egg hunts!

One of the (many) Easter egg hunts and activities we went to was at our church. It was focused more on the life of Jesus than on candy, but of course at the end there was sue candy… :) Paul built this little wooden table. You can't see it very well, but I'm still hoping to get it back and use it in the yard. The kids learned about carpentry, since that's what Jesus did. They used little sand paper blocks to sand down the table. 

We rotated with two other groups of kids to the next station after a while and played a memory game. The kids loved it. It was all about what types of food were around in Jesus' time and things we know he ate versus some foods that we eat now that wasn't around then.

The last station was this fishing station. You get it, fisher of men? Anyway, one of the things we did in this room was to fold origami fish. So cute!

Afterward, the bishopric talked to the kids about why we celebrate Easter and they watched a short video clip of the resurrection. It was very sweet. Then they all got to walk into "the tomb".

After that, they were led to the gym for the egg hunt! It was a crazy mess and they loved it.  Solace ran right past the eggs and got a basketball instead. The boy knows what he likes.

This is really the best picture I could get while they were all distracted and already shoveling food into their mouths.

After the church hunt ended, we went to Chick-fil-A for their egg hunt and all their fun activities. Somehow I missed getting any pictures of the games (where they won me free food gift cards for a month!) and the bounce houses. It was so fun!

Meeting the Easter Bunny was not Solace's favorite thing to do. He got close enough to give him a high five at one point but that was it. Then any time the bunny would move, Solace would scream at the top of his lungs and run!

These giant decorative eggs made the perfect dancing partner for Sully boy. He was loving the live music.

I wish that Paul could have been there. He would have loved all the craziness. But I guess that it's a good thing that I take so many pictures. He's all caught up by the end of each night.

Mr. Mason

All the way from Utah, Mr. Mason FaceTimed us and the boys talked about it about a million times since then. They played with him every Monday for several months back in 2013, and love seeing him again. We've talked before now too, and it's always nice. Paul has the best family, I really do miss them so much.  Technology is so nice.

I also got to talk with Steph for a while and found out that Grandma and Grandpa Berg are coming out for Dale and Vanessa's baby's blessing, which we didn't know. I'm excited to see them! They haven't met Solace yet either!

cinder block bench

So I have been wanting some patio furniture, or a bench or really ANYTHING other than our folding camping chairs to sit on when I'm outside watching the kids. The weather has been getting nicer, which means we have been spending more time out there.  Instead of buying something, I decided to make something… And I think it turned out pretty cute. I bought (and loaded and unloaded) everything by myself, which I was pretty proud of. The cinder blocks were only $1.15 each, so the price was RIGHT! I started by sticking stacks of three bricks together with liquid nails and letting that set for a few days. That was only interrupted once when Paul and Brian thought they were helping and moved the stacks all back together, put the very heavy 4 by 4's in and broke one apart, so I had to start that over again...

Then I lay each stack down horizontally in the right place, each stack of three was about 75 pounds, so I didn't want to have to try and move it once they were all glued together. Then I popped in the 4 by 4's and added the cushion (that I sewed the cover for) and called it good! I seriously love it. And it's loooong. The cushion part is longer than Paul or I am tall, so it's plenty spacious! And now because all the cinder block cubes are glued together, it's very secure and stable.

The gray fabric next to the yellow pattern looks especially nice. I really like it! Plus I sprayed it all with NeverWet so it shouldn't get moldy, but I can take it off the cushion and wash the fabric if I need to.

Oh, and this is the free chair I hunted on large trash removal day in Matix's fancy fancy school neighborhood. Love it! The citronella plant has a new home in this partially shaded area too. What do you think? So fun, huh?!

Easter kids!

Look at these darling little Easter babies of mine! Could my kids be any cuter? I love them.

Easter cards!

A few weeks before Easter, the cards and packages started pouring in. THANK YOU to all the grandparents and great grandparents for all the lovely Easter thoughts!  The kids were especially excited about it! 

By the way, they used their Easter MONEY to buy the following; Matix bought several HotWheels race cars, Hawken bought a Lego set, Lullaby bought princess dress-up shoes, and Solace bought a super high bouncing ball. Thanks again!

plants!

Our tiny plants were ready to be replanted! It was a happy day! I also bought three more plants that I've been wanting and potted them too. Hawken did a great job growing his basil, spruce trees, and wild flowers (left to right in small pots in first picture).

