On the Market!

We have officially listed our house on the West Penn MLS! We are going to attempt to sell the house with out a realtor....sooooooo, if you know of anyone that is looking for a beautiful custom built home in the greater Pittsburgh area, please let us know and or refer them to the link below! Oh, and keep your fingers crossed!

A Basket Full of FUN

It was and Egg-citing fun filled Easter for the girls, Russ and I! Nini and Aunt Allie came up for a few days, followed by Marcus, Lucy and Levi--the Easter Bunny, and finally GG and Gpa!!! We took full advantage having company---we went to the mall to find the Easter Bunny, played Candy Land about 1000 times, put puzzles together, read books, had brunch with the Easter Bunny, and even had an egg hunt! Thanks to all of you for sending the girls cards and or calling to wish us all a Happy Easter!


The girls were just as excited to see Nini as she was to see them! Lexie and Olivia cleaned up with their Easter goodies! Thanks Nini!!!
Olivia showing off one of her new outfits.

Showing off all of her goodies from Nini! Thanks a bunch!!!
Showing off the puzzle she got from Aunt Allie!!!
Decorating some...eggs--err, um...faces with Daddy



Excited to see the Easter Bunny!

Ready to go!

There's the Bunny!

Waiting in line is so much more fun with Aunt Allie!

Back at the house, it was time for another round of Easter goodies. Grandma Barb sent a care package for the kids...Lexie couldn't wait to see what was inside!
Don't let the face fool you...she loved her outfit and talking bear!!!

Olivia proudly showing her new outfit--though, she was a bit terrified of the laughing duck--Lexie got a kick out of it though!

All dressed up on Easter Sunday and ready to go to the club for brunch (and to see the Easter Bunny again!)
Olivia and her buddy Aunt Allie, patiently waiting for everyone to be ready! (Poor Aunt Allie couldn't get a moment to herself all weekend!)

Lexie was anxious to see what was inside
Group shot at the table.
Olivia loving her Egg from the Easter Bunny.

Allison, Lucy, Levi and Marcus pose for a quick picture.
Family photo-this was about as good as it got--5 tries and all!
Back at the house, we came home to see that the Easter Bunny had visited while we were out to brunch. Lexie was excited to see she had a basket...and there were eggs hidden throughout the basement since it was too wet for the bunny to leave them outside.
Olivia scored big too!
"Here's and egg...and look, I found another one!!"
Looking so sweet and innocent while searching for eggs!
Shortly after their egg hunt, the kids took a nap only to wake up to find the Easter Bunny left them another suprise...GG and Gpa were back from Florida! We are so happy to have them closer to home!

Thanks again Nini and Aunt Allie...and of course, the Easter Bunny for making this holiday egg-stra special!

T-REX sighting

Lexie's class attended a carnival at school today. She went on and on about how much fun she had and how she wanted to go back again tomorrow! I guess this is an annual event that the 8th graders host in order to raise money. They set up different booths--and kids can buy tickets to participate. Lexie was so excited she got to get her face painted. While most of the other girls in her class came out to the pick up line with balloons, or flowers, or butterflies....this is what Lexie was sporting!


That's right...a T-Rex (in case you couldn't tell since it started to smudge off)!!! Who would have thought?

Egg-stra Special

The sky looked somewhat ominous and I was getting more nervous by the second! Today was the day we were hosting a play date for our MOPS friends. Lexie was so excited to have everyone come over to her house to play and look for Easter Eggs! Luckily, the weather held and we were able to hide all of our eggs outside (and not in the basement like we thought we were going to have to do!). We had a GREAT turn out and the kids really seemed to enjoy coloring eggs, playing on the play set, and especially finding eggs hidden in the back yard! Thanks to all of the moms for coming out!


Most of the kids headed straight for the play set when they first arrived!


Let the egg dying begin!


Stephanie lending a helping hand to her adorable kiddos Ella and Carter as they decorated their eggs.

Dying eggs was tons of fun...and not nearly as messy as I had envisioned!


Ready...set...go! Cole, Addyson, and Noah anxiously looking for Easter eggs!


Ella and Lexie found some eggs under the slide and behind the rock wall.

Olivia did better than I thought she would...though she still only grabbed one egg--as soon as she figured out there was something in it (ie food) she wasn't interested in ANYTHING else!

Noah found a green egg and was really curious as to what was inside!!

The 'play park' (as Lexie likes to call it) was a huge hit---and thankfully, no one got hurt!!

Fruit-cakes!

My kids LOVE fruit...and I mean L O V E fruit!!! Here are some silly shots of my fruit loving fruit cakes!

Being silly...
Good juicy strawberries
"Look at this one mom!"

Cheese---or shall we say strawberrrrrrrieeeees?!?!

Picnic, Park & Mops???

It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a play date---and while we were scheduled to meet at the mall's play area--we quickly rescheduled outside! We headed to the North Fayette Park to meet up with our MOPS friends for a picnic and play date! It was just what the doctor ordered!!!

Olivia was fascinated by the tunnel!
One more time through the tunnel!
Lexie was in heaven--she said "Mommy, we've never been to this play park before---I LOVE IT HERE!"
Marinna climbing with the big kids!
Wheeeeeeee! Look out below!
Carter (who is a day younger than Olivia) found a favorite spot to play too!

All the kids had a great time...(as well as the moms!). Can't wait for our next get together!

Mommy Goes Back to School???

Mrs. Kuhlman, Lexie's preschool teacher's aide, was scheduled to be out of the class for the day with her own 'student' for a college tour...leaving Mrs. Henderson to fend for herself. She emailed the parents looking for help and since Russ had the day off, I jumped at the chance to head back to school! What an exciting morning!




Mrs. Henderson helping some of the kids clean up after 'free time'.
Lexie was picked to be the line leader/helper...this is quite possibly the highlight of her school days. She loves being the line leader and special helper!!! They were reviewing the days of the week and what day it was.
The class is working on completing their very own "Brown Bear Brown Bear What do You See" paper bag book. The kids enjoyed their one on one time at the craft table to sponge paint the animal for the next page in the book.

The finished pages arranged so they can dry.


After completing the page in their books, Mrs Henderson asked me to read a book to the class so she could get things cleaned up and ready for the next activity. After the story, a few kids were asked which songs they wanted to sing...Lexie got first pick.
They all marched, flew and skipped around the room--it was quite a sight to see.
After acting out Jesus Loves Me, I'm a little Tea Pot, and reciting the Alphabet song, Mrs Henderson read the class a book about a dancing giraffe while I prepped for the next craft---you guessed it...the class made giraffes!
All of the students were in attendance for the first time in weeks---15 in total!!! I didn't really know what to expect, but the experience far exceeded those expectations! It was really interesting to see the kids interact, their different personalities, how quickly they adapt to changes, and how structured the class is. It was a wonderful opportunity...and even though I had to help clean up after one of Lexie's classmates that didn't quite make it to the bathroom, I would volunteer to help out again in a heart beat!