I will update the blog (soon?) with pictures from the past few months.  We have been so busy.  At the end of February, we moved in with my parents.  At the beginning of March, we put our house on the market.  I didn't think it would be easy to keep a 2-bedroom house constantly clean with 5 people in it, so we moved out.  I did not want to write about it on the blog at the time because I didn't want to broadcast to the world that our house was vacant.  At the end of March, we found a house and put a contract on it.  At the end of April we had a contract on our house.  At the end of May we closed on our new house and less than 2 weeks later we closed on our old house.  We feel fortunate that we only owned two homes for a short period of time. We are now moved in to the new place, but still have a lot of stuff in boxes.  We have very little furniture and seemingly no time to buy some.  We have been fortunate to have 2 great vacations planned.  Last week we went to Gulf Shores, AL with some good friends.  Later this summer we are going to Hilton Head, SC with my family.  Here is a family picture at the beach last week.  My mom made the boys' outfits!  More pictures from the past few months to come.

Jack's Birthday Party

We had the family over to celebrate Jack's birthday on April 1.  It was beautiful (a little hot, actually) outside so we were able to celebrate on my parents' deck.

The blue-layered cake:

 

This guy didn't get any cake:

Neither did this guy (Colleen's son Ryan):

Jack and his cousins played a game with his new soccer goal, new bases, and a soccer ball.

 Katie threw the ol' pigskin.  Well, not quite pigskin, but a football.

 Can Bridget catch it?

 Yes, she can!

 More base-running:

In addition to elements of baseball, soccer, and football, Patrick played with a tennis ball.  It was a sporty party for our 5 year old!

Zoo with Floridians

Our friends (who used to live next door) were in town from Florida at the end of March.  We met up at one of our favorite places, the zoo, for a playdate one day.  Jack was at preschool, so I just had Patrick and Charlie.

Patrick was interested in some animal x-rays at the Children's Zoo.

Patrick and Isaac shared a snack while they waited for their buddy Tess.

As the boys were snacking, a chicken (hen?) walked by.

Videos from the All Stars Show

Here are a couple links to videos from the All Stars show in Milwaukee.  Enjoy!

To Be Young (Is to be High, is to be Sad) (Cover)

Don't Let Me Down (Cover)

Jack's Fifth Birthday

Jack turned 5 last month.  He had a pretty good day.  After preschool, we met his school friends at the park for pizza and cupcakes.

Charlie was so excited to celebrate Jack's birthday.  He wasn't so excited to learn he wouldn't be getting any cake.

After the park, we went home so Patrick and Charlie could nap.  Then we opened presents.

We went to dinner at Steak n' Shake (Jack's favorite) with Grandma and Grandpa.  Then, we went to swimming lessons.

It's hard to believe he's five!

All Stars March 2012

We went up to Milwaukee at the end of March (it was our third trip to Wisconsin in less than 2 months).  On our way, we saw some neat clouds in the sky.  Here is a picture I took from the car as we were driving down the highway.

Jim's sister Karen organized an All Star show at a local bar.  Three bands each played music for 45 minutes.  Jim was in a band with his brother Paul, sister Karen, and two other people.

Me with my favorite rock star!

The boys love to see their cousin Colin when we go to Milwaukee!

 We stopped at a rest stop on the way home, and I took this picture of Charlie.  I love it, and have decided it will be his "official" 6 month picture.