It's been a while...

We've had a busy spring. It all began with a broken ankle!

February...I broke my ankle the first Thursday of the month. The rest of the month was spent wearing a purple cast and sitting in the recliner with it elevated. I slept on the pull out couch in our living room and bathed only once a week...if I was lucky. Mom & Russ did a great job of taking care of me and the boys. Their employers were so nice to allow them to alter their schedules to play nurse, maid, cook, chauffeur, and nanny!

March...Back to the orthopedist and into a walking cast. In theory I was supposed to be able to put my full weight on my right ankle in a weeks time, but that didn't happen. Russell's parents came during Spring Break to help so Russ could go back to a full work day. We did a day trip to Enid to see Grandma Heusel's new apartment. It is very nice. Phyllis and Sue did a great job decorating it and making it feel homey.

Our friends the Marks came to visit us the next week. They were moving from Phoenix to the Washington DC area. Charles had fun playing with Mary Kate. Imie IV and Micah found each other fascinating as well! It was a chilly day, but we went to the new play area at the Sedgwick County park. Then we warmed up with Mexican Food!

Isn't this an interesting swing? MK and CW were in it together, but the picture was blurry.

Charles likes to climb!

April...The month began with a trip to Kansas City. A dealer we'd discovered through eBay went to an auction and found a van for us on Tuesday, March 31st. So, Wednesday was a whirlwind of getting details hammered out to go test drive and purchase the van. Is it bad luck to make such a big purchase on April Fool's Day?!?!

Russ left work early and was home long enough to change clothes. Christy arrived about the same time as Russell and watched the boys until Mom was home from work. We headed to the bank and got there just before they closed. Then we drove to Kansas City. We decided to purchase the van and didn't leave Kansas City until 10:00 pm. It was a LATE night. But, we came home with a great vehicle at a fair price. We ended up with a 2007 Honda Odyssey. Even now, very time I get in I can't believe I'm driving such a nice vehicle. It sounds silly, but I'd been praying for a van and God blessed us with one that's more than what we need!

Bye, bye Malibu. You served us well, but we out grew you.

Our new (to us) silver 2007 Honda Odyssey.

The drama continues...we (Russell took the day off to take me to the doctor) get up early and Russell takes the van in for an oil change. Then we pack everyone into our little Honda Civic and head out for a morning of errands. First we take Charles to school. Then drive like mad men across town to the Orthopedist's office. I am officially on the road to recovery. I'm given an air cast and told to wear it for two to four weeks. There is still a break visible on the X-ray but it's healing as it should. I am told I can add activity as it is comfortable...that includes DRIVING!!!

We pick the van up at the shop and head home to load it up with our suitcases. We're headed to Dallas for Randy's wedding. We pick Charles up at school and we're off. It was a hectic weekend...as weddings always are but the wedding was a success and now Russell's little brother is a married man.

Randy and his groomsmen: Kris Daily, Randy (the groom), Justin Daily, and Russell

Micah's all smiles. His aunts thought he was a cutie...they're right!

It was hard to get up after a late night trip to Kansas City, a drive to Dallas, and a bachelor party!

The Daughety women and I got a little pampering in before the wedding! The ladies showered Ashley with attention!

I thought I would post a family picture, but when I looked again, it's not our family. Charles was off running around and Ashley took his place. Yes, I know my slip is showing!

Randy had this smile all weekend! Even Russell's brotherly teasing couldn't chase it away!

Great Grandpa Norman with his great grandchildren: Charles, Caleb, Ian, Hannah, Ashley, and Micah.

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the happy couple. My camera battery was all but dead and I was limping around with two kids while Russell fulfilled his duties as a best man. I'm so grateful for the help from Aunt Phyllis during the ceremony and those at the table...Bob, Sue, George, Phyllis, and Grandma Heusel who helped Charles get his dinner after Micah grabbed a bowl of tomato soup and dumped it on both of us.

It's still April...and now it's Easter. Russell's parents, Kim, and Caleb drove to Oklahoma the weekend after the wedding to finish going through the things at Grandma's house. We joined them so Russell could help Dad load the U-Haul.

Elena and Charles dyeing eggs. This was the few minutes Charles was interested, he's not much for crafts! Micah was more interested in snacks than eggs!

Micah is in that "I want Mommy phase" much to the dismay of Mommy and Grandma. He remembered Grandma from Spring Break and the Randy's wedding and went right to her. She was thrilled!

Loading the U-Haul. Charles "helped" but mostly ran in and out of the trailer and in and out of the house.

He liked riding the hitch, but didn't like having dirty hands.

We ate at Lamont's only restaurant, a pizza place with a buffet. It was pretty good. Caleb and Micah shared their lunch of Cheerios!

We had Easter dinner at Mom & Dad Goentzel's house and the traditional Wall Family Easter Egg Hunt. Aunt Christy singing silly songs to Charles and Elena.

Grown-ups (or the young at heart) get to hunt eggs too. We like to find money rather than candy in our eggs!

May...Mom, Dad, Brain, and Heather went to Oregon the first two weeks in May. Charles and I were disappointed we couldn't join them. But, we weren't as disappointed when we heard the beach was cold and rainy. On Mother's Day weekend Micah got the flu. He threw up on me while we were eating out to celebrate the holiday. I guess I'm lucky to have made it this long before getting puked on.

The next weekend was Christy's graduation. She received a Master's in Library Science from Emporia State Unviersity. Micah had a fever and Russell stayed home with him all weekend. It was a good thing, because the graduation was outside at the football stadium. It was cold and windy, not good for a little one even when they're healthy. They also missed the dinner and dessert reception that evening but Mom made sure Russell got a plate of food and a second plate of dessert!

Sunday afternoon we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law. Christy, Carissa, and I hosted the shower at Judy Friesen's house. Heather's mom came and so did a lot of life long friends from Mom & Dad's Sunday School class. She got lots of nice things!

Now its' almost the end of the month. Last week I took the boys to the Zoo so they could see the animals and I could walk. At lunch we discovered Charles was running a fever. The fever has continued until today...over a week. We took Charles in to the doctor and after the strep test came back negative were told he had a virus. Sunday afternoon he had a temperature of over 105 degrees we took Charles to our doctor's Immediate Care on Memorial Day. We thought we'd get right in since we made it there 10 minutes after they opened. We were wrong...there were almost a dozen people ahead of us. The doctor found a red ear that wasn't there on Saturday. After two days worth of amoxocillin we began to see improvement. Today is Thursday and my Charles has returned. So has the energy that has been pent up over the last week!

We still have a busy month, Brian graduates from OU Medical school on Sunday. We will drive down Sunday after church to attend the ceremony and a reception. The reception is being catered by our favorite place on OKC...Ted's Mexican Escondito!

June...it's not here yet but it's just a few days away. This month has lots activity too. Cessna will be handing out lay off notices some time the first week of June. The rumor is they will come June 4th. Those still employed will begin a four week furlough June 20th.

On a positive note we have several birthdays this month including a first birthday for our cousin Holden. Russell has a birthday and it's Father's Day too.

Hope this gives you an update on our family. I'll try to be better about posts. I should post more pictures, but I hear my husband who's home early from work and I need to check on the kiddos.