Easter weekend was so much fun! The kids woke up on Saturday to eggs in their grass pots. (Aside: my mom planted cat grass in these baskets with the kids and it has grown like crazy. JT and I measured and charted the growth every day and it was growing an inch a day for a whole week!) We read the book The First Easter over breakfast and got ready to go to an egg hunt.

We met our friends the Bonnells and the Schmalzes at the egg hunt. Don’t the kids look excited? 🙂

It was Haley’s first egg hunt so I focused mostly on taking pictures of her in action. JT only wanted to pick up one egg (seriously) so there wasn’t much action there. Haley really got the hang of it and ended up with a pretty full bucket.

Afterward, Carl helped the kids look at their loot.

Then we all went over to the play structures and played in the sunshine.

We walked down to the lake with the kids and took some pictures by the river.

Oops, a couple random made it in here… snuggling under a blanket together and getting ready to leave with shades on.

Okay, back to it. Easter morning the kids got their Easter baskets from us and we enjoyed the Gymboree bubbles that float and don’t pop easily. If you haven’t tried them, it’s a must. They stay around for hours and you can stack them up on your fingers. So fun!

We got dressed and ready for breakfast and service at my parents’ church. I was lucky enough to find this dress for Haley in our hand-me-down pile a few weeks ago. I’m so glad I found it. It fit perfectly and I borrowed shoes from a friend that fit perfectly too! She felt like a princess in her floofy dress and picked out the “ink bow” all by herself.

After church we had an amazing dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Keene and Great Grandma Christensen there as well. Then the kids hunted eggs outside.

They also got to play with more bubbles from Grandma Keene…

… and eat frozen lemon yogurt pie from Grandma Cole.

We spent some time in the yard with JT’s black truck. Somehow I got conned into pushing it all over, but it was good exercise.

We went for a long walk and played at the park, and came back to eat up some leftovers, put on our pajamas (“jammies,” says Haley) and drive home. Both kids were asleep in the car within minutes!

Yep, you read that correctly. Jim says that every year I get away with more birthday. This year was certainly no exception.

Sunday: Went to dinner and saw The Hunger Games with a group of friends. So fun. Splurged on peanut butter popcorn during the movie.

Monday: Went to a friend’s house for dinner as a family. Quite possibly the best enchiladas I’ve ever had.

Tuesday: Home as a family for the evening (a rarity). Put the kids to bed and ate popcorn and fresh chocolate chip cookies while we watched TV (another rarity).

Wednesday: Took fudge-filled mocha cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting to my women’s Bible study group for birthday treats. YUM.

Thursday: Woke up to flowers, Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, orange juice, and a card from my husband. Went to work and found gifts on my desk. Went to dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant with my mom and the kids after work. Got emails, phone calls, text messages, wall posts, cards, and gifts. Felt super loved. Finished it off by eating the last cup of leftover buttercream out of the fridge. Yes, you read that correctly.

Golden Chopsticks feast

Friday: Slept in. Cleaned and organized the whole house. Played with my kids. Stayed in my sweats. Read my book. A great stay-at-home day.

Saturday: Birthday workout with my workout group, which means I get to pick some of the exercises and Shira plans some of my favorites. 🙂 Went to my parents’ house for dinner: homemade hamburgers and homemade fries, milkshakes, Reese’s chocolate cake for dessert. Double yum.


Birthday tulips! My favorite flower.



Haley enjoying her hamburger.

My boy

🙂

Opening gifts

A tray for our new ottoman… love it!

Blowing out 32 candles. JT wisely kept his distance.

I ate one half of that cake: one quarter then and the other later.

Dessert time on the floor

Sunday morning I woke up several pounds heavier and ready to move on to another year. First step: losing the birthday weight!

“Hey, Mom, it’s sunny… let’s go outside and ride bikes and draw with chalk. And you can sit in a chair and watch us.” Best idea ever. So here I am, with my feet up…

JT decided it would be fun to push Haley. Aren’t big brothers great?

So sweet!

Harley face.

Check out the wind in those pigtails!

And finally, when he was tired, he drew himself a birthday cake. It’s chocolate. Please note the four candles. 🙂

I just couldn’t help grabbing my camera to capture this moment forever…. JT teaching Haley the alphabet. I wish you could hear her saying, “A… a… a” as she points. So precious.

We sure miss gymnastics and hope to be able to work classes for both kids into our schedule again soon. Meanwhile, we went to open gym today with our friends Juden and Sawyer (and mommy Shira and baby Quinn). We had such a great time! It was Haley’s first time at open gym and she loved it. She tried absolutely everything and loved getting thrown into the foam pit. JT was so much more confident than last time and had a great time. They were both completely worn out by the time we came home.

Headed up the big slide. Then she found out she wasn’t all enough to reach the steps and had to be carried up.

Big trampoline

Little trampoline

Small bouncy house – she could do this one without any help and loved it!

Ready to go down the big slide

Wheeee!

JT, Juden, and Sawyer could climb all by themselves and went a bunch of times.

Well, really, it’s not allllll about Haley’s hair. But I’d like to point out all of our different hair dos lately! Haley’s hair is finally long enough on top for a side pony with a flower or bow, and long enough on the sides for a ponytail in back. We have also tried the barrette-on-top style. It’s been fun to try new things but my favorite is still pigtails.

There are also some great pictures of playtime.

Playing Trio blocks together… sweet.

Watching WordWorld (which Haley can say now)

One ponytail in back! (Do their profiles look similar at all? I’ve been wondering that.)

Haley spent a loooooonnnnggggg time focused on getting this block tower. She ran and got me when she finally got it!

Haley can finally put on her own shoes if she’s lucky and has lots of time to try it. But putting on other people’s shoes is so much more fun!

Two shots of top-barrette style… and, of course, reading with Dad and playing in the kitchen. All good things.

This week has not looked at all like the nice weather we look forward to all winter long. Instead, it has hailed, iced, slushed, snowed, rained, pelted, and blown all over us. But there was a day a week ago that we got to go outside…

Haley wanted JT to help her put her shoes on. “No, Mom, JT help.”

The kids rode bikes and drew on the sidewalk while I weeded the front flower beds, raked the yard, and swept the porch. It felt so good to get those things done!

When JT abandoned his Harley tricycle for the broom, Haley had her chance… and she proved that she’s now big enough to ride it.

Haley spent about five minutes telling us that she wanted some chopsticks, too, before we figured out what she meant. She used them to stab her food, and it worked out nicely.

Is this not the most adorable picture ever?

Today JT got to go to a birthday party for his friend Asher, who turned four. It was a superhero theme and JT got to go without any parents tagging along. He gave me a full report on the car ride home, including saying, “I loved it, Mom. It was ni-i-i-ce.” He got this mask, cape, and shirt to keep as a party favor.

Thanks, Jen and Brian, for hosting a great party and for this great picture of my son!