Easter 2011 - where we (and every other family in America) take every opportunity to get pictures of our family all dressed up.

Pretty Easter dresses and handsome Easter ties mean mom has to take every opportunity to snap a few pictures of the kids.

Just a few.

Okay, maybe several.


I started early on the way to church. Just in case those pretty clothes got ruined later in the day. Live and learn, man. Live and learn.


Hello, future Mr. Senator.

And then come the obligatory "go stand over there by your sister and act like you like her" pictures.

I think the eye roll on the little one gives it away.

Are we done yet mom?

And the close-up's

The little princess.

I'm more than a little concerned at how quickly this one is growing up. Who gave her permission to do so?

Gah! She was just in my womb yesterday! Who is this gorgeous big girl?

And then there's this little guy.

This is the "see my tie?" stance.

He's super proud of that tie.

So proud that he refused to wear the perfectly adorable vest that went with his suit all because, "it will cover up my tie, mommy!"

So I gave in.

Who could resist this face anyway?

Not me.

Mom and Dad even got in on the picture parade.

This one was courtesy of Claire.

And then the whole family.

And if you've made it to the end of this post, you deserve some sort of reward. I'd give you some plastic Easter eggs full of candy, but that's what I used to bribe my kids to get all the pictures, and they ate them all.

Sorry.

Egg Hunts

Easter time around here is important. While we are busy with multiple egg hunts, and baskets filled with candy that thrill our kids and ruin mom's diet, we are very careful to stress the real reason for remembering that day. Our talks about Easter and God's love for us this year really prompted some inquisitive questions from Ben, and his tender heart was absolutely devastated by the story of Jesus' death on the cross. He told me, "mommy, I don't like that part of the story" with tears in his eyes.

Yet, as we celebrated Christ's resurrection, we also did participate in some of the local festivities, including several egg hunts.

Baby chicks!

Ben had a small plastic bottle of bubbles he found at home, and he spent nearly the entire time that day blowing those bubbles.

He really was not interested in doing anything else and had to be talked into looking for eggs. Come to find out later that the medicine he was currently taking for an ear infection wasn't working, and he was probably feeling pretty crummy. Poor little dude.

Claire, on the other hand, was enjoying herself.

This egg hunt was a bit different from others. They used real hard-boiled eggs that had been dyed with organic dyes.

They ended up being really pretty.

And, as long as they didn't crack (peeyew!), they lasted for a long time.

The mom's organization that sponsored the egg hunt also booked the kid's band: Big Bang Boom to play for the kids after the hunt was over. Someone was ready to bust a move.

And someone was not.

I think that picture pretty much sums up Shawn's attitude toward dancing in general: dancing= teeth drilled.

I was lucky to get a dance out of him at our own wedding. Seriously.

Last picture of the day. What you don't see in this picture is Shawn gripping Ben to hold him in place OR the threatening "to sit still and smile" that took place about 2 second before. Or the complete and total meltdown that occured 5 seconds later. Ah, parenthood.

It was a glorious day.

Claire's Spring Break

Obviously I realize that a post about spring break is entirely ridiculous given that it is currently the middle of June.
But, given that a post about spring break also starts with a picture like this one, which obviously indicates that mother nature is totally off her rocker, I'm just going to go with it.

Truth be told, I'm so behind on my posts right now, that the sheer volume of pictures and posts demanding my attention is making me want to run away and hide. Which, I've obviously done for the last 2 months. But, there's no more hiding. I'm putting my foot down. It's time to get back to business.

The fact that I'm actually about to run out of room on my camera's memory card has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Honest.

So, anyway, as you can see. The first day of Claire's spring break didn't exactly herald a week full of warm weather and fun day trips to the park.

It snowed.

At the end of March.

And then it proceeded to rain the rest of the week. We spent a lot of time baking, going shopping, and thinking of fun ways to pass the time indoors. With 2 children who aren't used to spending all day with each other. Ideal spring break? No.

It was agonizing.

And, because Mother Nature is as hormonal as all women, the weather did warm up enough a few days later to allow for Claire and Shawn to begin work on our garden.

Okay, mostly, Shawn worked and Claire "supervised."

I've taught her well.

And while Grandma's spring break didn't coincide with Claire's this year, she did come down a few weeks later for a visit. Everyone is always happy to see Grandma.

Okay, so that's one post down. Maybe in the next few days I'll actually catch up enough to post some pictures taken in this season.

Maybe.

Don't hold your breath.

Claire's song and dance

Someone around here thinks she's all grown up.

She stopped sucking her thumb after 7+ years of it just this month. The dentist is thrilled. Me? I'm a little sad.

She's now in a 2nd grade reading group.

She has her life all planned out. Her goal is to be either a teacher, a scientist, or an artist. (go scientist, go scientist!)

Where's my baby? Waaaaaaah!

Last night we had the privilege of seeing her perform in her school choral concert.

Here are a few clips for you to enjoy:

Here are my thoughts on the evening (in case you cared one little bit):

1. Thank you Lord that it was only 1 class performing this year. Memories of last year's 2-grade-performance still give me the vapours.


2. The singing and speaking abilities improve with age. The song choices, however, do not.
   
3. Parents who don't bring their children to a school recital when their children have solos or speaking parts should receive some sort of punishment.


4. I never want to be a grade school music teacher (see #3)
   
5. My daughter is a Glockenspiel extraordinaire (a real-world skill, no doubt).


6. My daughter likes to make sure all the other kids do it right.


7. Second grade dances look an awful lot like the "hokey pokey."


8. Yes, I know that Claire isn't in the last movie clip. That little boy was SO DARN CUTE. I had to include it.

On the way home last night, Claire informed us that she "loved doing that and wished it (the recital) weren't over."

If she could figure out a way to be a teacher/scientist/artist/stage performer, we'd be set.

Spring has Sprung

It's the first day of spring, and it's surely evident around here.

The only thing missing is a rainbow.

Wait . . .

Now, we're all good.

Benjamin

It's hard to believe that Ben's first year of preschool is nearly over, just a few more months, and summer vacation will be here. Crazy.

And while all that time keeps flying by, Ben keeps growing up.

In fact, he has his whole life already planned out. He informed me the other day that his chosen profession is to be a "karate train conductor who also owns children."

What do you mean that you want to own children?

Well, mommy, you know those children who don't have mommies and daddies? Those kids can just come live with me.

Adoption/own children. Of course. Why didn't I realize that's what he meant?

While the phrasing of his heart's desire wasn't exactly stated in a politically, socially or morally correct way, it's still pretty sweet.


He loves preschool though, and loves when I come to help out.

This was the menu for his Valentine's/pajama party. Yummo!

He was only slightly excited. Can you tell?

But then again, the rest of the kids were a little excited too.

He's come a long way this year, learning so much, both academically and socially and we owe a lot of that to his sweet teachers.

Ms. Judy LOVES those kids, and they adore her right back.

They enjoyed a little Valentine heart candy bingo.

A much better use of those candies than actually eating those nasty things!

He has made some great friends, but one of his biggest achievements this year thus far is finally learning to write his name.

I understand that most 4 year olds have been writing their names for a while now, but Ben had absolutely NO interest in even attempting to learn.

But now he can. This letter came in the mail for me this week.

See?

It makes my heart explode with love too.