My Birthday

I had a notable birthday about a month ago.  I don't need to put any numbers here, but let's just say that it was big.  I'm feeling much more relaxed about it now, and its almost a relief that it has come and gone.  The good news is that it was fun to be pampered and spoiled for a few days!  I had two great dinners, one with friends and one with family.  I just love Trio at the Four Seasons, its such a tradition for our family and they know how to do it right!  If only I didn't get older, I would wish for birthdays to come more often....

Meanwhile, the boys did not suffer at all in the care of their grandparents.  

Garden Happenings

Gardening this year has been rewarding to say the least.  I've viewed it as an experiment, the year to launch a career in gardening.  I've grown so many different things and learned so much about what works and what doesn't work.  I even got a journal to take notes and to study in preparation for next year.  Its been wonderful having the boys involved and using this as part of their education.  Benjamin especially enjoys going out to the garden to fetch me this or that.  Surprisingly he even ate a salad made entirely of vegetables!!  I'm so looking forward to more gardening!

A Little Picnic

A while back the little boys and I decided to have a picnic on the side yard near our bathroom.  I just love this outdoor space because of the shade, the lush grass, and the perfectly level ground.  We took advantage of the cool late morning weather and chowed down on some sandwiches.  The boys did a good job of hamming it up for the camera, and I got a few good shots!

End of Kindergarten, Round 1

Benjamin finished Kindergarten at the end of May.  It was bittersweet because he loved it so much and he won't be together with all of his classmates again, but at the same time it was such a positive experience to start his school career.  We hosted the "end of school" party at our house.  I felt obligated to host because of our pool and great party setting.  It was our first test of whether the pool could handle a large group, and it passed with flying colors.  Fortunately I remembered to get a small photographic record of the event.

I can't wait for first grade!!!

Pool Season and Other Happenings

 We officially opened up our pool for swim season!  We heated it just a touch because we are all sissies when it come to "cold" water.  The boys want to spend all day in the pool.  This does not surprise me at all.  I remember my own close relationship with swimming when I was a little girl. It hasn't gone away for me, but it has changed a bit.  One can't swim as freely with three small children to watch around the pool.  It does help when the grandparents are over.  Grandad loves to swim!!

Now that the weather is so nice, we have eaten outside some evenings.  The boys have been driving the F150 around the yard, and Sawyer has been practicing his scooter skills.  I think its fair to say that we have been enjoying ourselves a bit!  

I try to get some yard work done with the boys around, but its not often easy.  It does help to have two hoses in the same spot.  Wish we had had that in the old house!

Evan was enjoying one of the hundreds of small caterpillars that showed up on our back porch.

The last two pictures are just a couple of cute outtakes.

SeaWorld!

Lance and I took Benjamin and Evan to SeaWorld this spring. They had saved up their marbles, which they earned for good behavior and chores.  We were going to take them regardless, but it sure was a good motivator!  We will have to take Sawyer next time, but I think it was much easier with just the two older boys.  I think they were pretty impressed, and we all had a great time.  The highlights included Shamu (obvoiusly!), the rides, Shamu bubble guns, and the arcade.  The biggest highlight for mommy and daddy was the dinner at our favorite La Fogata on our way home!!

Easter 2014

So I finally got around to posting about Easter.  What else is new? This Easter was a little different because Lance and I volunteered in the children's ministry and did not go to the service.  We did go to the city-wide Good Friday service at the Long Center downtown.  It was great to see people from other churches and hear other pastors talk about God's redeeming grace.  I mentioned to Lance that this might be what Heaven feels like, as Christians from every nation worship God together as one.  The music was beautiful and the messages very powerful.  I can't imagine not having Grace in my life!

I feel like I'm getting a little down on and at least a lot less enthusiastic about the secular aspects of Easter these days.  Maybe some of this feeling comes from all the extra work and all of the candy that I have to manage (and try not to eat), but I think it has a lot more to do with how insignificant it seems in relation to what Easter means about our new lives in Christ.  It just makes everything else seem so small and silly.  I know it is not silly to the boys though, and I'm sure we will keep doing it for at least a few more years.

Of course, we did the obligatory egg painting. Surely next year I'll come up with a better method!

We decided to have dinner here and invited all of the grandparents to share in the afternoon egg hunt.  I was excited for the first Easter Egg hunt in our new house since we have such a large yard with plenty of great hiding places.  For some reason, however, the Easter bunny didn't hide the eggs very well and practically dumped them all in the middle of the yard.  Perhaps it was because it was afternoon and he was getting tired? Hmmmm.  Maybe he's just run out of imagination.  Anyway, the boys found the eggs very quickly.  It was the first hunt where all three were really in on it.  I'll just post some pictures of the boys and the egg hunt.  But how many pics of boys and eggs are really needed?

Here is a snapshot of our delicious Easter meal.  Lance made smoked Prime Rib and I made a special salad with greens from our garden.  Its just way more awesome to eat food that grows in your yard!