Happy Easter

Cheers!

Isn't it funny how good 45 degrees feels in the Spring when the same exact temperature in the Fall has us digging out our long johns and turtlenecks?

Pat and I enjoyed our first drinks of 2013 out on the deck this evening after dinner (although  by the time I got around to taking this shot I was already on my 2nd and Pat was on his 3rd or 4th).  Hey, it's Friday!

As we enjoyed the sunny evening, some good music, and each other's company, we both noticed that when we looked upward and tilted our heads at a 45 degree angle to the right, the airplane exhaust patterns in the sky appeared to have formed the letters A and T.  My hubby kept hoping that a plane would arrive and create the first letter of his name....but it just didn't happen.

With the help of Photoshop, however, anything is possible!

Good Friday To You

Braden's 8 Year Check-Up

After our fun afternoon at the Mall of America we headed over to our Pediatrician's office so that Buddy could have his annual physical.  He's in the 25th percentile for height at 4 feet 1 inch and 58th for weight (59 pounds).  Everything checked out just fine and dandy...he's a normal, happy, healthy boy.  I hope you took a good look at his smile in that first photo...because by the end of the appointment it will look very different.

Open up and say ahhhhhhh.

Dr. Peterson noticed that Buddy had a loose front tooth and kiddingly offered her services in yanking it.  Buddy took her up on the offer and just like that it was out.

Now he REALLY looks like a hockey player!

Our Day Of Fun At The Mall Of America

We spent a fun day at the Mall of America playing mini golf and riding on a super big slide.

Here's Buddy celebrating his hole in one.  He was the winner today.



Spring Break

It's Spring Break this week here in South St Paul which means the big kids are off school.  A million Thank You's to Grandma Ellen for having them over to her house for the past 2 nights and doing all sorts of fun things with them.  It's my turn to entertain them tomorrow which I'm sure will not be nearly as awesome as Grandma Ellen is one hard act to follow!

And with Careline and Buddy already gone...Pat and I hired our neighbor Max to come over to watch Adeline and we went out for dinner.  We don't get out just the two of us nearly enough so it was a refreshing break and as you can tell by the next photo, Adeline was happy and well taken care of.

GO GOPHERS!!!

We are hopeful that our Minnesota Gophers can pull off an upset victory over Florida this afternoon in the NCAA basketball tournament to earn themselves a spot in the Sweet 16.

Go Gophers!

A Lazy Saturday Afternoon

It was a quiet afternoon in the McLaughlin household (nothing wrong with those once in a while!)

Careline weaved a colorful creation...

Braden played with his Pokeman cards...

And Adeline took her usual Saturday afternoon snooze on the recliner.

Sharpest Dressed 2nd Grader Around

Sure Didn't Feel Like The First Day Of Spring Today

Guess Who

It's Careline and the awesome mask she made in art class at school!

McHandsome McLaughlin

Happy St Patty's Day!

Happy 8th Birthday To One Handsome Dude

I Love Babies!

This is baby Gwendolyn.  Is she precious or what?!  She's the first Daughter of one of my co-worker's and his wife.  They happen to live just 3 blocks away from us...so I stopped over tonight and got me some baby time (it's always more fun when you can give them back should they cry, poop, or barf, right?!)  Careline was bummed that she couldn't come with me because she had to attend religion class...but I gave Gwendolyn's Mama a strict order from her that she's to bring her over to our house for a visit really soon.

Another Hockey Season Has Come To A Close

Today's practice was Buddy's last of the season.  To be honest with you, I didn't get to many of his practices this year as at this point the focus is on skating and learning the skills and not game playing.  Daddy often talks about how well Braden does though, how fast he can skate, and how he has mastered many of the skills...and since Daddy doesn't brag about the kids nearly to the extent that I do...that's saying something.

We're going to get Braden signed up for a skills clinic this Summer to get him some more ice time and hopefully one day down the road this medal around his neck will be the reward for him and his Packer teammates winning the state hockey tournament!

They're Growing Up!

Hard to believe...but this handsome boy will be turning 8 years old just 1 week from today...

And even more hard to believe...my Baby Girl is turning 3 exactly 1 month from today!

Kids Say The Darndest Things

As she often is, Adeline was along for the ride tonight when I picked Buddy up from religion class.  In her hurry to be "Big" like her Brother, she told him when he got in the van that, "I want to go there someday!"  Braden told her that she WILL go there someday and to tide her over until that time comes he painted her a real clear picture of what she can expect by telling her, "It's just like church.....but worse!"

Perhaps It Is Time To Retire This Pair

Snow Day!

(Also known as "Send the kids outside to play in the fresh snow so Mama can clean the house day")

Being homebound for the day also provides us with the rare opportunity to watch both The Price Is Right AND Let's Make A Deal  in the same day.  Does life get any better than this???

In Nets For The Irish ~ Daniel Kay

Tonight we took a family trip to The Pond in Rosemount to watch cousin Daniel play hockey.  He made some good saves but unfortunately his team came up one goal shy.

David is the announcer for Daniel's games and he slipped a few funny comments in here and there.  At one point he announced the fan row of the game to be Adeline McLaughlin, Careline McLaughlin, and Pat McLaughlin and that they should head to the concession stand for their free bag of popcorn.  Too funny!  He even had Daniel's teammate cracking up in the photo below when he announced the reason why he found himself in the penalty box.

McLaughlin Originals

For the past 5 weeks the big kids have stayed after school for one hour every Thursday to participate in an afterschool drawing class.  Each week they came home with a beautiful new creation.  I love their different artistic styles, as they drew these photos freehand by simply looking at a projected photo.  The way they chose to color the photos also made them uniquely their own.

Here's a sample of their awesome work.  Careline's is the first one and Buddy's the second in each of the three samples.  They both did a mighty fine job if you ask me.

These last two are my very favorite pieces.  The objective when creating this piece was to create proper proportions, use the art element of line to show action, and have fun!  By golly, I think they accomplished all three (and with colorful style to boot!)

And I just have to smile whenever I look at Buddy's attempt.  You can tell by the way her severely receding hair line and scarf are blowing in the breeze that it's a very very windy day she chose to head outside and get some exercise!