Easter

Easter was pretty good for us this year.  Easter morning started with an Easter egg hunt in the back yard.  It was cold and frosty outside, but that didn't deter all the hunters from their quest - candy and eggs.  I think they had fun. 

After the hunt, we decorated eggs:

 Notice the green hands (he used them to get the eggs out of the color instead of the spoon):

 Deep in thought about what color to do next:

The Easter Bunny thought we needed new Sunday clothes, as he brought some for everyone.  He spent two days making Kaitlin's, but bought the others. =>  Here are the oldest three decked out for Stake Conference in their's.  (The youngest two stayed home with their sick father, so their pictures will have to come later.)

Leo the Cat Lays Eggs

The kids got some plastic easter eggs from church teachers on Sunday, and Parker was quick to scoop them up.  The reason?  I guess he wanted Leo, our cat, to lay eggs.  So after coaxing Leo to lay on his lap (how's that for some good alliteration?) he tucked the eggs underneath Leo in various areas so that Leo could lay "baby kitty eggs."
 

  

Looks pretty pleased with the whole thing, doesn't he?  I mean Parker, not Leo!

Kaitlin's Recitial

Kaitlin had another recital on Friday night, and here are the three songs she chose. The first is "Far From the Home I Love" from Fiddler on the Roof.

This one is "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom of the Opera.

And this song is kind of different. Each year the have a solo/ensemble recital, where they invite area schools to participate. Each kid can sing, solo or with a group, and it must be a folk art number. (NO modern stuff allowed). Then they are judged by experts in the musical field that help them to focus on areas of improvement. So her voice teacher help her pick out this one called, "Flow My Tears."

Fishing - "Finally"

Yes, it happened. Shane had free time this afternoon, and Parker "finally" got to go fishing. Shane and I helped Tanner and Parker, while the big kids had to amuse themselves, so that the little boys could have a turn. The day had started so nice, but by now was overcast, cool, and windy, and so the fish weren't really biting. Of course, that doesn't bode well with a 4 and 5 year old who think that they should catch a fish as soon as they throw the hook in. Here they are the first five to 10 minutes:

And here they are after that: playing hide and seek in the tall grass.

Just as we were getting ready to go, I started to help Shane reel the lines in. All of a sudden, I feel a nibble, and tell Shane to call a boy over. He calls Tanner, and while Tanner's running to come "catch" a fish, I hook him. Tanner gets to me, takes the pole, and reels him in. As soon as he gets the fish onto dry ground, he won't have anything to do with it. He starts dancing around, trying to avoid the flopping fish. He starts flipping his hands around like an exited teenage girl, trying desperately to get away from the fish. He won't touch it, or the line, or even stand in the picture with the fish he "caught" because it's wiggling so much he's afraid the fish will touch him. So Josh and Parker get the photo op. Of couse, Parker can't wait to touch the fish.

He was small enough that we put him back in the water, especially because Tanner didn't even want to get within 5 feet of the sliminess. On our way out, the older three found a rock and played king of the mountain. In all, not a bad day. At least I'm hoping that I won't hear, "When will dad take me fishing?" tomorrow.

Parker

Does looking at this picture make you think Parker caught this fish? He looks proud enough to have caught it, doesn't he? But he didn't. Shane took Josh and Luke to a fishing derby, and they each caught two and brought them home. Shane took pictures on his phone, but I don't have them yet. As Shane was getting them ready to grill for lunch, Parker could not keep from touching them. He touched them, held them, I think he even tried to kiss one, once, but I stopped him in time. He was fascinated! And now every day I hear, "What day of the week is it? Can Dad take me fishing today?" I hope Saturday comes soon and that Shane has time to take this boy fishing, otherwise I'm going to have to brush up on my "putting on a hook" skills and take him myself. =>

Makin' Donuts

As we were driving home from church today, we got talking about donuts. I was telling my kids that when my sister Devan was born, my Grandma Bake came to stay with us, and she made us homemade donuts. My recollection is that they were absolutely wonderful. I don't think I realized that you could actually make your own donuts until that moment. My kids then started begging for me to make donuts today. I am no Grandma Bake (she was a pretty amazing Baker, (my dad will get that joke)) but for a first try, I think they were pretty good. The donut itself was yummy, now I need to work on the glaze. I didn't have a donut cutter, so we improvised with a cup and a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the holes with.

