Springbreak leftovers...

I still had a few random pictures from our Spring Break that now seems like centuries ago.

This was how Spring Break started...

 Yep, pretty much a poster for, "COME TO IDAHO FOR SPRING BREAK!"

Our first morning off started bright and early with Michael's Swim Meet.  He just did a fun junior league for a few months and they do one big swim meet at the end.  He did great! 

It was fun to have his cousin Emmaline doing it too. 

These next two are pictures Ryan sent me on the way home from California.  Sophie looks pretty relaxed here!  If only she had been like this the entire trip...

So grateful for technology on those long drives.

Monday of Spring Break the kids were already going stir crazy and fighting.  I pulled out the clay to distract them from each other and this is what I got...

Even the dog knew it was Spring Break...except that she thinks every day is Spring Break. 

As a reward for doing chores one night we went out for ice cream.  

Michael was depressed it was "Soft Ice Cream".  He wanted Reed's Dairy.  Tough life, tough life. 

 We also hit the movies one afternoon. 

And I hit the Laundry Mat.  

My washer is this TINY thing and we have some serious laundry around here.  This was not even "getting behind".  It was like three days total.  I decided to just get it done in a couple hours instead of a couple days of round-the-clock laundry at my place.  

I pretended I was a spy and snapped this picture of these two folding their laundry. I am guessing they are newly married.  They seriously had like nothing and I started folding at the same time as they did.  They had two people and I beat them with like 18 loads of laundry to fold.  The picture above is not even all of it.  Okay, so my piles are not perfect.  I realized that my kids TOSS their clothes into their drawers and so there is no point in military style folding.  I must say I am VERY fast though.  I think I could enter a competition for folding laundry at high speeds.  As I looked at this couples perfect little piles of underwear and whatnot I (rudely) thought to myself, "That's how you do laundry when you don't have kids and you have extra time on your hands."  I know, I am bad like that.  The next time someone ask me what my talents are or what I do in my free time, instead of racking my brain like I usually do (Um, let's see, I am really good at making boxed brownies).... I will tell them I am really fast at folding clothes....that and making up scenarios about random strangers I see in public.  

James threw some water out in front of our door....and look what we found the next morning. 

 And cousin Sadie just looked cute, so I snapped a picture of her...

Ice Crystals seem a fitting way to end Spring Break around here.  

I hope we really catch a break and Spring comes quickly! 

Easter at Grandma's

Man, I sure am glad that Easter was last weekend and not this weekend!  This weekend we are back to chilly Idaho weather and last weekend was perfect!  We were even able to have our annual Easter Egg Hunt without coats on! We started off with a yummy Easter Dinner with the whole family at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  The kids were even able to eat outside.  Man, it was so nice soaking in the sunshine. 

 

I realized I didn't load the "real" picture we took of everyone before the Hunt, but this picture is better anyway...check out all those crazy grandkids...we sure miss the ones in Arizona and OKLAHOMA now. 

Will (I think-or is it Max?) wanted this little pink basket from our childhood.  His Dad was trying to tell him that he should really grab that big white one instead.  It hold a whole lot more, Will!

Luke

Sophie couldn't believe her luck...you mean I get to do this again!?  Awesome!

 Annie, looking so grown up. 

Michael

James

Sophie stopping for a snack.

James hasn't gotten a replacement for the "replacement" tooth that fell out.  He won't usually smile with his teeth showing, but I snuck this one in!  I told him he will want to remember what he looked like. 

These older kids never seem to get over the thrill of an egg with some cash in it. 

Luke and Michael

London is pretty happy about her cash too. 

Isabelle

 I rarely have Ryan take pictures. I told him to get some with me in them.  There is a reason I usually don't have him do it.  Most of them looked like this...

These were the "action" shots he took...huh?

This one wasn't TOO bad...

I think Jennifer and I don't look too fabulous...but hey, future generations will know that we were there!

 I think he gave up focusing on me and I don't mind because this one is so cute!

 I snapped this one of David and Melissa and I must say I think it is pretty fabulous.  It might just be that they just looked good anyway.  I like to blame my pics on the photographer.  :)

It was a great end to our Easter Day.  I am so glad we have had family to celebrate Easter with through the years! 

 2005 I think...living in California.  I really don't know where any of my pictures are because this is like the only old one I could find.  :( Someday I am going to pretend I went on vacation and devote like two weeks of my life to just pictures.  I will get them all organized and found.  I don't think that will happen for a while.  But I can dream.  This picture makes me sad.  It REALLY seems like yesterday. 

Another Hunt in Nana's back yard.  The two twin boys in the middle back row were like our cousins in California!  

