To blog or not to blog??

I've been doing some research lately and have been thinking a lot about my blog. I don't EVER want to do anything that would bring danger or harm to my kids....maybe sharing their lives online has some repercussions that I hadn't considered. Occasionally someone I don't know will leave a comment or something weird will pop up on a post...I just want to protect the girls.

I LOVE blogging about our life. I started this so I would have a record of the day to day memories....and we all enjoy looking through the books of past years and reading about what we were up to. There are also SO many of you who I wish could be a part of my girls daily lives, but can't and sharing this blog with all of you makes it feel more like you are here with us. I'm so grateful for the calls the kids get asking about what they did this day or that, or input and advice on different things I write about. My kids world is more full because some of you take the time to see what's happening in their lives and check in. They feel like you know them and that is invaluable to me.

There are ways to secure the blog a little, to give people permission to read it, but that makes it a real pain to read. I don't know. I have more research to do. Maybe it's fine the way it is....I just need to decide what the risk is and if it's worth it. I really love having you all in our lives, I just can't ever do anything that risks my girls safety and comfort. Damn bad guys, they have to mess up everything! We'll see, I'll keep posted.

BUT as long as I'm writing we've had lots of fun lately, so here are a few pictures.....

Oh Jude!

Movie night at Grandma and Grandpas!

Hammering practice in the shop.

Gracie has a new friend at the barn.

Today was Gracie's Bike-A-Thon at school. 60 three and four and year olds on bikes is more
dangerous then it sounds (especially for the Mom/Teacher traffic cops)

After they were done riding they had a pizza picnic. Gracie has the best teachers, they
have always been so good to both girls. I really enjoy getting a chance to help them.

Lots of posting! Tuesday Maggie and Jude started loping (running faster)...Maggie was really excited
to try it. It's one of those things I would expect her to be afraid of but because Jude is involved she's willing to try.
They make a great team.

Tuesday was Maggie's last Girl Scout meeting of the year. We've had fun with our little
troop of Daisy's. We aren't going to do Girl Scouts next year, there just isn't time and we will
need to start working on 4H so she can ride Jude in the fair. 

 

Tuesday was Ms Lauren's last softball game. Maggie and I drove up to Yankton to watch.
Lauren graduates from college next Saturday and in a few weeks she'll be off to her new job
in Dallas. I'm not sure how her mother is handling it, but it sure is HARD on me.

Update....

Spring has sprung and we are running like crazy! Horses, softball, soccer and church seem to be keeping us on our toes.

Yesterday I had to take Gracie to Omaha for a couple of doctors appointments. It was a pretty rough day for her. We started the morning at the ENT, she needed to have her ears cleaned out :( I've never had it done, but based on the SCREAMING it didn't seem like a pleasant experience. Then a quick trip to Toys R' Us to use a gift card that was burning a hole in her pocket (she picked Frozen walkie talkies:))....then on to the pediatricians office for her 4 year check-up. Her growth has slowed a touch, she's back on the chart but still in the 94% for both her height and weight. After her check-up she needed to have a blood test and 3 shots....those went over about like you'd expect! She was screaming like a teenager, she sounded possessed, at one point she looked right at the nurse holding her down (it took 3 of us) and yelled "get that stupid cotton ball away from my arm!" I guess I should thank my lucky stars she didn't swear!

Maggie and Jude have been doing lots of riding. Maggie has really improved and they're working together like an old team.

Maggie spent an hour doing multiplication homework today....she's in FIRST grade??? Seems crazy.

We haven't gotten very far on our house plans. Lots of back and forth with the architect. I'm sure this is the part that takes the longest, but some weeks it doesn't feel like we move very far.

Daddy has decided to work on his braiding skills lately, he's starting to get it (as long as Gracie will stand still for an hour :))

Maggie dug out her roller skates at Grandma and Grandpas a couple weeks ago :)

Such a BIG girl! She had some Birthday money she was headed out to spend!

A couple of weeks ago we got to go to The International, a horse jumping competition in Omaha. The girls loved it. Maggie commentated the whole evening for us!

Does popcorn sound good?

 

Everybody getting things ready for Bri's bridal shower. Even Grandpa got roped into helping for a bit!

There is a new colt at the barn, Gracie has to check on him every time we are there.

Our old girl is still limping along. We're still waiting to hear from a specialist but our vet is
very skeptical about surgery. She seems to be doing okay with the pain pills. She doesn't run around much but she doesn't
seem to be uncomfortable. The other day Gracie was headed to the neighbors on her bike and I turned around and Reagan was trying to follow us, she made it almost to the end of the driveway before I noticed her....it was a LONG walk back to the house for her, she didn't move much the rest of the day.

Gracie had her first soccer game of the year last week. She seems to be enjoying it. I think her favorite part
is snack time after the game!

 

Gracie's friend Gracie....they think it's pretty cool to share a name!

 

All smiles before the Ear Doctor came in.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! We had a great weekend playing and celebrating in Omaha. Saturday we dyed Easter Eggs and did lots of playing at Mom & Dad's. Grandpa was working on the pool and it sure looked nice, I think Gracie may have jumped in if we'd let her :)

 Sunday morning we went to Church and then came home to see if the Easter Bunny had made a visit.

Sunday afternoon we headed to Aunt Trisha and Uncle Jeff's for the annual Easter Egg Extravaganza. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have :( but we had a great time and ate way too much. The girls were soooo dirty by the time we left I wasn't sure I wanted them in my car.

Trivia with Aunt Trisha!

The 7 little hunters!
Alex-7, Oliver- 3, Tucker-1, Elsie-2, Gracie-4, Ellie-4, Maggie-6

It's been gloomy and raining here all week! We're ready for some sunshine and warm weather. We are tired of being stuck inside. Reagan is moving around a little better this week, she's still on lots of pain medicine but she's acting more like herself. She spent yesterday morning at the vet having a workup we're still waiting for the results but are glad she seems to be feeling a little better.

Before Easter....

Our Easter weekend was full of great fun and lots of friends and family. Thursday night Carlisle's had an egg dying party. Thank goodness for art teacher friends.....she had all kinds of fun ways for the kids to color their eggs. They will never be happy with the boring old way again :)

Most of our kids have spring Birthdays, so Jen made them all a cake. We relit the candles and sang several times. 

Unfortunately I was a little late for the party because I was hanging out at the vet with Reagan. She blew out her knee. She was a in a lot of pain and really struggling to get around. With the help of lots of pain medicine and some rest, she seems to be feeling better. She'll have some further tests and then we'll have some decisions to make about fixing. She's no spring chicken but hopefully they determine shes strong enough for whatever repairs she needs.

Friday, the girls and I headed for Omaha, so we could spend the day with Hailie and Connor before they had to go home. The plan was to go to the Children's Museum, but we heard it was a packed house so we came up with plan B....Valentino's and bowling! It was perfect, the kids had lots of time to play and interact and they really enjoyed bowling.

I'll always be grateful for the time we get to spend with all the precious people in our lives. My girls are so blessed to be so loved and to have so many special relationships.