Baseball and Gymnastics and Mom Running Ragged Begin

Josh signed up for baseball this year, and after 2-3 weeks of almost every night having practice, he had his first game yesterday. I was kicking myself that I didn't bring my camera, but it might not have mattered because it was so cold I probably wouldn't have pulled my fingers out of my pockets to take a picture anyway. The wind was blowing, it was probably in the 40 degree range, and was cold. I had Tanner and Parker with me, 4 blankets and coats, and was trying to keep them warm and bundled because it was COLD. Did I mention it was freezing? Anyway, it made me wish, just for a moment, that baseball was actually played in the summer, but then our summers would be filled with games and we'd never get to visit family, so I'll be glad that it happens now, even though I froze sitting there trying to keep two wiggly boys warm. Now that finished whining about the cold, I'll tell you about Josh. He is playing left field, at least for now (I think). His coaches have been moving him around in practices, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up. He never had anything come out his way, but out of 3 times at bat, he got two good hits. One was a line drive to first, which fortunately the first basement couldn't get a hold of and Josh got on. His next time at bat he struck out on a high pitch. His third time at bat he hit a great double right into center field. He probably could have gotten to third, but the kid in front of him stopped a bit, and Josh waited to see what he was going to do. It was a lot of fun to watch. Josh was so nervous that he was going to mess up. We missed playing last year because when we moved we didn't know when sign-ups were and we missed the deadline. It was good for him to see that he is capable and comparable in skills to most of the boys out there. As Shane and I watched, it made us long for the days when we played ball, and we almost thought about signing up to play co-ed next year. But then reality set in that we can barely make it to all the things that the kids have going, never mind getting time to go to our own games, so I think we'll continue to live vicariously through Josh for a while.

Tanner also started gymnastics last week. He was really worried about being the only boy in the group, and he was, but he was feeling much better by the end of the class because they told him that he is good enough to move up to the next level for next week. I guess all that flipping and wrestling and rolling with brothers has been beneficial for his gymnastic skills. He is very excited to get to try cartwheels next week, so hopefully his mother will be more on the ball and get the camera out to have some pictures to share.

I was figuring it out, and next month everyone but Parker will have an activity to go to, most night of the week. Kaitlin has mutual and voice lessons, Josh has scouts and baseball, Luke has scouts and will have an archery class, and Tanner will have gymnastics. On Mondays, we will have two possibles with gymnastics and baseball, which of course happen at the same time. Tuesdays will have scouts, and a possible baseball game and Luke's archery. On Wednesday we will have three possibles with mutual, baseball and archery. Thursdays and Fridays will just have possible games/practices. If I could clone myself, like three times, then I could make everything. Shane's work schedule will hopefully lighten up by then, and I will have some help running and supporting all the many things. I may have to enlist Kaitlin to sit with Tanner during gymnastics so that I can watch most of Josh's games. And Wednesday's are just going to be tricky. Kaitlin may have to get a ride to mutual so that I can got to baseball and Shane to archery, or vice versa. The logistics of it are making my head whirl. Isn't life fun!? Oh well, I'm so glad that there are so many options here for the kids to get involved in and develop their talents. Now if someone would just figuring out the cloning thing.....

New Glasses

Our poor children. Between Shane's teeth and my eyes, we knew they were doomed. Kaitlin was the first casualty years ago with glasses, and then with braces last month. Now Josh and Luke have fallen as well. After their eye exam two weeks ago, it turns out they both needed glasses. Although, if I do say so myself, they look pretty handsome. They needed a haircut, so we gave that and now take a look: Both boys just after we got home with the new glasses and before their haircuts:

Portland Zoo

Remind me if I ever want to move to Portland that I don't want to move to Portland. We decided to take a weekend during spring break and head to Portland. We got a hotel, played in the pool, and then headed out the next day to find the zoo. Traffic was terrible, the weather was gross. Of course, it is spring, so rain was expected, but it made going to the zoo a bit soggy. Even with the rain, we had a good time, except for maybe Tanner, who complained about everything, and I mean everything. Of course, he also had a cold and wasn't feeling quite 100% either. Oh well, I think he had a good time, and we enjoyed the zoo. Here's some of the pictures.