Easter morning at home in California.  Man, I can't believe how fast these kids are growing!  

I better enjoy every Holiday to the max, because Joshua only has FOUR more Easter Egg Hunts before he is on his mission.  You got that right FOUR.  Boo hoo, I will go cry myself to sleep. 

PS I guess he really has five, because he still hasn't gotten this years!  Ha ha.  Maybe this week. 

Every holiday can't be perfect

Every holiday can't be perfect...but looking back it can be pretty close in it's own non-perfect way. 

 The day before Easter the little kids went to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Weatherstons.  They put it on every year.  This year the group was especially small...and we had a great time!  At first we had to kind of coax Sophie to get the eggs. 

This one knew what she was doing...

 Joshua helped.  Michael ran off to find the "big kid" eggs.  Luke stayed home.  He never did his chores.  I thought it would be a big "lesson" missing the Easter Egg Hunt and all.  

Apparently not. 

All Saturday I patiently tried to get the kids to complete their chores.  That night Annie's room still looked like this...(she did get some help from Sophie and the neighbors.)

I tucked the kids in bed Saturday night and quickly felt overwhelmed that I still had 

-to finish Sharing Time for Church

-I hadn't ironed Church Clothes

-We had several rooms that looked like the one above

-I hadn't made the dessert for dinner at my moms

-Forget the Easter "brunch" I had dreamed up for the morning

-And I still had to prepare for the Easter Bunny to arrive.  

I surveyed the house and found that MANY chores were left undone by the kids.  I wrote out the following letter and yes, it made me feel much better. 

So, yes, the kids all woke up exited to see what Easter Adventures lay ahead for them that day...and then they discovered "THE NOTE".  The could not believe that there would be no Chocolate Eggs, no little treats, no baskets, nothing for them.  

I told them they still didn't have it too bad.  Nana had sent them treats.  They were have a big hunt later in the afternoon at Grandma's house.  They had new ties and whatnot for church.  Not too shabby.  And also, PS, in case you still haven't got the memo kids...Easter is not about Candy and Bunnies.  I wanted them to try and focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

We never quite got to that brunch that morning...but we did make it out the door for Church looking as best as we could at the moment.  Sophie was not about to put down those pretzels for the picture. 

She was willing to smile in this one a little...

My girls...

My boys...

After Church the Pollards stopped by, they all looked so "Springtimey" and fresh in their cute new Easter Attire...

After that the girls were ready to get moving on that Easter Egg Hunt!  Those eggs had been waiting since morning, and someone could not wait one more minute. 

 The boys were pretty good sports...(Michael was petsitting again over the break.)

I love how it looks like Sophie is taking off flying in this picture.  She was pretty excited....at first that is. 

Here she is peeking underneath to see if there is any eggs hiding. 

More Hello Kitty underwear!  Yahoo! 

This is where it gets funny.  Maybe it is just me...you just have to laugh.  She is like, "Where did the egg go?"  

She kept walking around like this like she was looking for an egg she misplaced. 

When she found what she was looking for, we realized it was one of Annie's.  We made her give it to Annie and this is what ensued...the crying begins.  

And this is the "I have officially lost it...I am tired and I need a nap" picture.  It cracks me up, because more than looking sad, she looked so wronged by humanity, and more specifically the Easter Bunny.

"Well, at least I found a necklace, maybe not all is lost." 

Wow, these hidden treats merited some serious excitement. 

Well, that is the end of Easter Part I.  We later headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner and another hunt.  Overall, we had a great holiday.  As usual...I felt like we didn't get to do some of the more "Spiritual" traditions I would like.  Just never enough time to fit everything in.  We had a few holiday melt downs.  And of course I felt bad about the boys not having a hunt. However, I didn't feel too bad.  The Easter Bunny still has all of their things in a secure location and I have some good ideas up my sleeve about how to go about them retrieving the goodies.  I will have to let you know how it goes.  And did it improve their behavior and cooperation? So far I have not seen any quantifiable results.

Some advice my mother once gave me....DO NOT start any traditions that you don't plan to keep up every year and that will be almost impossible to do with more and more children.  My boys still tell me, "Man, remember that one year when the Easter Bunny did this, or this...too bad he doesn't still do that."  I say...keep it simple from day one and they will expect A LOT less.  I am like, give them sticks and real eggs.  Then when they get candy someday they will be like, "Wow, this is amazing." Just kidding, well, sort of.  As of right now, my kids won't even go anywhere NEAR real hard boiled eggs.  When I told them that those are what you are supposed to hide, they looked at me like, "You are kidding, right?!"  Sheesh, kids these days.