Happy Easter!!!... Just A Few Days Late...

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!!! Ours started out kinda shaky, as Brianna was sick with a virus that caused her to have a fever, headache, and a really bad cough. But she was feeling better by Saturday afternoon, so we still had a good Easter.

We all went to Laurens for the weekend after CJ got off work on Friday. We decided to go to Ames on Saturday morning and see Derek, since he wasn't able to make it home for Easter. We got to see his apartment and where he works at, etc. We also went out to eat and one of the restaurants his boss owns... very good food!! It was nice to see Derek again... we haven't seen him since September when he came home for Labor Day. He is going to Las Vegas in April with some friends, so maybe next time I see him he will be rich??!!!!! (Yeah... right!!!)

We got back to Laurens around supper time and Jenny and Matt showed up that evening. After getting the kids settled down, CJ, Jenny, Matt and I decided to go uptown to see if anyone was "out and about"... this means we went to the two bars that were open to see if anyone we knew was there! There were some people, but not too many that we knew... most were younger kids that my sister and I might have babysat at one time or another, but we sure didn't recognize them! We still had a lot of fun and managed to get home and "prepare" for Easter before Mom got us up for church!!!

Brianna got the "Enchanted" DVD and the "Troy" doll from High School Musical, along with lots of candy! Zach got the "Guitar Hero 2" PS2 game he had been wanting and lots of candy, so I guess they both did pretty well. We went to church with Mom in the morning, then had dinner before leaving to come back home to Sioux City. My mom's brother, Bill, and one of his daughters, Collette, came down to dinner and spent part of the afternoon with us. It was really nice.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top o' the morning to all!! Hope everyone is wearing green today so they do not get pinched! The weather is kinda "icky" today -- rain and snow mix, making slush all over the roads. It sounds like it is going to be like this all week. I am hoping this is the last week of this stuff -- I am SO READY for Spring to be here!!

CJ and I went to a St. Paddy's Party on Saturday night -- it was a lot of fun. No green beer (only brown!), but we did have lime margaritas, Apple-tinis, and "Stiff Leprechauns"!!! Never had one of those before!!! (It is the blue UV Vodka with Red Bull or Rockstar Energy drink!) We were still home by midnight, and it was a good thing, because Zach was babysitting Brianna and he had just gotten sick shortly after 11:00 PM. He ended up having a flu bug Saturday night and Sunday... he felt better before he left for school today. Brianna was sick with the flu on Monday and part of Tuesday... hopefully CJ and I are not next! With our luck, one of us will probably be sick on Easter!!! Probably me, since CJ doesn't really ever get the flu...

Well, enough of that... I wish everyone a wonderful St. Patricks Day and I hope someone can catch a leprechaun or find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow!!!! Erin Go Bragh!!!

Derek... the Leprechaun???!!!

My brother, Derek, has taken it upon himself to grow a beard between now and St. Patrick's Day!! He has red hair, so I guess he figures he will look like a leprechaun (albeit a little tall!!) by the time St. Patty's is here!! I am not sure what he plans to accomplish by doing this... maybe some bars will be offering free green beer to "leprechaun look-alikes"!! Here are some pictures he has sent to keep us updated on his growth:

Week One:

Week Three(?):
Week 4:

I can't even imagine what it is going to look like by the time St. Patrick's Day is here!!!

Last Basketball Game...

Well, Spring must be around the corner... we just finished Zach's basketball season this past weekend with the "end of season" tournament. Zach's team (The Ducks) didn't end up in the finals this time, so they were pretty bummed out. The two teams that played for the championship this year were the two that pretty much dominated the whole season, so everyone knew who was going to be playing for the championship before the season even started! The Ducks had a fine season, though, ending with a record of 13-3. Way to go, Ducks!!! Next year they will move on to high school basketball!!! (I have added a picture of Zach playing... the picture is a little dark, but he is in the center with the #24!)