited for but unfortunately the rental car employee found a chip in the windshield when she was taking it through the car wash and was unable to rent it to us! I was so bummed!! This orange car was fun to drive but not nearly as nice as the other car but it was still in the same category we paid for so we didn't get the option to upgrade.

 At least it wasn't hard to find in the parking lot! ha ha

     While we were away several kids came down with colds and apparently fell asleep in random places. Charlie not only napped on the kitchen floor with the puppy but also laid down next to her preschool teacher during reading time and promptly fell asleep. (Either she's sick or has very messed up sleeping patterns!)

    Meanwhile, Greg and I were quite enjoying ourselves in sunny St. George. Yummy dinners out and several yummy desserts, not the least of which was a banana split from DQ! We also went to the movies, the St. George Temple, (for the first time) had a great visit with our long time friends; the Cox's, went clay pigeon shooting and just enjoyed a few days away from reality.

     They actually asked us to be the witness couple at the temple session we attended. After getting a look at the temple patrons I realized we were about the only option because everyone else in attendance would have most likely broken a hip trying to kneel! Ha ha! I don't think there was anyone under the age of 60 aside from us in the whole temple.

    Well we made it back home safely. The kids are all still alive and relatively happy but not necessarily healthy but they'll be fine. We're not looking forward to the promised snowstorm for tomorrow but we're not yet secure with our water supply for the spring and summer so I guess we'll take it. It sure was nice getting away for a few days but I'll be paying for it for the next 24 hours while I try to catch up on all the laundry that's piled up! Thank goodness laundry is a chore I don't mind!