Festivities

We hosted a little Easter fun this year.

A few baskets and eggs to brighten up the place.

A hundred eggs hidden around the park.  Six eager beavers were off to hunt them all down!

Our friends, the Marinos, joined us for our festivities.  The kids were thrilled to have a little competition to make this hunt more exciting.  The littlests went first:  Layne & Carter.  Then, we sent off Landen & Max.  They were clearing out a bunch of eggs fast, so we decided they didn't really need a head start, and sent off Abbey & Jackson.  They had a ball!

A delicious Easter dinner made our holiday complete.

Thanks Marinos for spending the day with us!  You can jump in a holiday anytime.  Especially if you bring those yummy homemade rolls.
 

Easter Outtakes

Happy Easter!

Photo courtesy of my neighbor Dirk.  This is a rare occurrence.  Count the smiles...1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  All looking at the camera.  A record. I think we'll be knocking on Dirk's door more often for photo sessions...now if only he could make those horizontal stripes not add on 25 pounds!

O.k.  We are back.  Here is the usual photo format for these 3 Ericksons.  

Another outtake.  Just so you don't confuse me with one of those bloggers.  We like to share the good the bad and the ugly around here.  The next frame would show Abbey losing her balance and crashing into the prickly plant that climbs the wall to the left of her and screeching, Layne screaming for Landen to "GET AWAY" and throwing a few punches in there to make her point very clear, and Landen actually attempting another takeover to see if he can get the same reaction.

Back to cuteness.

The girls.

The little sillies.

Landen's sign language.  I speak it well.  This is him saying that he hates taking pictures and if I insist, this is what I'm going to get!  Luckily, I had some good bribing power.  A whole basket full of chocolate eggs worth of bribing power!

Hope you had a great Easter.  Full of smiles and butterfly nets and chocolate eggs.

I'm off to hide those chocolate eggs.  Just so the littlest one here doesn't have an easter basket breakfast buffet tomorrow.  And just in case those horizontal stripes aren't lying.

All the Colors of the Rainbow

Dying eggs is a magical science experiment to these kids.  I see splattered dye, dye on the table, dye on clothes, dyed fingers...all for a few dyed eggs.  But to them, it's magic.  The little pellets of color that turn the cups of water all the colors of the rainbow.  The eggs that are dipped and checked and dipped again, until they have turned into brightly colored creations.  Pure magic.

So, we dyed eggs.  Mimi's here.  Everything is more do-able and way more fun!

We dyed and then glittered for a little bling.  It's sure to be a sparkly Easter.

Dressed in White

Baptism Day

It was a beautiful day for this little 8 year old's baptism.  Abbey was so excited for this special day.  In the last couple of months, she has prepared.  She wanted to learn everything about being baptized and go to her friend's baptisms so she would be ready for her turn.  As we buzzed around getting the house ready, getting food prepared, dressing the whole family in church clothes, and rushing out the door to get to the church, Abbey was so calm and so happy.  She was a great example of being focused on the real importance of the day.  I was so proud of her decision to be baptized.  I was even more proud of how she showed her understanding of that decision.  She made sure that she was ready,

The Zoo. Take 2.

We found ourselves back to the Irvine Park, and much to Landen's excitement, headed straight for the zoo. First stop, without question.  

When we had seen enough animals, we headed out to the park for some more fun.  This park does not disappoint.  It's big and fun and full of adventures!

Happy Family

Abbey will be baptized on Saturday.  We headed down to the bookstore for her very special gift...a beautiful set of scriptures.  She was pretty excited.  Landen got a Moroni action figure.  He was pretty excited too.  Boys are a bit easier in this department.  I'm grateful to have at least one that is completely thrilled with a $5 action figure.  Anytime.  Anywhere.  Easy.

We did a quick drive-by the San Diego Temple for a few photos.  Seeing Abbey in front of the temple was a special site.  She will put on her second white dress in a few days.  It seems like just days ago that she wore her first white dress when she was blessed as a baby.  The time has gone so fast.  Seeing the temple and imagining her in another special white dress seems like it should be a lifetime away, but I know that time will speed along just as fast.

For now, we are going to keep her.  We are going to celebrate her baptism, and her good choice, and her great example to the littler ones here.

It all started 8 years ago.  There was just one.

And then there were 2.

And then, there were 3 (though it can feel like 10).

and we are a happy family.  an eternal, happy family.

Spring Break

I love spring break.  I was a student, then a teacher, and now a mom of students.  I have always been able to celebrate a beautiful week in April of no school!  This year, we were looking at SoCal for our spring break vacation.  So, we brought in some fun.  All the way from the ATL.

It's all smiles and giggles when Mimi comes to town.  The excitement brews weeks before and Abbey must explain over and over again to Landen how many more days until Mimi arrives.  And then, she's here, and everything we do, even if it's only 10 minutes from home, is so much fun.  

After the airport, and the scenic route through Newport, we landed at the Spectrum for lunch and some fun kid stuff.

the carousel

the fountains

the big wheel

We are in for a great week.  You never outgrow spring break.  Just ask Mimi.

Big Girl Bed

I have put some time in painting rooms and arranging beds and purchasing new sheets.  As we moved furniture from room to room and completed assembling the bunk beds, it hit me that Layne would be sleeping in a big girl bed and her crib would be disappearing!  It also hit me that I hadn't put a lot of time into strategizing on how to get her to stay in her big girl bed!  Or, how to do that while she was sharing a room with Abbey, who needs her sleep!  The rooms looked cute, but I could be headed for disaster!

first nap

Lucky for us, the bunk beds are the biggest excitement we have added to the house in a long time, and Layne is thrilled to call that bottom bunk her own.  This first nap was monumental.  She slept.  She stayed in.  I yelled for Royal to disassemble the crib!

It was still standing when she woke up, so we let her say her goodbyes.

and then Landen wanted to say goodbye too

and then I started to wonder if this crib would actually make it into storage! 

Kid number 3 does this to you.  You stop worrying so much.  It's either because you are in a new state of "laid-back" or you are just mentally too tired to make anyone do anything.  I fully embrace laid back, and look how much fun my kids are having!  And neither the crib, nor the kids, sustained any damage.  And, worn-out, tired kids crash at night and don't hop out of their new big kid bed and wander the house!

The Velveteen Rabbit

Abbey's 2nd grade class did a performance of The Velveteen Rabbit.  Each 2nd grader memorized 2 or 3 lines from the book.  The class stood in 2 rows, and told the whole story, student by student.  It was great!

Abbey seated in her row, awaiting the start of the performance

To go with the story, the kids each made their own sock rabbit.  Grey tube socks, googly eyeballs, and a bright bow tie made these little animals extra special. 

Abbey speaks into the microphone and recites her lines...perfectly!

Showing off her group's painting

These cute paintings were done by groups of students.  The students planned out how to best illustrate their part of the story.  Using pastels, they made it come to life.

It was such a fun way to kick-off spring and a great finale to our last day of school before Spring Break!  The kids did a great job.  You could see their excitement as the audience of moms and dads filled the room.  They beamed with pride as they stood and recited their lines.  And then, they were the perfect hosts & hostesses, bringing cookies and drinks to their guests...such fun!