Garage Sale Find

Yesterday Carter and I went garage saling.  We didn't have great luck, but we came across one sale that made our trip worthwhile.  I found a huge box of like-new Magic Tree House Books, or 'Jack and Annie books' as Ryan calls them.  He has been begging me to get them for months, since they started reading them in school with Mrs. S.  I wish I had a video tape of him finding his new books - he was over the moon excited about it!  He curled up on the couch right away with his favorite, "Mummies in the Morning".  Wonder if he will have his nose in a book growing up like I did?  I sure hope he inherits my love for reading! :)

Last Game

Today was Ryan's last soccer game of the spring season.  His team won 7-1.  It was a great game, but he was sad to see the season come to a close.  The kids received medals at the end of the game.  Somehow he didn't care anymore that the season was over - the medal was all he cared about!!!

Do you ever look at your kids and think "how did they get so grown up"?  That is what I keep thinking lately...  Somehow my kids aged a few years overnight!?!?!

Spring Preschool Picture

Posed and cheesy I know, but I couldn't not get just one of his spring preschool pictures.  Less than one month and he is done with preschool for this year.  Next year he will be in extended day preschool classes, which are a stepping stone to kindergarten as they are 5 hour sessions, and they eat lunch at school.  I told him I was going to do what my Mom told me she was going to do to me when I was growing up "I'm going to put you in my pocket and keep you little."  He wasn't sure what to make of that one!  :)

  

Happy Easter from the Mackeys

What a blessed day we had!  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed our time with our family.  Ryan was up bright and early (midnight to be exact) wondering when the Easter Bunny would arrive.  Note to self:  NEVER tell the kids that the Easter Bunny will be here in the morning, or anything fun for that matter.  Sleep is of the utmost importance in this house!  Anyway, the Easter Bunny delivered baskets, and then we drove up north for dinner at Aunt Bev's and Uncle Rich's.  Delicious, as always.  I don't know how she does it, so effortlessly cooks for an army and it is always delicious!  What a great day!

The Easter Bunny left a large box of books for the boys yesterday, we enjoyed them during the day - he dropped them off on the way to the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt.  What a bunny! :)

Kyle's basket - all eggs filled with money - apparently the bunny knows 12 year old boys!

Ryan's basket - Lego set, work books, Lego minifig sets, Pirate characters, silly bands, erasers, M&Ms

Carter's basket - workbook, Star Wars Mighty Beanz, Mighty Beanz car, silly bands, erasers, Easter eggs, M&Ms

Tracks left behind by the Easter Bunny looking for jelly beans: 

Carter with his basket:

Ryan with his basket:

Family after dinner:

One of the many, many desserts today:

Watching TV before the Easter Egg Hunt:

Ready, set...go!

Carter spotted an egg:

The hunt is over...a successful hunt for all! :)

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

We had our annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt today.  It is held across the street from our house, in the backyards of many homes.  My neighbor that coordinates the event stuffs and hides 1,500 eggs.  Amazing - it takes hours of preparation and the eggs are collected by the kids in approximately 5 minutes.  Ryan told me on the way home it was the best Easter Egg Hunt he's ever been to.  I guess that means it was a success! :)

Ryan and Carter waiting for the hunt to begin:

Easter Bunny came out and high-fived the kids:

Waiting behind the line:

Checking their loot after the hunt was complete:

Carter and the Easter Bunny:

Ryan's turn with the Bunny:

Official

Ryan's official soccer picture is below.  He only has one game left.  We knew this would be a quick season, but it has literally flown by!!!!  Next:  run club at his school (starts Thursday) and baseball (which started last week).  We're going to have a busy spring/summer at the Mackey house! :)

It's 'snow' joke - an April snowstorm

I wish it was a joke, but low and behold, we woke up to an April snowstorm on Wednesday morning.  Thankfully, Mother Nature melted the snow by the time we came home from work, but we are done, done, done with snow this winter.  We are ready for summer.  Did you hear that Mother Nature?  READY FOR SUMMER!!!!!!  :)

Jewelry

I had a full afternoon of stamping this afternoon, making 9 pieces!

These pieces are stamped on both sides (my only pieces I am able to stamp on both sides since they are such a heavy gauge) and have special meaning.  Brian is my coworker that is being deployed to Iraq for 18 months.  He and his wife Teresa will both wear these necklaces during his deployment.



Turkey Hunting

Kyle and Evan went turkey hunting for the first time this weekend at my parents' house. Kyle was successful in shooting a 26 lb. turkey. He and Evan were both pretty excited about the hunt!!!

Tooth Fairy

After all the lost teeth we've had in this house recently (Ryan's 6th in a year), I finally caught the tooth fairy tonight.  Ryan will be so excited to see her picture in the morning! :)



Carter's 4 Year Well Visit

Carter had his 4 year well child visit with Dr. Olson today.  He did great!  He is such a big boy - he is 46" tall (over 100%) and 49.8 lbs. (99%).  His temp was 98.6 and blood pressure 100/65.  His vision is 20/20 and hearing is perfect.  After a full exam, she said he is the picture of health (Yeah - I said a little prayer of Thanksgiving hearing that!)  He did have 3 shots to prepare him for kindergarten that you could choose to do at the 4 year or 5 year well visit.  We chose to do them today.  After a few tears initially (she said that these were more painful shots than others), he was happy to tell me that he was 'all healed'!  It was interesting to look at his growth chart...many things can influence a child's size when they reach adulthood, mostly genetics, but looking at his current growth curve (has been above 100% in height since birth), if he were to continue to grow at the same rate he currently is, he would be 6' 7" as an adult.  My jaw must have dropped, because she explained that he may not, obviously, reach that height because his growth could slow down, but I do have a feeling he will be our tallest boy of the three.  Evan and I made our guesses today, that we will be recording in the boys' journals (something of a time capsule, I guess you could say) - Kyle will be 6' 0" as an adult, Ryan will be 6' 2", and Carter 6' 4".  Will be interesting to see where they land!  :)

Kyle's 12th Birthday Party

Have I mentioned yet that I am partied and caked out?!?!  :)  We have had the busiest week with our Anniversary, Carter's birthday, and Kyle's birthday.  Not to mention, when they are little, you are planning treats for a daycare party and a school party!  We celebrated Kyle's birthday on Wednesday night with a trip to Brunswick Zone with Grandpa and Grandma.  We ate dinner and then played Laser Tag, games, and rode on the bumper cars.  It was the best night we've ever had at Brunswick - as the kids get older, they get easier to take.  We really had a fun night!!!!

Kyle's Fishing Cake:

Kyle and his Cake:

 

Carter and Grandpa on the Rollercoaster Ride:

Carter and Dad Driving a Race Car:

Last place, but he didn't have any clue!!!!  The ride takes your photo and displays it above the car you are driving - very cool!

Ryan practicing his shooting skills:

Kyle on the Rollercoaster Ride:

Bumper Car Time...Ryan vs.

Kyle vs.

Mom!

We had a blast!  I don't think I've been on bumper cars since I was a kid!

Carter wanted to try it out - as long as you were 44", you could ride - and he was!  He LOVED it - he was so proud of himself!

Kyle shooting:

Dad and his boys heading in to play Laser Tag:

Wish I could have captured the colors in Laser Tag.  Without my flash, it was blurry, but with my flash, all of the great black-light colors disappeared!  Maybe a photography lesson is in order? 

Carter heading through the Laser Tag course:

Dad spots Kyle on the second level:

Kyle's already got him in his sight:

Ryan takes aim!

What a FUN night!  Happy Birthday, Kyle!!!!