Easter and

Easter was wonderful. The whole family was home. Even Russell got a 4 day leave pass and didn't have to go back to school until Monday evening. The weekend was beautiful, Chris was not away on business or deployed, and we all got to attend our home church. It was awesome. We spent a lot of time relaxing and enjoying the holiday. Monday, Chris took Russell back to school so I did not have to drag the little ones down there and back. So nice. Then, we surprised Russell by going down to see him play baseball on Tues. We were originally going to leave town on Thursday to go to the Homeschool convention in Cincinnati, but decided to leave early since it was Chris' only opportunity to see Russell play baseball all season. Of course it was the only game Russell didn't play at all. AAHH. Russell was nearly in tears after the game because he knew we made the trip special and that Chris would not get a chance to see him play. However, we were able to have dinner with him and talk a bit which was nice. We stayed in a hotel in Charlottesville VA home of Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello. Then Wednesday morning we went and toured Jefferson's home. The kids had a lot of fun. It sits high up on a hill, and it is absolutely beautiful. The weather turned out awesome, and the kids had a great time. We took the little stroller for Olivia because it was going to be a lot of walking, however, she never sat in it. She walked/ran for 5 and half hours. She was asleep as soon as we backed out of the parking spot. LOL. We left Monticello and traveled to Ohio about an hour from my parents house and then crashed for the night.

Thursday morning we got to mom's house to find her garage sale in full swing. Chris unloaded the travel stuff and the kids, and I started pulling out my garage sale stuff. Yes, I took stuff with me from WV to OH to sell in my mother's garage sale. All total Zeke and Russell each made about $5 and I made about $50 at the sale. My money paid for parking, gas, and food for the 2 days I spent at the convention. Plus, I got rid of a bunch of stuff that was taking up space in my house. Bonus.

The convention was awesome. Kristi and I took the older 3 boys to the kids camp both days which they really enjoyed. The first day, Kristi and I spent 5 hours and only saw half of the booths in the exhibit hall. There was so much to see (and buy). I had to make myself evaluate things. I got so much information for Russell's high school stuff that starts next year. It is all so overwhelming and exciting. That night Chris and Stephen kept all the kids while Kristi and I went to see Tim Hawkins Comedy show. HILARIOUS. If you haven't heard of him -- look him up. He is a Christian and a Homeschool father of four. Saturday we all went to the Convention. It is much easier to look at things without the little ones, but at least with Stephen an Chris there we had more eyes to watch all the moving bodies. It was nice to get to look at something with Chris and talk to him about them and involve him more. The number one thing I took away from the Convention: Homeschool kids are, in general, better behaved and more polite than the general populace under 18.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the visit with Great-Grandma/pa. They came to Grandma and Grandpa's house to spend a couple hours, have dinner, and celebrate Olivia's Second birthday. It was a great time. The kids really enjoy their grandparents, and I am so happy they have the opportunity to know them. Olivia, loved her Tinker Bell cake, and the books and Tinker Bell blanket she got for her birthday. She even got a chance to wear the dress Grandma bought her for her birthday. So cute.

We left Sunday after a wonderful day at church with Grandma and Grandpa and some fun play with cousins. Olivia got a cute little shirt made for her by her Aunt Kristi. We got home Monday morning and Chris deployed Tues afternoon. Whew.