Computer is back up and running!

So I've been out of the loop for the past week or so with a completely dead laptop.  I took it to Geek Squad to figure out exactly what the problem was and was able to determine it was the AC adapter (charger).  Unfortunately, Best Buy was out of them so I waited a couple of days and went back to find one sitting on the shelf which I quickly grabbed and paid for.  Once I got home and took it out of the bag, I noticed the seal had been broken on the box which then raised some red flags.  I proceeded to remove the charger from the box only to find the sticker partially peeling off the unit!  It looked as though someone had used it for quite some time and then decided to return it and I was the sucker who bought it again.  Sure enough, I plug it in to my laptop and it's completely dead as well.  So, back to Best Buy we go to return it and find out they are still out.  Much to my delight today, they had received a new shipment so I am not officially back up and running.  Funny as it sounds, you don't realize how much you rely on the internet for daily life!  Not only was I cut off from blogging and facebook, but I could not balance our check book, pay our bills (which are nearly ALL paperless now!), upload photos I have taken, etc.!  So...where do I start!?!?!  Let' start with our "preschool corner". 

PRESCHOOL
Friday, 3/12 marked our first day of "preschool corner".  Lesson 1 consisted of a memory verse, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1 which I am proud to say the boys can now recite by themselves; the bible concept was who God is and the most special gift he gave us--the world and all our beautiful trees, flowers, swishing fish, crawling creatures, etc.  We also learned about the letter "A" and the number 1.  Saturday, I made a trip to the dollar store and found some educational decorations to hang on the walls down by the boys' table and chairs so it now really looks like a little classroom. 

Lesson 2 was yesterday, 3/15 and consisted of reviewing lesson 1's bible concept, more with recognizing the letter "A" as well as their name, and we also learned about police officers, firefighters and calling 911.  I am working with the boys to teach them our address and phone number as well.  We went around the house and counted smoke detectors, practiced "stop, drop and roll" and talked about reasons to call 911.  Because I know how Ethan's school operates and have a printed schedule, we make things fun by following their schedule to include "centers", story time and outside play time as well as their favorite SNACK TIME!  We spend between 2-3 hours doing our preschool and two days a week is the goal, however, the boys want to do it every day!  So far it has been a blessing and SO much fun to do with them.

FAMILY PICTURES

We attempted to get family pictures Sunday, 3/14, however, ran into some glare problems from the sun.  I was able to tweak one of them so it is useable but I look forward to round 2!  We also tried to get one of all the cousins together which is quite the chore-7 kids under 5, all looking and smiling at the camera, HA!  Here's what we got.

And finally, today we enjoyed some beautiful weather!  It is supposed to hit 61 by the end of the day so we took the opportunity to go have a picnic lunch in the park.  Unfortunately we don't have any "fun" parks around here with lots of toys for the kids to play on so we made the trek to Spokane and headed to Franklin Park.  Isaac was busy smiling at everyone and bouncing in my arms--you can tell he just can't wait to get down and run with his brothers!