Fun Outside

We drove up to NY for Easter- we left at o-dark-thirty Saturday morning and arrived in time for lunch and some fun on a local playground.  The weather was perfect so we totally enjoyed it!!

 After romping and rolling, the kids decorated the backyard with a little sidewalk chalk

The temps started to drop- so a little Wii was played- Alden loves the sword fighting and is pretty good at it too!

What a blessing to get to spend time with family!!

Easter Treats!

Easter- a time when we can reflect on Christ's death and resurrection!  Such an important time of year- and I love that we can focus on that.  I also enjoy getting to see Grandparents spoil Addie and Alden!  

First up- gifts from Gramma Jenny and PopPop Jim!

Then goodies from PopPop Old and MarMar Young- they also got Reck it Ralph from iTunes

Next up- a visit to NY where MarMar and PopPop helped them dye eggs!

Look at that concentration!

Dipping away!

And now baskets in NY!

Such love!  I love that family helps the kids celebrate holidays- what a blessing!

(Hopefully) The Final Snow Day!

The weather has been beyond crazy....  Saturday we had this in the cul-de-sac- notice the short sleeves, the lack of coats....

 A little less than 24 hours later, we had this- approx. 3" of super wet snow!  This resulted in a snow day on our final week of school before Spring Break!  It snowed starting around noon- just after we got home from church- and kept snowing all day!  Alden missed his Opening Day for TBall- and we had a final snow day!

What do you do??  We made lots of fun Easter Crafts!!  First up- a resurrection scene!  I love that we were able to color, cut out and act out the REAL meaning of Easter.

We made Egg Garland

We made cookie bowls- and filled them with yummy ice cream

Love the irony of these next two pictures!  Eggs with snow as backdrop

Don't forget Swim Team sign-ups- which we didn't, and that will be featured this summer, I'm sure, all about swim team!

It was a great unexpected little vacation- now I think I can finally put away their snow pants and boots....

School Memories

The kids missed class pictures last year since we were at Disney World- so I was extra excited to get a picture of their class this year.  They have such great teachers and classmates!  The lessons they are learning with this crew are invaluable- which is why we choose to send them to school instead of homeschooling, but that's a whole other blog post....  

Without further ado- both kids in their classes along with their individual shots- so cute!

Hosanna!

Palm Sunday- I love it!  Our church gives the kid's a palm and they walk out saying "Hosanna!"  So sweet to see them get excited about the REAL Easter story.  We have been discussing the Easter Story and each year they "get" more and more of the story.  One of the most important stories I want them to understand- God is Good!

School Adventures

The kids' school raised money for the Leukemia Foundation.  They both found it super important- and both raided their own piggy banks to donate money.  I love that they are both caring and compassionate.

And I donated another way- I took 60 students to The Virginia Living Museum!  4 hours on a school bus is most certainly an act of kindness!  The students were actually well behaved and we all learned a lot!

Spring Time Fun

Even though the weather is all over the place, we are embracing Spring- or at least the idea of Spring!

Addie continue to excel at gymnastics!

Alden is starting t-ball- and he couldn't be MORE excited!  The BEST news though, is that he has an amazing coach- Al!  The two of them have been out tossing the ball around, and Alden is just soaking up all the instruction and is so super excited!

All the neighbors tend to come over and play, too- so wonderful!!

With warmer temps on the horizon, Al, with the help of Alden, has continued to tackle out backyard.  The ivy is gone but the vast root system is still there- and he spent the entire weekend pulling them out!

Street Hockey!  What great memories are being made- I love our cul-de-sac and all the time spent playing outside!