Happy Resurrection Day!

It was strange not going to Easter services on Sunday ("He is risen" doesn't seem to work as well on Saturday night, but the worship was still great!) It was nice to be able to do the Resurrection Eggs with the kids on Easter morning before family arrived. I love EASTER!

the babies with Nema (yes, Ashley is still my baby)

Most of the Case Cousins

Great-Grandma's 90th

Enjoying Great-Grandma's backyard. It's fun to know that my kids will have memories of great-grandparents. I never met any of mine!

I share this photo to tell you all that I am NOT okay with how old my boy looks in this photo! Slow down, JD! I want you to stay little!

I have now celebrated 90th birthdays for three of my Grandparents! People live a long time these days! But it was a great celebration of a full life. Thanks, Aunt Janny & Aunt Carol, for throwing the party!

Jethawks' Opening Day

Apparently, the Jethawks forgot that it is supposed to be SPRING when you kick off the season. We had tickets to opening night and it was a balmy 39 degrees! But it was a fun night with grandparents. No pictures of Caleb....he was under a blanket the whole night!

We lasted about an hour and a half into the game (as did most of the crowd) and it took me two hours under my electric blanket to feel warm again!

What the Big Kids are Up to!

Jason's "Kings' Car" that he and Daddy made for Cubbies' car night.

Shelby got a medal at church for memorizing Psalm 139:1-12.

The Chunky Monkey at Three Months

My happy boy! I'm enjoying him SO MUCH! Savoring it!

Caleb's new room. Yes, it may look like a closet, but he's not complaining. I think he appreciates that he has his own room!

Apparently he is happy to be armed!

And he is concerned at the amount of enjoyment his mother gets out of his cute hats.

We have another baby who loves his blanky! He's a snuggler.

Catching Up...

Sorry I'm so behind (for the three people out there who actually read my blog). If pregnancy was little excuse, four children and homeschooling is definitely an excuse. Since it is spring break, I'll do a bit of blogging.....mainly so my dad stops complaining. (But also because I love you, Dad!)

Here is our little angel (he really is!) at his first hockey game. He was 2 1/2 months old. So far, it doesn't look like there was any permanent damage done by the loud noise and the flashing lights (he was quite obsessed with the jumbotron).

Here Caleb is meeting his cousin, Emma, who is one month older than him. Notice the difference in girth? Yes, Caleb is a chunker! In fact, he is weighing in somewhere around 16 pounds at three months! That is definitely a record for a Case baby.

Ashley still loves Caleb and always checks up on him. She's actually a good big sister. Not much jealousy there at all!

Baby Caleb

Okay, I've given up on trying to catch up on my blog. Skipping our super-fun vacation to the Grand Canyon. Skipping Christmas and all the surrounding activities. Can I use pregnancy as an excuse for flaking on those things? The most important news in the last three months is that Caleb joined us on January 7th! We love him! So here he is, blogosphere...

Catchin' Up....Halloween

Sorry....man, am I behind! Here are a few shots from Halloween.

Camping pics 3-Family Time

The alligator stump. Shelby was a bit afraid the first time she saw it, thanks to her daddy's teasing that it was a real alligator.

Daddy and Baby at sunset.

This shot was taken with Jeff's iphone. Sometimes he takes better pics with that thing than I can with our camera!

The evenings were, by far, the nicest part of the day. The marine layer burned off about 4pm and it was beautiful. That's when we enjoyed long walks.

Camping pics 2- TIDE POOLS

So there were some REAL tide pools at Carpinteria Beach. I don't mean the kind that only had dried out sea anemones (though those were there), but we actually saw some cool sea life! Thanks to Jeff's iphone, Shelby and I did a little research one afternoon, learned some definitions, and some specific life to look for. And wahla! WE had a field trip on our hands. Yeah! Thanks, God for putting your amazing creation in a place so easily accessible to us!

The tide pools completely disappeared at high tide, which was around noon. You couldn't even see the tall rocks under the surf. That was the time to enjoy watching the seals and dolphins swim by. It was like a wildlife excursion! Great for a new homeschool mom like me.

Camping pics 1-CHEESE!

Ashley has a new "cheese" pose. I have no idea were it came from, but it must be something she learned at the beach. She thinks she's awfully cute doing it though.

I like the old school look of the above photo. It could have just as easily been taken of me or Steph when we were little!