I bought some already started oregano, rosemary, and citronella (to keep those mosquitoes away).  The kids helped me pick out the pots, so of course nothing matches, but here they are. Our tiny garden. They have been moved to several different places on the patio since this picture was taken, depending on how much rain they were getting and how much sun they were getting versus how much they were needing.  So far so good and all the little plants are doing well!

And another picture of some cute kids I know. I just can't stop taking their picture. I love them too much.

HCM

One day, Lullaby got a tummy ache from running down the block with the boys on the way to the Children's Museum. They fight over who can hold the door each time. Sweet things. Anyway, she was in tears as I got our stickers for the day and one of our favorite managers there saw her. He said, "I know what would cheer you up!" and brought us all into his sticker closet, there were SO many different colors of stickers! He let the kids choose two extra stickers for the day, and what do you know, by the end of it all, Lullaby felt a lot better.  But now every time she gets a tunny ache, she asks for a sticker.

Another day at the Children's Museum, they were hosting a screening of Big Hero 6, a BIG TIME favorite movie in our family. The kids, even Sully, sat for it (as long as he could share a chair with Hawken).

Rock candy from the gift shop is a fun treat that I got for the kids and they were SO excited about it.

Daddy came when he got off of work and was the chosen one for Sully walking to the car. Matix is often a preferred hand holder too, but is in school so much he doesn't get lots of chances… Thank goodness for Thursdays. :)

date night!

Auntie Laurel came to watch the kiddies for us so we could go on a fun date night. It was supposed to be an overnight date (what?!) but Paul's upper level made it so he had to go in the following day. So sad. I dropped off dinner for a friend first, and when I came back to the house, all the kids looked like this. :) They were having a blast.

Then Paul got home and we went out for a quick dinner, but mostly dessert.  I look angry in the picture, but I wasn't. And Paul looks sad in the picture, but he wasn't. I'm not sure why we were posing that way…  The food was amazing!

Outside of the theatre. It's HUGE! We went to see Houston Ballet's "Modern Masters" which included a Balanchine (an old favorite), a Duato (Paul's favorite of the night), and Harald Lander's "Etudes" which I LOVED! It was really well done. We got home late and Laurel had all the kiddies happily dreaming. She's such a great friend. We love you Laurel!

lunchtime

Going to eat lunch with Matix is SUCH a fun time! Matix gets to show us off to all his friends, and the little kids get to spend time with their favorite kindergartener. I can't believe this year is almost over. It went FAST!  This is how they go everywhere now. 

The princess, in pink, as usual. Carrying pink baby, a necessary accessory for any future mommy. :)

Hawken carries this goat or his "Monk" everywhere with him. These favorite things usually stay in the car, but sometimes get snuck out...

too many Bergs

We're friends with ANOTHER Berg family (no relation) and they happen to live just a mile north of us. Whenever we hang out though, I forget to get any pictures. Shelby (the mom) and I have too much to talk about, and the kids get along REALLY well. So this picture was just before they left the last time we were playing. Paul likes to get little pictures and see what we've been doing all day, even when it's a posed shot. :)

We love having so many wonderful friends here. We've sure lucked doug with that. Although we are EXCITEDLY counting down the days (13 months and 27 days to be exact) left of residency, we will certainly miss all the people we have met here when we leave.

April Fools!

Although I LOVE a good prank, I don't want my kids to get upset when being tricked. So for April Fool's Day, I gave them some lollipops. They were made out of tomatoes. Ha ha ha. I pranked the preschoolers during snack, and they pranked their moms when they got picked up. Logan, Hawken and Lullaby tried the "lollipops" first and everyone was shocked. They really thought they were getting lollipops for snacks. This was AFTER we had talked about April Fool's Day and some funny tricks we could do for other people. Logan gobbled his up anyway, while the others saved theirs to fool someone else. So funny. What a fun harmless prank. Everyone was giggling afterward.

I also sent one with Matix to prank his teacher. He changed his mind before she got it though and he told her what it really was before she had a chance to be tricked. He didn't want her to get mad or be sad that it wasn't really a treat. Sweet thing.

free fun

The kids LOVE when I have some Ikea shopping to do. It means lots of time in the fun kiddie area, and free food, and cheap furniture for me. Yes please. :) 

Here's the new shelf I got for the play room. I seriously love it. It's very functional too. It's way above where the kids can reach, but perfect for me.