"Sticky Eyes"

I love 2-year olds!  I love that stage of life, all the discovery & new experiences.  I especially love the things that come out of their mouths.  Abby is no exception.  She's quite a talker!!  Lately she has taken to asking us "Do you have sticky eyes?"  I am not quite sure where sticky eyes came from but she gets quite a laugh out of her sisters which in turn makes her think she is one funny girl!!!

Cute Girls!!!

Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa they looked beautiful in their dresses! 

We love our cute girls!

 

Cousins

Easter Egg Hunt & Dinner

Since both we & Jason's sister's family had to leave Sunday afternoon, we did all of our Easter festivities on Saturday.  It was actually nice, since then Easter was for church & family.  The uncles took on the job of hiding all the eggs in the yard for the kids to find.  The little cousins got all the eggs on the grass, while the older ones had some significantly more challenging places to look for eggs.  It was so fun.  Abby really got into it. I always love when kids start to "get" holidays & traditions and Abby definately caught onto this one.  Especially once she figured out chocolate was involved.  Lots of loot found by all!

 

 

 

After a bit of running errands & shopping we finished off Saturday with a delicious family Easter dinner.  It was pretty special, all of Jason's family was able to be there.  It's been a while since we've all been together & you never know when it happens again, so it was fun to take it all in!! 

Just like every night we were there, the brothers finished off the evening (late into the evening) with some rousing, incredibly complex game!

A Spring Break Trip to Seattle

 

Originally, we had not planned on going anywhere for spring break but then I started to get the road trip itch (crazy I know with 3 kids & me pregnant).  I just felt like if we didn't go anywhere for spring break, we would be stuck at home for quite a while, with soccer season & baby coming.  So, being the best husband ever, Jason obliged my crazy wishes & last minute we packed up and headed to his parents house in Seattle on the Wednesday afternoon before Easter.  His sister's family was already planning on being there so we knew it would be a party!

The road trip was great, the girls were amazing travelers, which made it especially worthwhile.  The weather was spectacular...seriously, for those of you who have been to Seattle in March, know it can be so much less than spectacular.  It was amazing, sunny & warm almost everyday. 

The first day there, we ventured down to a cute children's museum in Tacoma (those pictures are on Jason's phone).  Allow small, it was really fun. Abby spent almost the entire time with the rubber duckies in the water area.  She went home nearly naked, she was so wet.  The kids had a great time.  We finished it off with a picnic lunch & headed back to G & G's house.  With such great weather, the kids were able to play in the backyard whenever we were home.  It was so, so nice.

Friday morning the men went golfing, along with Emily & Lauren.  Jason was excited to show the girls the finer points of golf.  They adored their daddy/daughter date!  While the boys were gone, the ladies squeezed in a little shopping, always a good time. 

Later that afternoon, Jason & I ran our girls down to Redondo Beach.  I don't know that we've ever taken them there & it was fun to show them where we played as kids (& where we got engaged!!).  They had a great time throwing rocks, finding shells & crabs.  It was amazingly beautiful!! 

 

Abby throwing rocks!

 

Abby was not really impressed with the crab.

Questing!

The Cherry Blossom trees were amazing, we couldn't resist a few pictures of the girls!

Sorry to Seattle friends we didn't get a chance to catch up with!!!

Lauren's Gymnastics Party

2013 is the year for a friend birthday party for our girls!! Can I tell you how much I love birthday parties?  Can you sense the sarcasm?  Due to basketball schedules, we ended up having to have Lauren's birthday party a couple of weeks after her real birthday, which was a little hard for her, but we talked her through it.  She really wanted a gymnastics birthday party.  I found this local gym that will do birthday parties, for a reasonable price, for lots of kids.  Sounds great right?  Can I tell you, it was amazing.  Pure genius!!  Your group has open access to half the gym, loaded with trampolines, foam pits, bars, balance beams & tons of other toys for 1 hour & then you conclude the party in the party room for 1/2 hour.  It was absolutely the most perfect birthday party ever.  So perfect, we'll be there again in May for Emily's party! The kids had a fabulous time & it didn't even have to be at my house...amazing! 

 

Emily testing out the trampolines!

The foam pit was a huge hit...there were some kids doing some pretty crazy flips into the foam & they couldn't even hurt themselves.

Abby working on her balancing skills

This was the biggest hit of the day...and of course it involved Jason.  He's such the best entertainer of children. I should hire him out!   He had a line of kids waiting for most of the party.  It got a little crazy when he started pushing them into the foam pit!  They loved it!

Here's the gang...Lauren with 18 of her little friends.

 

All & all, huge party success!!

Basketball

I am feeling very deliquent in my picture taking.  Somehow I only ended up with a few pictures from Emily & Lauren's basketball season.  Actually, I know why.  Jason coached both teams, which left me to entertain a crazy active 2-year old.  In the end, I think most of the entertainment was for the poor people who had to sit by us each game. 

Both girls had great seasons & had tons of fun.  It's fun to to see them try & love sports as much as Jason & I do.  Basketball season has now finished & with 1 week break we have moved onto soccer. 

 

A Girl & her Horse

This is Abby's horse Sally (named after her Aunt Sally, of course.)  Grandma & Grandpa Hall gave her Sally for Christmas & she's been a big hit.  Abby plays with her all the time & while she's not good sharing Sally with other people, her baby doll was lucky enough to hitch a ride this day!