Here is the closest we could get to catching her doing it. This post is really for Steph, so you can see what a big girl she's becoming!

Let the Homeschooling Begin

August 9, 2010 was a big day of adjustment for our family! Shelby started first grade, and since I am now her teacher, we all have a different schedule! Days one and two went well. I think if I can entertain Jason and teach Ashley some independence (which she definitely needs to know by January anyway) we will have smooth sailing! The second day my mom came up to hang out with the younger two, which made a world of difference. I have to say first grade is not hard to teach when your student is already reading. I think it will be lots of fun!

Oh, and so here is my "homeschool" room. It looks basically how I wanted it to, but it will be MUCH easier once we get the pool table moved and can set up another desk for Shelby. We're doing okay for now though!

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! We had family fun this year! It is exciting to look at last year's picture and see the difference in the kids.

Shelby and Mommy made a Patriotic Cookie Pizza. Jeff spent the entire day BBQing yummy stuff. It is, after all, mostly about the food, right?

Most memorable fireworks moment was Ashley's reaction. Surprisingly, she wasn't afraid, but kept saying, "WOW!" She must have said it a hundred times throughout the night. Fun to see her develop her own personality!

Fi-a-powa!!

Jason doing one of his latest antics. He does this at random, but of course, I had to bribe him to get him to do it for the camera. (From Night at the Museum 2.)

Six Years of Mommyhood

Shelby Lorraine is six years old today!

My sweet girl is so fun. She has the most genuine smile of anyone I know. She is so sweet to her siblings, especially the baby, and she is a very sensitive girl. She's also intuitive and smarter than you think. She figures things out quite quickly, which makes talking in code a bit difficult. I love her innocence and I pray that she stays that way. My hope for her over the next year is that she continue to grow in love and knowledge of our Savior and that she learn the joy that comes from working to serve Him. What a PRECIOUS gift Shelby is to our Family.

Happy Birthday, Shelby!

Our Little Cupcake's First Birthday

"The Cousins" (minus the birthday girl)

Shelby 6, Presley 4, Jason 3, Cole 19 months

The fun cupcake pinata we found for our little cupcake's party. Well, this was for the bigger kids of course.

Ashley wanted nothing to do with the cake. She'd barely even try it! She enjoyed the singing and blowing out the candles, but no fun face-full-of-cake pictures for this little girl.

She DID however love the present opening! Ashley politely played with each toy. Go figure that what is usually the hardest part of a one year old's party, was the easiest for this little one!

Our family of five....hard to believe that next year there will already be a 6th added to our midst!!! Yep, in case you missed it, we are expecting #4!

Precious Beach Pics

When I am gone, leaving the kids with Jeff, he constantly sends me pictures on my phone to show me what I'm missing (I'm sure there is no guilt trip intended=)). Here were my favorites from when I was in Colorado. So sweet of my two big kids!

Happy Birthday, Ashley

Our baby girl turned one today. She is so sweet and we've really been enjoying her the last couple of months. She's very chatty and her favorite things to say are "turto" (turtle) and "uz zat?" (what's that). She just points to things and babbles about them. She started taking two steps at a time yesterday and is quite proud of her efforts! We look forward to the things God will do in her life as she gets older and gains understand of His faithfulness.

Our plans for her birthday are to take her out for pizza and chicken and maybe a cupcake. Happy Birthday, Ashley Sharon! We are so thankful for you!!!

New Baby, New Hair

"I can push the walker, Mommy!"

We are officially declaring Ashley a new child. She is SO happy, sweet, fun and NOT cranky! She tries new things and plays independently. We are enjoying her so much lately and I decided to give her fun new hair to match. Piggy-tails here we come!

Future Mrs. Melissa Case's Bridal Shower

After 6 years, Melissa will finally be a Case! Uncle Ryan will marry Melissa in May and she'll finally be Aunt Melissa. We got to celebrate at a tea house in Orange County.

Since we don't get to be at the wedding, which will be in Turks and Caicos, Shelby was the "showergirl" (since Presley will be the flowergirl). She felt special, getting a crown, and helping pass out games.

Little Ladies' tea table for two.

Ashley was happiest outside, using the porch to learn to cruise. She had a good view of the present opening from here.

Of course, opening presents was the most important job for the showergirl. She got to choose the presents and help open them. Thanks, future Aunt Melissa, for a day!