fun with Grandma

Ahhhh, so much to catch up on here.  We were so blessed to have a wonderful visit with Grandma Kathy -  I didn't wash a single dish or touch laundry the entire time she was here...SUCH a amazing gift and reprieve.  We planted dahlias, ate zucchini bread, and even snuck away without kids for a night (more details in next post).  Here's an itty bit of what we captured in pictures.

 The popsicle truck went by one afternoon.  Grandma was talking to Grandpa Jack on the phone at the time, and he gave orders to get our boys some ice cream! :)

 They were very excited.

 Cuddle kindle time.

 Soccer season has begun!  Taking in our first Sat morning of MSI fun.

 This guy REALLY wanted in on the action.

 Andrew going for it.

 Caden started up his little preschool soccer program - he still LOVES it.

 He asks almost every day if it's a "soccer day", and I've never seen him get to the car faster then when we're on our way to soccer ;).

Andrew doing homework with Grandma before swim lessons (with his Kindergarten visitor Paxton, the penguin...this was while we were away).  I love how independent he is (most of the time) with doing his work.  And we've been so pleased with the progress he's made with swim lessons this year.

Easter 2012

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.." 1 Peter 1:3-4  

What a sweet day we had celebrating the Resurrection of Christ!

What better way to celebrate newness of life than to have a precious little chick for a few weeks?  We were able to "rent" this little friend, and have seriously LOVED it.

A quick pic with Daddy before he headed off for early services.  We enjoyed a glorious morning worship service with our church family.

One of many family picture attempts.

A delicious Easter lunch with the Chois!

And then it was time to hunt for Easter eggs.  Will and Abby got to go first - love his tongue action.

 

The old pro.

Goody bag line-up.

Precious boys - in need of haircuts.  Trying to decide if I'm going to let them go shaggy.  The $45 (for 3 haircuts!) at the barber shop every visit is getting painful.

Pirate Will, and giddy Caden.  Yes, they were all full of candy.

Having Grandma Kathy here made everything extra fun and special.

buddies.

The family pic outtakes...

wave hi!

mean face...my favorite.

I came into the family room to find this - they were watching flipper on Grandma's kindle.

Our chick had to spend the morning at Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Dee Dee's because we randomly lost power, and she needed to stay warm under her heat lamp.  The boys were excited to see her again.

Our little friend came next door with us for Easter dinner - everyone seemed to enjoy having it around.

More egg hunts with the cousins.  Love this pic of Caden and Emmy!

My little Easter ham - this little one keeps us smiling.

He didn't want the egg hunt to end.  Kaleigh was sweet to keep hiding some for him.

More chick time - they decided to name her "cubby", but I like Uncle Chris' suggestion the best..."Nugget".

Cousin hand off.

So thankful for this sweet day!  And more than anything for a Savior who would purchase us at such a price.

Spring Break

The kids will play when Daddy is away!  Dave was gone Saturday through Wednesday on the Senior Florida trip, but with wonderful help, lazy mornings, unhurried time with friends, it was actually a great (albeit tiring) week.

On Saturday, we started things off by meeting up with a friend and her boys at the library - we loaded up on Spring break reading, played soccer in the field outside, and enjoyed getting to catch up a bit.    

That night we were spoiled with a man n cheese dinner at the Chois (a must when my non-cheese eating hubby is away).  Here Will and Abby and enjoying their Easter chicks (pics of ours to come later!).

Dear Mindy stayed with us for 5 weeks before departing for Afghanistan last Friday.  We LOVED having her around (Will is still asking for her), and it was especially nice to have adult conversation and extra hands while Dave was away. 

 On Monday we met up with these dear Seminary friends and their 4 kids at the zoo.  We braved the INSANE crowds (took us 45 minutes to find parking...a ten minute walk up a big hill!), but it was worth every minute.  That night I was VERY grateful for our sweet friend Erica, who came and helped me get through dinner and bedtime with the boys.

 With Holly and her 4 week old Nathan - it was so fun to meet him!

On Tuesday a dear friend came over and we headed up to Friendship Heights and let little crazies run around while we sipped coffee (and even snuck into Anthropologie).  That afternoon we hit the church parking lot for some biking, and then another sweet ycf friend (thanks Maggie!) came for dinner and bedtime support.

Wednesday we met up with more fun friends at Cabin John Park to picnic and ride the train.

 Oh silly Caden - loved the train, didn't so much love the whistle.  

And then that evening, Daddy was home!  His plane got in 45 minutes early.  He called from the curb as we were getting ready to leave, so decided it would be faster to metro.  After getting over the fact that we weren't going to be the cute family meeting him at the airport, we decided we could meet in Friendship Heights for dinner...

at the restaurant (Chadwicks) where all 3 of our boys were named.  We were all giddy.

Daddy brings home the best presents. 

On Friday afternoon Grandma Kathy arrived - we got home just in time for pizza movie night.

Saturday we headed back out to our favorite farm to see animals and play with some chicks. 

 Love that tongue.

Will's first time on the tire swing.

 A bear and lion got loose in our house one morning - these two have been playing together a lot more lately.

Saturday evening, decorating Easter eggs.  Andrew was very meticulous this year - his eggs turned out better than mine.

Will joined us for the first time this year ;).  And I think we only cracked 3 eggs!  Not bad for 3 energetic boys.

More pics of our Easter celebration to come soon!