Life....Captured on the Phone

Sometimes the cutest moments are captured only on the phones! The pictures are a little blurry but they provide good memories nevertheless. Here is Natalie dressing up like mom after getting into her PJs.

She was quickly joined by Amanda.

Here, Natalie decided to dress up like our nanny, Rachel.

Here is Will, after styling his hair into a Mohawk hairstyle with his milk.   Nice.

Natalie and Amanda decided to get fancy to go the zoo!

Natalie, Amanda and Will turned a colorful sculpture in downtown Sacramento into a play structure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun at the Children's Museum.  They have a new colorful string exhibit. 

 

Natalie and Amanda had fun painting.

They also liked planting some seeds.

Will and Dad planted some too.

Finally, while Mom was away in New York she was lucky enough to see the space shuttle make a historic flight around NYC as it prepares to retire.

 

 

 

Umm, Are You Swimming in April??

Why, yes, it looks like we are! Well, the KIDS are, to be precise, since the pool was far too cold for mom and dad to get in..  The temperature shot up from the 70s to nearly 90 overnight during the middle of this week.  By Sunday, the kids were worked up into a frenzy about the idea of getting into the pool and so they did....at 8:30 in the morning!

 

Natalie and Amanda practice their swim kicks on the side of the pool.  We hope that their months of Saturday morning swim lessons pay off so they can enjoy more of the big pool this summer.

 

Will practices his kicks, but in a slightly different manner in an attempt to splash his sisters.   :-)

 

Amanda ventures out a little bit further than before and is excited to be so independent!

Everyone needs a pair of goggles.  Got Some?

 

 

Afterwards, we got cleaned up and ready for the day.  Will has a big smile!


 

 

Amanda had a snack after getting cleaned up so here she is with some yogurt on her nose (from licking the lid) and chocolate (from chocolate chip pancakes) on her cute little face.

 

Will and Amanda had a little hug fest.


 

And Natalie looks cool and hip in her peace sign outfit!

 

Baby Jacob's Birthday Party!

Birthday Parties are always fun! Sarah, our former nanny had a birthday party for her 1 year old son, Jacob, and we all were fortunate to be invited to the celebration. Natalie, Amanda and Will all miss their Sarah, and also enjoy visiting Jacob whenever they can, and this weekend was no exception. The party venue was very kid friendly, as you can tell from all the photos of kids playing around the backyard playground. Here are several shot of Natalie, Amanda and Will (going first) having fun going down the slide.

Natalie thinks long and hard before she makes her dismount!

Amanda is ready for a turn!

Natalie take s turn at the rock climbing wall. Not sure she has the right shoes for the task! However, it is still fun anyway...

Amanda with a shy smile!

Will is all excited because the presents are about to be opened! Ya Hoo!

Time for a birthday hat!

The kids were totally mesmerized by the opening of the presents. They did not move or say a word from beginning to end. Wow, we did not think such quiet time could be possible while still being awake.

An Eggsellent Easter

We had a wonderful Easter weekend. The weather was perfect -- not too hot, not too cold. And we were very busy with activities. Here, the girls work hard making some bunny ears.

They were happy to pose once they were done.

After the ears were done, the kids all participated in an egg hunt. It's a little blurry, but here is Will asking Dad about how many eggs he needed to get. This egg hunt is a good one in that every kid need only get one egg, which they then turn in for a prize. And they only get one prize regardless of how many eggs they have collected. It keeps it all a little more sane!

Will still felt compelled to get a few more than one, however.

After the egg hunt, we came home an colored eggs.

Of course, it was all in preparation for the big day. Here are the kids' baskets awaiting their arrival.

Before we got to the baskets though, we checked the doorstop to find the cute light-up bunnies left by the Secret Bunny! Thank you, Secret Bunny! We love our light-up rabbits!

Natalie is a huge fan of Ariel and was SO excited to find an Ariel doll in her basket.

Will liked the candy buttons.

And the jelly bean flower.

While Amanda was excited about the chicken that lays candy eggs!

Natalie and Ariel again.

After consuming far too much candy before breakfast, we finally got some real food into the kids before turning to the egg hunt. Amanda and Will were very excited to find some eggs.

And so was Natalie!

After breakfast, we put on our "fancy" clothes and headed out for another egg hunt after posing for a few pictures.

It's always nice to get a few shots of all three kids together.

After arriving at the park, Natalie picked a few daisies.

While Amanda made a wish with a dandelion.

Natalie and Will then hung like monkeys.

And Will made a silly face.

All before the next egg hunt began. Here are the girls dashing after some eggs.

Amanda was excited!

Will traded his eggs in for some bubbles. Yay!

After all that fun, we had a little picnic in the park.

We had a wonderful holiday weekend and we hope you did too!