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Poor accident prone Zach! He climbs on EVERYTHING!! This afternoon he climbed on the footstool that goes to our papasan chair and fell off of it and smacked his face on the floor. What a boy!

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Woohoo!! We have our tickets to go see "Disney on Ice" on April 18th at the John Q. Hammons Arena!!! We plan on not telling the boys anything about it and just taking them as a surprise. I think Zach will flip when he sees Mickey Mouse. :)

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After church this afternoon we went to Arby's for lunch with the Walkers.

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SNOW?!?! Thankfully we weren't further north and west of Republic, MO though! There were some areas that received almost 2 ft. We had a very wet dusting that stuck around on everything but the streets until morning. Would have been perfect snow to build with.

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Family Movie Night/Day #4 - "Andre"

Since it didn't work out for John to take today off, and the boys didn't want to visit the Easter Bunny....they declared it a PJ & Movie Day. So that was exactly how we spent the day! We started with the Disney cartoon movie "Robin Hood", then moved on to "Andre" (which we had lunch during - fishsticks & goldfish crackers since the movie is about a seal)...then while Zach napped Drew watched a couple Veggie Tales DVDs and we wrapped up the day with "Bolt" - twice! Yes, they really enjoyed that one. In fact, other than a couple of minutes here and there during the first two movies, Zach didn't pay them any attention. Now for "Bolt" he actually sat down and watched most of it.

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Ahhh...college basketball! Tonight Mizzou (John's favorite team) played Memphis during the Sweet 16. John had two guys from church over to watch the game (Randy Eggert & Terry Neal - both big Mizzou fans)...and boy did they enjoy it! Mizzou is now on their way to the Elite 8 on Saturday where they will play Connecticut to try and make it to the Final 4. Surprisingly, despite the whoops & hollering from the guys in their excitement, Drew & Zach were never woken. Now it looks like we will probably have more guests for the Saturday game (provided we don't end up with all the snow they are calling for).

****

The boys and I had a relaxing day here at home today. After a quick trip to Wal-Mart for some groceries, we hung out until our Parents-As-Teachers liason came to test Zach. He did very well and is right on target. Drew was suppose to have a soccer game this evening, but the rain ended up cancelling that...as well as his practice tomorrow evening.

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Spring Break Playdate #2
This morning Angela gave me a call to find out what we were up to. Since John had to the van to pick-up Drew a new matress, the boys and I weren't going anywhere. So she brought her 2 girls over to play for the afternoon. The kids had a blast playing, Angela had fun chatting and we even got the youngest two to take about an hour nap.

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This afternoon, the boys had some friends over to play. With the way it was raining, it was a perfect day for the Bethunes to come over for a playdate. All 5 kids played very well together and seemed to have a good time.

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First Day of Spring Break

How did the boys spend the first day of Drew's Spring Break...in their PJs watching cartoons and playing video game of course! This was their choice and not without Mommy trying to talk them into getting dressed so we could play outside. Especially since this is suppose to be the only nice day (without rain) ALL week.

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Sunday Afternoon Naps!
The only day Drew takes a nap any more is on Sunday afternoon...and only because Mom & Dad force him to (and usually not without a fight). Since we are out past his bedtime with evening church, we try to make sure he gets at least a short nap every Sunday afternoon.

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A trip to the circus! This afternoon we all went to the Shriner's Circus at the Shrine Mosque in downtown Springfield. After standing for about an hour in the cold, windy afternoon, we finally made our way with the heard of people inside. We sat in the third row to one end of the 3-ring circus...pretty good seats. Once we found seats, John saved them while I took the boys over for a ride on an elephant. Yep a real, live, HUGE elephant. They both LOVED it and Zach spent a good part of the rest of the circus asking to ride again. Drew really enjoyed the circus, but Zach was begging to leave the whole second act. :) Over all, despite being surrounded in very close quarters with MANY kids on sugar-highs, we had a good time!

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Zach praticing his somersault...or at least trying to :)

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Another of our favorite recipes:

Basil Chicken & Pasta
1/2 pound of angel hair pasta
olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 TBSP minced garlic
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 can Hunts diced tomatoes w/ basil, garlic & oregano
1 - 1 1/2 TBSPs dried basil
salt, pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese (kind sold in the refrigerated section in plastic bags)

1. In a large pot, cook angel hair according to package. Meanwhile in a skillet, heat oil. Toss in chicken, sprinkle with salt & pepper and cook until no longer pink. Add onions and garlic. Cook for 5 or so minutes, until onions are soft.
2. Sprinkle basil all over the chicken mixture. Add in diced tomatoes with their juice. If you want a bit of heat, sprinkle in a very small amount of red pepper flakes. Cover skillet and simmer for a few minutes.
3. When pasta is cooked, drain & return to pot. Spoon into bowls and top with chicken/tomato mis and grated Parmesan cheese.

