Guess I have a lot of catching up to do...

Abby "After" the haircut

Before the haircut

Enough bubbles for a modest but adorable picture of our 4 bathing beauties!

At Abby's Spring Festival, each class does a dance, it was really well done, and she loved learning a hula dance.

After the little easter egg hunt at the school. Thank goodness it was indoors, it was freezing! Fun to search all around the bleachers and everything to find the eggs

Mohawk Whitney

Scott's birthday

My 96 yr old Gran sent these mittens, hats and sweaters she knit to the girls, so they are modelling them

Close up of pretty Sara

Well, the last month has been busy! I always think i am doing better at updating this, and all of a sudden it's a month later! The biggest news is that we finally got Spring here! it took forever and there are still a few snow drifts lingering, but we have grass! It was a long winter here, with the snow 178% of normal. Good for filling the reservoirs. Last weekend we were able to get half of the girls' playground put together, but still have some work to do. They LOVE being able to go outside, even though Sara is still afraid to go down the slide! She'll figure it out. Isabel is also able to ride her bike with no training wheels, but as expected she just took off like a rocket and now needs to learn starting and stopping safely. It is fun but scary to have two of them who can travel far and fast now! We really appreciate our quiet street with very few neighbors at these times.

Scott spent a lot of work time on his work snowmobile. He now is back to the 4 wheeler, and has managed to get stuck in the mud a few times with his truck. There are always ups and downs with the public sentiment towards federal officers here, but overall people get along with him.

I have been just doing my regular stuff, happy to be able to send the kids outside. For some strange reason I have been wanting a dog for a while, and have been researching breeds and training quite a bit. Even if we never get a dog, i think I have learned a lot, and it's a fun little side project for me. Scott has vetoed any pets, but I think when the time is right we will get something. I also got the letter with an appointment for my citizenship interview on April 30. I have to study some American info, which has not been too hard, considering some we learned in high school, and then I got an "A" in American Heritage class in college. There are 100 questions to study, and a computer picks 10, of which you have to get 6 correct. I am hoping I get "Who is the President of the USA" or other tough ones :)

After that all I need to do is swear in, and i will be a US citizen. I do have some mixed feelings, but i will be happy to vote and also to never deal with Immigration again. Someday we'll have to do the paperwork for the kids to show their Canadian citizenship, which they get automatically from me.

Abby is loving school and dance, and we were both sick of brushing her long, tangly hair so i got to cut it yesterday. it will be really nice for summer, not to deal with it, and I think it turned out cute.

Isabel still asks to go to friend's houses every 5 minutes, and loves her preschool. She is learning a lot and I think will be reading by kindergarten if I work with her a little more. She is funny and crazy. She got some blue sunglasses from Wal-Mart and wears them all the time. She says she needs them to see. And then she dresses herself and asks "do you like my style?"

Sara is still her bi-polar self, whiney one minute and hilarious the next. I think she is read to be doing more big girl things like dance, so she'll be happy this fall if we put her in it. She also traded her toddler bed for Abby's bed, and got to choos a new blanket. Thank goodness she chose Polka dot, instead of Dora, or even princesses!! I think she likes it, but still won't stay in bed more than a second at night. someday, right??

Whitney is on the verge of figuring out llocomotion. She can now sortof scoot in her own way to get to what she wants, which is usually a speck of something on the carpet. Baby toys are no fun. She is still working on her first tooth. She also weaned herself and is now on a bottle and baby food. I would have nursed longer, but it is kinda nice to be done with all that, especially how distracted she was every time her sisters walked by, which of course was very,very often. it's like they had a radar for when I would sit down to feed the baby.

So things are good in monticello. We are making plans for yard projects, and are thankful we had a sump pump installed which has been working hard for over a month. This snowy year was a great test of the system, and I think we'll be ok from here on out.

peace out!