Strawberry Fields

I took the kids to the strawberry patch on Friday. We try and go every year, and the kids just have a blast every time. This year, we got there when they were closing, so we couldn't stay long, but everyone got plenty of berries, and they were gone by the time we got home!

Mommy's Little Helper

Lipstick Party

"What's that on your face, Brock?"

"No, MOM!"

I Love Yous

Sophie has been talking more and more. She is starting to put sentences together. Lately it's been "Hi, Brock" or "Hi, Daddy", but within the last two days, she has progressed quite a bit. Yesterday, she was in the living room, and I was in the kitchen. She kept calling for me saying "Mama!" When I asked her what she wanted, she said "I love you." She did it again this morning. Another cute thing she is doing now is every time she sees a towel or rag she immediately starts cleaning something.

It's Time

I knew it was time for another post when I plugged my camera into the computer and it showed 364 new photos. Oops! I'm not going to post them all, but it just goes to show how busy we've been the last few weeks. Brock started T-ball, and he absolutely loves it! He will be so excited to play ball with the big boys in the next year or two. He also graduated from preschool! The pics can be viewed HERE!

First T-ball Game

We have also been taking full advantage of the warm weather. Seems like we are always outside and on the go!

Sophie's first time in her pool this year. She was a little nervous at first, but she warmed up to it eventually.Chad is on vacation all this week, and we just got back from our trip to Elwood. It was lovely to see the lake full again. Fishing wasn't the best, but that's expected with the water being so clear.
Better luck next time!

This pretty much sums up our whole fishing experience with Sophie...
Picture by Ella

Also, this weekend was Lindsey and Patrick's wedding! It was a beautiful ceremony and reception! I will share more pics once we get them. You can see some of the pics at http://alexandramatzke.blogspot.com/search/label/wedding
She will be posting more photos in the near future. Check out the rest of her stuff because she is an AMAZING photographer!

These are pics that Brock and I took:
Brock and Ella Dancing

Mama and Ella Dancing

The Bachelorette Party -
So many other great pictures;
although, none are appropriate for this blog. =)

Quick update on the kids:

Sophie is now repeating EVERYTHING! There have been a few words that we can do without her repeating, but it's so neat to see how excited she gets about learning new things.

Ella is smitten with Brock's friend, Max. Everything is about Max all of the time. *sigh*

Brock loves hanging out with friends, whether it's friends over at our house or Brock at their house. He will start swimming lessons in the next couple of weeks and will take them all summer. He told me that he is ready to go under water because all of his friends are doing it. Does peer pressure start this early? I actually gave him the "if your friends jumped off a bridge..." speech. He also likes tying his shoes because "Daddy's friends think I'm cool when I do it." *sigh*

Never a dull moment!

Yoga

Spring is Here!

We have reached an end to Brock's soccer season. He had a great time playing, and it was so fun to watch him slide and score goals, but I think he is more excited for T-ball that starts in a couple of weeks.
He is also finishing up preschool and will graduate on Tuesday. The parents are supposed to create a poster board of their child's pictures, and it is amazing to see the difference in Brock from year to year. Time flies!

He had his last program a couple of weeks ago, and he was a lion in Noah's Ark. It was very cute to see all of the different animals.

Sophie particularly liked the
cookie social after the program.

We have been preparing for Lindsey's wedding. I can't believe she is getting married in three weeks! Yay! Brock is going to be the ring bearer, and he looks so cute in his tux.

School is still going really good. I have finished up my first block of classes and am now halfway through my second set of classes, English II and Biology I. We have also been busy with our garden and tying up some loose ends around the house. Our four-year plan is now in action to get the house ready to put on the market.

We have taken the kids fishing a few times this year, and we can't wait to go to Elwood! The lake is filled back up, and we are so excited to see it! If you've never been out there, it is a beautiful lake, and for a while, it was very, very low. For the last few years, there was talk about the lake eventually drying up because it was so low. So it's filled back up, and it will be neat to take the kids in and out of all of the coves.

Daddy took the kids to Wagon Train

Sophie Swinging

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Brock calls them lemon meringue muffins

Ella enthralled in her Cinderella movie

So Much to Write. Not Enough Motivation.

We finally got our garden planted (with the exception of the corn)! We actually got all of our veggies last weekend and just got around to getting them into the ground. This year we planted green beans, peas, romaine lettuce, spinach, zucchini, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, buttercup squash, tomatoes (roma and celebrity), bell peppers, jalapenos, sweet corn, and gourds (for fall decoration).

Brock had his first soccer game yesterday, and from what I saw, he did a good job. Sophie was screaming the entire time, so we spent the majority of the game in the truck. He had a lot of fun and is excited for another game next week.

During the 80 degree temps, the kids
had their first swim of the season.
Sophie played it safe at the water station.

Sophie got into the clean laundry basket and was
adamant about wearing Brock's undies.What about this, Mommy?

Sure! Why not!

Elephant E's
Playdoh
It is much easier on the floor!

Ella's first change of earrings. Her choice was
strawberries, which, by the way, are her new favorite food.


Fruit Pizza

It's funny when I rub it on my feet then eat it.
Oh, Sophie.

Sophie now says "cheese" when I take her picture.

And the best for last. The majority of you already know the story, but it doesn't do the story much justice without the proof.

The List

Ella wakes up and comes downstairs the other morning looking like this. At first, I was worried that a purple marker had attacked her in her sleep, so she saw the worry on my face and became worried herself. Here is how it went:
Mama: "Ella, what happened to you? There's purple marker all over you."
Ella: "I was just trying to make a list."
Mama: "You were trying to make a list? For what?"
Ella: "I was just trying to make a grocery list."
*sigh*
If you click on the pic, you can see that she had wrote her name all over her body. I was pretty impressed with the fact that her name on her right arm was very well written left-handed. There were even E's on the bottom of her feet. She also managed to not get the purple marker anywhere other than her body. I do believe that the list was created when she was supposed to be in bed the night before, hence the purple smudges all over her face. And what washable marker doesn't wash off? Apparently this lovely "washable" purple marker covering my child. Three days later and she is still a purple mess.

Here are some quick clips from the week:

Circus music always seems so fitting.