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New Trampoline!
For Christmas, the boys received a new 15ft trampoline from Grandpa & Grandma Stroud. Since the weather has stayed nicer, this past Sunday evening, John put it together for them. Ever since they want to play on it all the time! Zach wasn't too excited about being bounced, but he is getting more use to it now. :)

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Happy St. Patrick's Day! A sneaky little leprechaun visited our house overnight. Leaving us with green pancake batter, milk and potty water in the boy's bathroom. Drew searched the whole house trying to track him down with no luck. Then when we got to Drew's classroom we found that a leprechaun had visited there as well! There he had left behind little tracks all around the room (over chairs, tables and the floor). They also ended up finding the leprechaun's treasure! Yummy chocolate coins :)

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New friends! This evening, before dinner, Drew got a chance to meet and play with two little boys that are our new neighbors. They had fun jumping on our next-door neighbors trampoline while John finished putting up our new trampoline.

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This morning John & I said goodbye to our little cabin get-a-way in the woods by Beaver Lake in Eureka Springs, AR and we returned to the real world.

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Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge - Eureka Springs, AR
John & I wrapped up our final day in Eureka Springs with a trip to see the Big Cats at Turpentine Creek. While there we were able to see numerous lions, tigers and courages...as well as many other species...that had been rescued from their previous homes. We took their walking tour around the area and wrapped up the visit with watching their feeding! WHAT an experience!! The above pictured lion, Brody, had been very layed back the whole time we were there (besides when he tried to "mark" us with his "spray" - lol) ...even letting one of the workers pet him through the cage. When it came time for feeding, he completely changed!! You were very quickly reminded that they were wild animals! He growled and attached his cage...even attacking the cage that seperate him from a tiger (which he had not even acknowledged was there before this time).

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10th Anniversary - Yesterday John surprised me with a get-away to Eureka Springs, AR while my parents stayed with the boys. Then this morning John surprised me with 3.5 hours of spa treatment at the New Moon Spa at The Crescent Hotel. My treatment started with a facial, followed by hand & foot treatment and full body massage...ending with a body wrap. WOW!! I felt so relaxed after all that pampering!!! And the hotel's ghosts didn't even bother me during my time there ;)

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"MeMe & PaPa" Stroud arrived today! The boys were so excited to see them. Of course Drew had to show PaPa his newest Legos and they had to have some battles with them.

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"Dougnut" - Zach fell in LOVE with Somoas Girl Scout cookies ! Whenever he doesn't want to eat his meal, all you have to do is say he can have one of his cookies after he eats and he starts shoveling the food in. Of course he doesn't call them cookies...but rather "doughnuts" (I guess because there is a whole in the middle of them). This child certainly has a sweet tooth!

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We finally got the boys sandbox moved out of the garage and onto the back deck. This morning before lunch, the boys spent some time playing out in the sand.

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Cleaning Day! Since Grandpa & Grandma Stroud are coming to stay this weekend, today was spent cleaning the bathrooms. Drew begged to clean the toilets and who am I to deny him such an experience ;) He even asked if I would get my camera and take a picture of him cleaning.

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After church this morning, we went with the Walkers to John & Drew's favorite place to eat - Nakato Japanese Steakhouse. We were very happy to get one of our favorite cheifs, "Little" Steve especially since he now only works on weekends.

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Since we were running around again this afternoon looking for dinning room furniture, we stopped in one of our favorite restuarants in Springfield, Zio's Italian Restaurant - per Drew's request. We have a nice selection of places to eat in Republic, but have to go to Springfield for most sit-down style restuarants. Thankfully it isn't a very long drive to get there.

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About a month ago, Rachel Mourey (who has worked in Joy Bells with Drew), asked if I would run a Photo Booth at her wedding. So this evening, Angela Walker and I did just that. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!! We both agreed if we had just taken the photos and NOT tried to print out the photo strips that night, we would have loved do it. Live and learn :) Over all it turned out really well and people seemed to enjoy it.

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Another gorgeous day today! After picking Drew up from school today, we headed to J.R. Martin here in Republic. It was our first time visiting that park and the boys loved...Mommy not so much since it is the largest park in town and also one of the busiest. They had a great time playing with two of Drew's friends from his class as well as Peyton & Addison Walker.

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If we would let him, Zach would eat fishsticks for EVERY meal, EVERY day! That boy can pack them away too...usually 8-9!

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Checking out his new teeth. This past week, Zach's two bottom 2-year molars FINALLY broke through! We are still waiting for the top two to make their appearance.

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Zach has been showing an interesting in using the potty whenever he is at church, so I purchased his first package of Pull-Ups today. Of course when I tried to work toward potty training at home, he gets very angry when I try to take him to the bathroom. I guess because it wasn't his idea. Ah, the joys of potty training!

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