Where has the time gone?!?!

 Okay, so in no particular order....the last several weeks I have been too busy to blog because....

I have been teaching Gracie to master buckling her own seat belt (the first thing she commented about this picture was her "crazy hair"--such a girl)...

 We took the kids for a quick weekend to the coast to kick off Spring Break. Why don't we do this more often?  The day at the beach started out like this... 

So happy

 They were all determined to get wet right away, despite our warnings that the water was COLD!

 

A couple hours later they were feeling like this...

 and this...

 and this...

 

Except for Davis...he LOVED it and stayed happy...until the bitter end...

when we were walking back to the car.

 

 Luckily the cabin we rented had a hot tub, just their size...

 

We also visited the Redwoods...one word....AMAZING...

 Look at this water...

 The boys could have skipped rocks for hours.

 The girls (especially Kate) are definitely more willing to pause for a picture.

 I told the kids I would buy an ice cream for anyone who spotted an Ewok.  The boys did their best to find one.

 Here they are in their Star Wars poses.  One of my favorite parts of the day was playing a family game of hide and seek in the trees. 

 

 We spent the rest of Spring Break at Swim lessons....

(can't get this pic to rotate to save my life!) 

 and with a quick visit from Nana and Papa.  

You know we had to have ice cream and...

 

DOUGHNUTS!  Two Papa traditions...

 

Before Spring break we were literally climbing the walls...

 Discovering "Alice the Fairy"...

 Celebrating the end of a fun basketball season....

 Eating rainbow jello...

 Making Leprachaun traps...

 Having Tinkerbell visit our home (don't know why this pic won't rotate either)...

 Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with friends...

 And visiting the 2nd grade classes to talk about Dental health.  

Yep, I think that covers why I have been away from the blog. 

What Easter means to Davis...

Today as we were driving to church for our Easter Sunday services.  Davis says, "After I die, I am going to join the army!"  Caught off guard, Jed and I both laughed.  Then he proceeds to go on and on about how cool it will be to be invincible in his resurrected body. 

 Hours earlier the kids had all found their hidden Easter baskets.  Davis' basket had been hidden at the bottom of his box in the laundry room.  This box houses his shoes, soccer gear, coat, etc.  I refuse to be late because we can't find shoes or sports gear (don't worry I have plenty of other things that keep me running late).  At the bottom of the box was a camouflage hat that he hasn't been able to find for a while.  The hat was thrown on top of the basket along with his school bag and other things.  He is convinced that the hat is not the same old hat and is in fact a new hat from the Easter bunny.  This confirms my suspicions that we have far TOO MUCH STUFF!  I just overheard him telling his Grandma on the phone that he got a new camo hat for Easter because he couldn't find his.  My oh my...what more can I say?

More on Easter to come soon!  

Kate's Prayer Tonight

So this is Kate's Prayer tonight, "Heavenly Father, thank you for a fun day....please bless Mommy to be patient tomorrow in the morning. Bless Mommy to be patient at lunch.  Bless Mommy to be Patient at play time and dinner time and bed time...."

Hmmmm...and I thought I had a good day today?!?!?

Images that make my heart SING!

 Maybe it is because I have a degree in Recreational Management or maybe it is the reason I did study recreation, but nothing makes my heart sing like watching kids creating...I sincerely love it.

 I adore the days when we have the time to paint, draw, dress up, color on the driveway, play Legos etc.  At any rate enjoy these photos from the past two weeks. 

 I feel happier just looking at them again. 

 A person done by Gracie. For some reason it doesn't want to rotate, but I am amazed that she is drawing recognizable images already.  She could spend hours drawing or painting.  I love it. 

 I drew the hearts and then Gracie filled them in (actually, Owen may have done a few of the hearts on that day.  Can't remember).  She loves doing that.

 Davis went to a Zorro birthday party and spent several days obsessed with Zorro!

 It doesn't matter if the paint is on paper or our face...we love it!

Had to throw this one in...love the giggle smiles...

Lego Mania Continues...

 

 This is what Gracie was doing this morning when she was supposed to be getting dressed for church...

 Can I see my picture?

 Again this morning...Owen was working on a project, but everyone had to get in on the action...

May they always find joy in Creativity!

This is what we do when we're sick...and when we're not.

I know I mentioned this earlier, but our family was sick for a couple of weeks.  The kids were really resilient to it actually.  Jed and I on the other hand were both wiped out.  I didn't even leave the house for a week.  Thankfully Jed functioned much better than I did.  On the one hand it was refreshing not to have to go anywhere, but on the other hand...

It is all kind of a blur, but while we were down we read, slept, caught up on some T.V., and did this puzzle...again (Jed and I put it together the week before on our weekend away--more on that later).  This time we did it at night with the boys.  I don't know why we don't take the time to do puzzles more often.  It was a hoot!

Thank you to all of my friends who carted my kids around and brought my family food. We wouldn't have made it without you!