v day blast

this kid will drive someone crazy someday.....i mean someone else:) he'll forever be my valentine.

he worked hard creating these cute valentines for his classmates. they were not to include candy or food so we came up with a new plan. autumn helped us out with a free printable....so we cut, punched, and added names and straws....tada all done.

at the same time, a was working on making some marbled beads to create a key chain her her teacher.

all of our time was definitely not spent inside. we have had some gorgeous days to play in the snow. usually in wisconsin we get 2 or 3 actual days where the weather is just so that the snow will pack and you can make a snowman. this is a's second of the year....somehow neither of them are actually in our own yard. i will be wishing for more super nice days so that we can at least make one more.

h did help a little...especially with keeping coulter, the big german short-hair pointer puppy who weighs at least 80, busy. we lost a few arms before h showed up and the hat and mittens surely would have been next!

h's main priority was taking laps around the farm. uncle brought out the kitty cat and h and k took turns looping around.

danyelle also helped us with creating these sweet treats to spread the love in zach's office with this free printable.

 a and h also got surprises of their own. i picked up a few surprises and hid them around the kids' rooms with the help of the dating divas and these printables.

 there you have it....a little love and cheer shared with our family and friends. we are anxiously awaiting little one's arrival.....23 more days until the expected due date. whew. i am definitely at the "i hate pants" stage but...it is winter and this is wisconsin...ummmm....i would freeze and cold is not my thing. so, grow baby grow and i will keep contemplating the page long list of names for boys and girls. just the right name is bound to make itself known.

you're so fine

spring!! you're so fine. you blow my mind!!! hey, spring!

can you believe this weather and all the gorgeous days we have had. technically, the calendar says that it is still winter but the thermometer is reading in the 80s.  i kind of have the feeling that wisconsin likes to skip spring and fall and go right to the hots and colds of the next season.

h has been doing his fair share of digging and i am sure that i will see lots of these wiggly creatures coming my way all summer long. he has also found a frog already and we can hear the peepers in the fields. h is big on the where?? so, i need to explain that i hear them. i do not see them. he definitely likes visuals. he also likes to make plans. 'that's my plan!'

after our trip, we headed to gramma and grampa's for the weekend. i will definitely be playing catch-up for longer than anticipated. the kids got all the costumes out and we found squirt bottles for all....because when one has something, they all need one. they hid them really well for a moment and then bursted out with joy that uncle was coming closer but still way out of range and started squirting away.

the cousins enjoyed having all the attention.

of course, there was some work involved in the visit. grampa wanted help pulling line fence out on the new farm. we did get "some" work done but we also took the time to fly kites in the warm sun and wind.

i am thinking that this might just be in the lamb of march. ummmm.

fall farm visit....yes, visit.

obviously i am a tad behind....to say the least. we had a wild end to the year 2011. we sold our home at the end of may, daddy accepted a new job at the end of june, we searched for 2 months for a new home, did the rig-a-ma-row closing documents for a month, moved to a brand new town, did some crazy settling in, celebrated a's 5th birthday, trick or treated, did a little more settling in (tried), celebrated h's 3rd birthday, thanksgiving, and a's first day of 4k, and started the rush of holiday cheer. i am exhausted, the kids are too! there is no easy way to settle in after all your stuff has been packed for a year in a pod and in storage. we also took some trips.....it is nice to enjoy a weekend at the farm. the kids miss it so.

that girl is crazy for horses. you know she is saving her pennies!

ta da! the reason we were so late hitting the road and getting back to the chaos we left behind.

we ((heart)) the farm

no doubt about it. i am a country girl turned city girl turned country girl again. it is hard to take the love of the land and animals and open spaces from a girl. there is just something about being able to walk out your door and spend time just taking it all in versus being bombarded by happenings all around. don't get me wrong....sometimes there is definitely too much going on here but, it is easier to turn off the distractions and take a breather once things settle down.

i love that my kids get to experience a little of this. no more cows to milk...which i am still sad about...about lots of animals to care for.

 even daddy gets a little taste now and then. and a whiff of that fresh air.

 saturday we went to the dairy breakfast.

 ice cold milk.

and pancakes! yum. somehow they taste better here than at home. how??

 this was the picture from our breakfast table.

of course, a wanted a horse tattoo. her biggest requests are for a horse and phone for her 5th birthday. ummm.

 the rooster made sure we knew the sun was up as does the one in our barn. that animal loves to chase me and my dad finally got me to chase him back and, well...i am not quite as afraid anymore!

grampa's little man.

here's a link to last year's breakfast. dairy breakfast 2010

it is nice to have grand adventures in our own yard. what do you like to do with your kids around your home?