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!

Now I Know My A, B, Cs

Last weekend, Amanda and Will decided to break out in song after they finished their breakfast. They started off with the A, B, C song. Natalie was busy eating a pear, but she could not resist getting in the shot with a big smile rather than the song.




After wrapping up the A, B, C song, they transitioned to Happy Birthday. Since we were not actually celebrating an actual birthday, the song became "Happy Birthday to Me" with a little competition between Amanda and Will on the "me" part. I like the blowing out the candles part best!

Where's Will?

Look quick, he's here now....

but then gone!

Only to be replaced by Daddy!

Friends

Natalie and Amanda are definitely little social butterflies these days. And when you are a social butterfly at age 4, you get invited to a lot of birthday parties! Some weekends, we have several birthday parties to attend. A few weeks back, there were a whopping four birthday parties taking place among Natalie and Amanda's classmates. We were definitely not going to attend them all and there was NO question about which party Natalie and Amanda wanted to attend. It was B & A's party, hands down. These four little girls (B and A are identical twins) have been friends since they were all 2. We have been told by their teacher that their social skills are a little more developed than usual at this age, likely because they have each always had a built-in playmate. While we consider that a good thing, sometimes this does get them all in a little trouble at school!

Setting that aside, all of the girls had a wonderful time at this party. The party took place at an outdoor venue and I was nervous about the weather since it was March. Alas, it all worked out fine. It was absolutely beautiful on the day of the party.

Here is Amanda and Miss B (I think.....) getting ready for the big roller coaster ride.

Will was lucky enough to attend the party too. And he was excited about the roller coaster!

Here is Natalie and Miss A.

Will and Dad also took a spin around the track. Will had great fun driving.

Love the casual wave!

Next up was the airplane ride. Look Mom, I'm flying!

This is the girls' wonderful teacher with her son (who is a classmate of Will's).

The girls all rode on the log/water ride next and thought that was great fun.

Off we go!

Although they are getting a little big for it, the fish/octopus ride also brought big smiles from Miss Natalie.

While Amanda and Miss B patiently waited in line so they could take a turn at the wheel. They were happy they waited!

The merry-go-round is always a hit. This one, in particular, is very fast!

Another friend, Miss E, also enjoyed the fish/octopus ride.

And then it was time for cake. We all love cake in our house (especially the frosting)!

Before heading out, we rode a few more rides. Will talked Mom into going on this very, very fast ride! You can tell it's fast from this picture. Will loved every second of it. He's a little daredevil in the making!

Finally, we ended with a more serene ride on the teacups.

It was a really fun day and we are thrilled that the girls have made such wonderful friends at such an early age.

Crop Duster

Last weekend, the weather was so beautiful that we all decided to head out to one of our favorite local wineries. If you follow the blog, you most certanily have seen several posts of our picnics at Bogle. This trip was special. When we arrived, a crop duster plan was making passes on a field across the river from the winery. With each pass, the plane would zoom past, quickly circle, and buzz our heads on the return. The kids were so excited, they were dancing with joy!

Here is a close up of the yellow rascal!

With the plane in the top left, check out Will's facial expression as the plane approaches!

"Mom! The plane is coming right at me!"

Will bends down and tries to jump up and touch the plane as he passes.

Each time the plane circled around, the kids would dance, laugh and run in circles themselves!

Yea! This is so much fun!

School Fun Day

Several weeks ago, the girls had a "fun" day at school and were allowed to wear their pajamas to school! As you could imagine, they were so excited! We captured a few photos of their "uniform" and a couple of random photos throughout the day. Here is Amanda wearing her cupcake PJ's with the birthday hat to boot!

Natalie and Amanda were all hugs when they arrived at school.

While there, Amanda drew this wonderful picture of all five members of our family, oh...she did not forget Sable, as she is the blob to the right! ;-)

Amanda in her car seat.

Ditto for Will.

Natalie getting the newspaper with Sable from the front porch.

School Pictures

Several weeks ago, we received the kids school pictures. They were soooo good we thought we would share. In the photo below, the two sisters show what angels they can be...when the stars align! ;-)

Natalie

Amanda

And, Will; WOW, look how grown up he looks!