Like father, like son

Wes told Caleb we were having steak last night....

Playing hookey!!

Wes left the house a little before 7am to ride out to the lake with a his dad, Uncle Doug & Mr. Brown to enjoy a little fishing this morning. The kids were sound asleep when he left, but were wide awake and getting dressed for school when he came back just after 7am. Apparently there were going to be 2 boats going to the lake and Wes came back to see if the kids wanted to go along. He earned major "Cool Dad" points! He didn't have to ask them twice. We scrambled for swim suits, hats, a change of clothes, snacks and then they were out the door. From all indications the kids had a great time. I think Wes may have second guessed his decision to take them along a time or two, especially with Caleb constantly saying "Hey Daddy!" and everyone constantly wanting a snack, but I am pretty sure he enjoyed spending the day with them.

The catch of the day!

So now, it is a little before 9pm and the kids have been sound asleep for almost an hour. Usually we are just starting to brush teeth, but tonight they are snoozinng. They had a full day and never stopped going. After a full morning of fishing, they helped clean fish, rode their fleet around the yard, washed rocks, showered, ate fresh fish and then CRASHED! Sounds like a pretty great day of playing hookey to me!

Lovin' the warmer weather!!

Hello spring!!! It's so good to see ya. Thanks to you and your warmer temperatures Austin, Avery & Caleb have enjoyed some long afternoons outdoors. It is great to get home after work/school, grab a snack and then send them outdoors, after they all change of course (grrr). For some reason they tend to have a tough time staying clothed though once outside. Between mudpies in the sandbox and "washing" rocks, they end up dirty, wet, and then butt naked. Good thing we live in the country!!
The toughest thing about these spring nights is that we have a hard time getting inside. Supper, showers and our bedtime routine get a bit rushed. The past few nights the boys have enjoyed turning on the back porch lights and catching june bugs. In the mornings before we go to school, the boys take the caught june bugs from the night before and take them to the chickens.... yes, another "only in the country" activity. We're glad to see the june bugs and we are so glad spring is here!

We always have a good time...

when we visit Jason & Bruce!

74 degrees

That is how cold the water was for the kids first dip in Uncle Jason's pool. Doesn't look like they minded too much.

Spring Break

So, it's not exactly a "break" for Maurer Party of Five. Wes and I work in non-school enviroments so Spring Break doesn't mean a whole lot to our crew, at least not until we get into public school. With Disneyworld in the near future, Wes & I both worked this week and I admit I felt bad dropping off the kids in the mornings and seeing 15 kids on the playground where there are normally 80. On Tuesday Avery and I spent the afternoon with some of my friends and Austin and Caleb got to hang out with Popo. Wednesday Kelcie picked them up before lunch and they got to hang out with her all afternoon. I'm hoping to be able to get them tomorrow after lunch and so that they do get a bit of a break from the norm.
Hope everyone out there is enjoying Spring Break!

No excuse....

It's been over a week since I last blogged. I wish I had an explanation, but there is no real excuse. Maurer Party of Five has been in full swing with places to go, things to do and people to see. I will say that doing all of these things seems to be a bit easier now or at least there seems to be less factors to throw us off course and that is a good thing!
We are back to longer days and that is a plus in my book. Warmer temps + longer sunshine = more play time outside = less clean up inside. Of course we also run into the fact that we tend to stay outside until the sun goes down and then trying to squeeze in supper, baths, reading and bedtime gets a bit hectic. What will we do when homework is necessary??? Due to A&A's later birthday, we missed out on tball this year, but I am really ok with that. I know our day of running from practice to game to practice is coming. A&A&C still get in their practice swings in the backyard outside. Caleb got a real bat and hard balls for his birthday. Those don't come out unless daddy or mommy is watching. Though I feel fairly confident about the safety of my windows this year, I am not so sure about the years to come.
From here on out our weekends are full through the end of April and then our first big family trip will happen in May.... Maurer Party of Five is headed to Disney World!!! Part of me is sooo excited and there is a part of me that is exhausted just thinking about it.
More posts to come sooner than later....

Sleepover

Avery has already had two nights away from home by herself at cousin Kennedy's house in Montgomery. She always comes back with fun stories and always makes sure to tell us about getting to go get her toes done. It was time for us to return the favor so when we found out Kennedy was going to be staying at her grandparents for a few days in February, the opportunity seemed perfect. It was, except Caleb's birthday weekend fell the same weekend. Not a huge deal, but I felt bad that we didn't get to have as much fun with the girls as we may have otherwise. I was able to let the girls have a little "girl time" Friday afternoon. I picked Kennedy up and then we went and got Avery from school and had lunch at their choice - McDonalds. After lunch they got their nails and toes painted with matching designs and the rest of the evening was spent playing and arguing with the boys - good times! Can't wait to have her back again and next time I hope to get more pics!