Easter celebration

We had a busy Easter day! The kids woke up eager to open their baskets...

 Cooper got the xbox game he wanted, along with a new daily devotions book and some candy. Zoe was thrilled with her new tights for dance, some Forever 21 clothes and earrings, a new cross for her collection, and candy.

They immediately began their indoor search for the hard boiled eggs they had decorated...

This year, the search became somewhat of a contact sport! They tackled and wrestled their way to the last egg!

 We stopped for a quick German pancake breakfast and headed outside for the plastic egg search.

 Zoe has a good eye for finding things and she definitely beat out her brother!

 Time to check out the loot...they are a few dollars richer, and have a few more pieces of candy to add to their bags.

 We got dressed and went to Easter services at church. This is one of my favorite services of the year. Pastor Scott always delivers such a wonderful message, but todays was incredibly moving. Although we get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday, we need to truly remember what the day is about and the sacrifice that our savior made for us. The worship music was powerful, and it was a wonderful way to celebrate the day.

 After church, we drove to Mimi and Gramps' for another egg hunt, more gifts, and a delicious feast!

This year, all of the eggs had names on them, so if they found one that didn't have their name, they had to move on and keep looking! 

 Again, these kids found themselves a few dollars richer. Maybe I need to start going on these egg hunts! :)

Mimi and Gramps spoiled us all with Easter gifts!

 Zoe got clothes, a cross, hair clips, candy, and a gift card to buy some dance things she will need for her intensive.

 Cooper got new scootering shoes, a hard drive for his xbox, a bathing suit, and a gift card to Game Stop. These were some happy kids!

 Us grownups were spoiled too! I love this picture of Jeff and Cathy...

They were just so excited with their new BBQ platter!

Sonya, Camilo and Morgan came a bit later. We enjoyed spending time together and getting to play with the baby. Unfortunately, I came down with a pretty bad cold, so I wasn't able to hold him. Joe made up for it though...

 Time to eat!

 We followed up with some delicious desserts! Zoe and I made Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding, and Mimi bought some amazing cakes.

She also couldn't resist buying this 4lb. chocolate bunny!

 Before we left, the kids had an absolute blast with these confetti eggs that Mimi had bought.

 They couldn't resist and had to attack Gramps...

 and then Mimi...

 Way to get them Zoe!

 It truly was a wonderful day.

Spring Break...Week 1

Unfortunately, we weren't able to travel or go anywhere super fun over spring break this year. We are saving our pennies for New York this summer, so we have been trying to enjoy our time at home, with a bit less of a hectic schedule! We've enjoyed some lazy mornings, and not having to constantly rush to activities.
Most of our days have been spent cleaning out closets, cabinets, bedrooms, the playroom, etc. to get ready for our big garage sale next week to raise funds for Zoe's dance intensive. The kids haven't been too excited about it, but they have been extremely helpful, with some pretty positive attitudes. Ice cream and slurpee rewards work great! :)

We have managed to have a little fun with friends too. Cooper has spent lots of time riding his scooter!

They ride in the neighborhood and at the skate parks here, and in Orange County...

I must say, these boys are getting pretty good!

Zoe has been busy with rehearsals for dance. Costumes are being distributed, and she and Sonia thought it would be fun to wear their new masks to get some ice cream after a long day of rehearsing...

They also painted some fun Easter egg designs on their nails before heading off to a birthday party...

 With Zoe at a party, and Cooper with Mimi and Gramps, Joe and I actually had a date night. We enjoyed a nice dinner out, followed by our favorite Yogurt Island treats...

 We also headed to Lucille's BBQ in Orange County this week to celebrate 3 birthdays...Gramps, Uncle Jeff, and Cathy!

 Everyone enjoyed the food, but the boys were beat after two full days at the skate park!

 Zoe and I did some baking and made these delicious s'more cupcakes!

After many hours, and long days, my house has turned into a disaster zone of items to sell. I've been trying to organize and price everything ahead of time. We have been extremely blessed with our generous friends who have given us donations to sell.

 I am not looking forward to living like this for the next week, and going through the 20+ bags of clothing still to sort, but I keep reminding myself that it will all be worth it (or so I hope!)

We finished our first week off by dyeing some eggs for Easter...

I'm so glad they still like to do this!

I'm seeing GREEN!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Lucky the Leprechaun made his annual appearance. He left the kids their gold chocolate coins and a box of Lucky Charms. He did a little mischeive by turning over chairs, pillows, and tossing blankets around.

 We had some yummy green buttermilk pancakes and bowls of cereal...

 It was a beautiful day, so we headed to the park for some scootering and rip-stick riding...

 and some fun on the hills...

 Since we were heading to church that evening, we had an early dinner of potato cheese soup and our Irish soda bread...

 followed with a few more green treats!

I think we got our fill of green today!

Last Carnival!

Today was the annual Tony Tobin Carnival. I can't believe this will be the last one we are attending! Mimi and Gramps brought Jax down, and we spent some time walking around. It was kind of a strange feeling to be there without volunteering. This is the first time in 7 years I haven't been a part of the carnival committee!

 The boys were feeling a bit old for most of the carnival games this year, although they had fun racing each other in this blow up obstacle course.

 Cooper insisted on trying to win a soda bottle.

 They ate some lunch and enjoyed some sno-cones. It made me a little sad to think of how quickly they are growing up. We did put some tickets in to try to win a raffle basket. I had my heart set on a huge baking basket, but unfortunately, I didn't win anything. Oh well, the money goes for a great cause and hopefully the school raised a lot of money to continue the great programs we have!

We finished the night with some delicious home-made "Shamrock" milkshakes.