Spring Round Up

Spring is a tricky time for me.  I work part-time from home grading Spanish tests online.  I really like it, but those 10 hours a week don't appear from thin air.  I have to choose to spend less time cleaning or sleeping or blogging.  I really like it though.  It's a good way to practice my Spanish, it's only a few months a year, and the schedule couldn't be more flexible.  I worked one way or another (teaching, tutoring, childcare) all through med school, and it's nice to contribute a little bit when I can. Here is a summary of our Spring.
Easter: dyed eggs and the kiddos at church on Easter:

Easter was Bethany's birthday:

Mother's Day:  I missed the memo that I was supposed to take a picture posing with my kids, but here's one of my breakfast made by Elena and one of us at the aquarium in May.  Dan had to work, but he got me some great gifts.  He knows me well - I love gifts. :)  I had a wonderful day. The kids were super sweet to me (except for the fact that the boys woke up 1 hour earlier than usual).  Elena made me breakfast on the couch since she was the last one up.  She's the sweetest - she even put the comics from the newspaper in front of the tray.

Once my Mother's Day talk at church was over, I was really able to relax the rest of the day.  We went to my parents for dinner and Bethany and I made my sick mom dinner while my dad entertained my kiddos.  I'm so grateful that someone invented Mother's Day.  It's nice to feel appreciated and it's nice to celebrate my own awesome mom.
Proof that Dan is home sometimes.

Park play date:  My friend Sharon and I went to a park together with her dog and my boys.  We've been friends since the 10th grade.

Beach Day:

Rosie Hiatt came to visit for a day last month and we went to the aquarium.  These are our standard "in the mouth of a shark" aquarium pictures.

Elena
Crazy Hair Day at her school.  I liked the one up top, but we ended up deciding to go even crazier.

Princess play date with some friends from church

Reading to her brother before bed

At the park with Grandad.  She stayed on this tire swing for almost the entire time we at the park and my dad was sweet enough to push her for the majority of that time.

Kevin
He sleeps in the most hilarious positions.  I also have pictures of him sprawled across the rocker and the ottoman and of him sleeping sitting up in the rocker, but this one was the most easily accessible and you can see Elena's face in the corner too.

It is so fun to see him discovering how to draw and write.  Here he has organized everyone in the family using our initials.  Dad, Mom, and Granny are at the top because we are grownups.  Elena and her Pig (favorite stuffed animal) and Kevin and his Dog (favorite stuffed animal) are in the middle because they are kids.  A "J" for Jonah is at the bottom of the fridge because he's a baby.

This is how Kevin eats a Girl Scout cookie:

Here he is eating a gummy worm in mud pudding at a church activity at the park. Look at that face!

Jonah
Proof that he has hair.  This was taken in probably April, but he still has about the same amount.

First bike ride with Daddy

He loves to play in the kitchen.  His other favorite things in the playroom are the cars and trains ("choo choo").

Kids these days think everything is a touch screen.

Jonah is kind of addicted to playing outside.  It is all he wants to do at my parents house because of this cozy coupe.  He loves it!  He and my dad spend hours outside going back and forth up the street, getting eaten by mosquitoes.  It will be a long summer

Now that Elena only has 1 more day of school and summer is beginning, I will do short posts with less pictures more often.  Thank goodness!

Final Catchup Post!

It's April now and finally we have beach weather.  No, seriously, we are going to the beach after-school today.  That means that I should definitely put up a post about Christmas. :)

We didn't travel this past December.  Dan had to work, but he had the 25th off.  He slept through much of it because of the 24 hour shifts he had on the 24th and the 26th, but we were grateful to have him home.  It was a wonderful couple of weeks with all 3 of my siblings in town!

Here are more than a few pictures from our wonderful Christmas 2012.  Starting with the many "Pre-Christmas" festivities.

Mall Santa

Love this face!

Nativity at church.  Elena was an angel (front row three from the right) and she spent almost the whole time doing ballet apparently.  I barely noticed because Kevin was having his donkey climb and jump and spin all over the stage.  You can recognize him by his blonde hair in the middle of the picture.  When it's someone else's kid, it's cute, right?  I was so embarrassed.  We'd had a long talk about staying still beforehand, but he forgot all about that once he saw the audience.

Church Santa

At the aquarium with Grandad and Uncle Adam (my little bro)

Being mischievous

Silly cousins

The most awesome pancakes ever (made by my sis-in-law)

Gingerbread house night at Tracy and Dana's house

 

 Decorating cookies to take caroling on Christmas Eve.  Aren't my nieces adorable (big bro's kids)?

 

 We woke up in our own house and did stockings, present opening, and breakfast.  At around 12, we went to my parents for the kids to open some more gifts and play together.  It was our first Christmas waking up in our own home since the first year we were married.

Dan tried to fit the stockings on Jonah's feet.

 

 

 Post Christmas fun:

 

Keira loves Jonah, honest.  She was kissing him and trying to playing him the whole vacation.

At a local bounce house on a cold day:

Fun grandparents

 Busch Gardens Christmastown

We met up with the some old friends there.  Sadie (in the blue hat) and Elena had a blast together.

 

Ari liked driving the kiddie bumper cars once she got the hang of it.

Busch Gardens Santa is the best.  And since it was 3 days after Christmas, there was NO line. Go fingure. :)  The kids were happy to go and say thank you.  Kevin even managed to quickly blurt a few more things that he wants next Christmas.  Jonah was off gallivanting with  Grandad and Uncle Adam, so we wasn't in this picture unfortunately.

All dressed up on the Sunday after Christmas (except Jonah - who, of course, spit up on his outfit as soon as we got to church):

Grandsons

Granddaughters

Daily Schedule According to Elena

Elena made a book about her schedule back in November. I love her original ideas. Here it is, page by page:
5:00 Dad leaves for work
7:00 Elena yawns and gets out of bed
7:30 Breakfast
8:00 PBS kids: Cat in the Hat
9:00 Babar is on TV (They get to watch 3 shows total)
10:25 Lunch (She has afternoon kindergarten)
10:30 Catch the bus
10:40 Ride on the bus
1:00 Learning at school
2:20 Come home from school
(Things speed up in the afternoon.  I guess she was tired of detailing everything)
6:00 Dad comes home
8:00 Bedtime

It was November once...

We are so lucky that Dan's awesome job has a work retreat for all the residents and their families every year. We started the weekend bowling, then enjoyed some amazing food, had fun at the resort pool (indoor), attended Prom Night 2012, and did some other stuff, but it was 5 months ago, so it doesn't immediately come to mind.

Oh my gosh!  How cute is he?!  He still looks just like this, but with a teensy-tiny bit more hair.

Prom Night was the theme of the dinner/dance this year.  Most residents dressed fancy (prom style), but I'm married to Dan, so we went as a nerd couple. :)  It had been a while since either one of shopped at Goodwill, but it was a lot of fun.  Macklemore would be so proud.

There were a few others who were super cool like us (ha!) like Lars who you can see in the white wig below.  He and his wife cross-dressed and their kids wore clown wigs.  Hilarious!

Apple juice and orange juice at once!

The view from our room.

Elena played on an all girls soccer team in the fall and she had a lot of fun. She's currently in ballet at the rec center which is fun and fabulously inexpensive.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving:  Elena and my mom made these awesome turkeys and place cards.

Playing in the leaves!

The day after Thanksgiving it was time to set up the trees.  The pink one was relocated to Elena's room once it was decorated.  The green one is our main tree - the same one I bought at a drug store for $20 our first Christmas.  Someday I'll buy a big, prelit tree that doesn't need each branch individually placed.  I think I say that every year.