Thomas...and a wedding

This little guy loves him some Thomas the Train. I do not understand why - it is so boring to watch and even listen to when it is playing in the car. But, back in December I bought tickets to go ride Thomas the Train. I really did buy them 4 months in advance, because they have sold out in past years and I didn't want that to happen. And I was 8 months pregnant and not sleeping, so I thought of these things in the middle of the night!!

Walking up from the parking lot - the kids LOVED seeing the "real" Thomas!!

Holding a Scavenger Hunt for all the attractions - these people knew their audience!

Well, our sweet friends the Harlesses made it out there with us and we were able to meet up with Jeanne, Jeremy, Averitt and Zachary. We had so much fun! It was a gorgeous morning out in Calera. The people were very nice and it was such a great, kid-friendly environment! We got to jump on the jumpy, and there was a tent full of train tables!!

There was also miniature golf, a chance to meet Sir Topham Hat (which we skipped when we saw the line!) a tattoo station and John Burke's favorite, a petting zoo!

Since we bought the tickets WAY early, we were able to sit in the first train, right behind Thomas! The boys had a blast and the nice conductor let them stand up as they rode as long as the held the rails!

It was as 20-25 minute ride, and just right in the amount of time. I was very impressed at how organized and thought out the whole event was! But guess who had the best time on the train? This bug-eyed little lady! She smiled and laughed the whole time. She was on the ground of the train, so she must have liked how it felt to ride!

Thank you, Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera for a fantastic morning for our little train enthusiasts! I highly recommend it!

That brings us to this weekend. Our dear, dear friend Kina got married this weekend. She was married at the Botanical Gardens, and of course we had to bring our/her kids to enjoy! They didn't even make it long enough for Kina to walk down the aisle (but she did take her precious time!!), Heath took the boys to the back of the gardens. They were able to yell and wave at her while the vows were going on. Her biggest fans from afar!

Our best shot at a family picture, especially since we didn't do one on Easter!

John Burke and one of his teachers, Wanda - He sure is shameless with these women. Runs right up into their arms

Dee - another one of John Burke's teachers

The groom - Neal

Our favorite bride, Kina!

Their beautiful daughters, Morgan and Mikayla

The happy couple - Mr. and Mrs. Neal Owens

We love y'all!!! Thank you for all you do for our kids!!

Enjoying her first wedding. She is growing so much and is 3 months today!! We love you Baby Sister!!

Spring so far in pictures

Heath had friends in town a couple of weeks ago, so we spent the night at my parents' house. We were spoiled - GiGi and Collins and I went for pedicures, and Pop Pop entertained the other 2 hoodlums for the whole day. Thank you Gigi and Pop Pop! We even squeezed in a visit to sweet Nanny!

A few weeks ago we went with our buddy Hughston to the park in Leeds. It was really fun!

Check out the 3-story slide!! I went down it twice (all in the name of "helping John Burke") and it was really fun!!

John Burke cuddled up to this lady - her name was Angela. He is shameless, and I was feeding the baby, so he took matters in his own hands and found a chaperone for the merry-go-round.

This is Angela's daughter, Savannah (we met them at the park that day, but I know their names because John Burke thought they adopted him and let Savannah carry him around the whole park and play with him. Win/win for me - he was entertained, and I was able to hold and feed the baby!) Funny moment when Savannah's mom told them to be careful getting off the merry-go-round because they were going to "act drunk." Hmmm...

Look who has started smiling all the time - I just can't capture a very flattering picture of it!

Our sweet friend's sister was taking bunny pictures in Trussville last weekend, so we were all over them!

They loved the live bunnies!

John Burke as Mona Lisa with a bunny

She got to hold the bunny too - not that she notices anymore. I found her in her carseat today with a Woody doll (from Toy Story) and a chainsaw from John Burke's toy toolbox

Then Aunt Stacy had all the cousins over to play with some baby chicks in the spirit of Easter

Seconds after this picture, John Burke loved the chick a little too hard. It pooped (a LOT) and then laid lame. Eventually I saw it hold its head up, but Stacy and I thought it was dead, which of course Kate tuned in on. But, I checked with Derek yesterday and he couldn't tell which one it was, so I am hoping it made a full recovery?! The kid is a destroyer. But he really is not mean spirited - for the most part, just too ROUGH for his own good!

Some shots from the car the other day. Turner is WAY obsessed with anything Toy Story - here he has a Toy Story shirt on, while holding Buzz and Woody. I hear quotes from the movie all the time - yesterday he was standing in the laundry room saying "You've got the wrong Buzz" over and over again.

"Oh no you won't take my picture!"

Since being outside a lot, John Burke is OBSESSED with animals. He loves geese and yells "Hey geese geese!" every time we see them. (He also loves to point out any kind of body of water. He calls them all ponds. It took us a while to figure out what he was saying because he gets so excited and screams "POOOOOOOOONNNNNDDD!" until you acknowledge it.) So, he was in heaven when we visited a local pond the other night and saw these - we also saw turtles, swans and ducks. He was LOVING it!

We love having a street that we can play on and room to run around at our new house

Collins plays football, too

And we are trying to master riding a bicycle (still with training wheels)

A few pictures from Turner's spring program at school

He sang a little bit more than he did in his Thanksgiving program - we didn't let him know where we were sitting, and I think it made him participate more. He loved hiding behind the other kids more than singing, but he was not shy.

Tried to get a sweet picture of the bumblebees Turner and Hughston - and then one of Turner next to his artwork

On Good Friday, Pap came to visit. The boys waited by the door screaming his name with such glee until they saw his truck pull in the driveway. They LOVE their Pap, and he made their day when he continued MeMe's tradition of bringing them Easter baskets full of their favorite things!

Here were their Easter outfits - still so weird to have a dress in the mix! It was like dressing a baby doll!

Their Easter baskets

I didn't have it in me this year to make a bunny cake like I usually do, so I tried these doughnut bunnies instead for our Easter lunch.

Attempt at Easter pictures

Not sure what she is doing here, but I was just glad they weren't screaming or crying!

Grandkid picture at GiGi and Pop Pop's house for Easter lunch

Makeshift Easter egg hunt

Still trying for a sweet Easter picture (and I just realized I spent hours trying to find an Easter dress and didn't even get a picture. Oh well - not too sad about that!)

And we finished the Easter celebration with a nice Jeep ride

The true spirit of Easter...

Matthew 28:6 - "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come see the place where he was lying."