Conference weekend (better late than never)

I know, I know. Conference weekend was like a month ago. I know, I know, I haven't been the best at blogging lately. I know, I know, I tend to play catch up and post 10 entries in 1 day. Whatever!
The kids have been pretty much free to play and do whatever on conference weekend. Until now!!! I decided that it was time they started paying attention to the words of the prophets. But I couldn't expect them to listen to 8 hours, 2 hours at a time. So I made goodie bags filled with surprising, fun, and new activities. Did it work? Kinda. The first hour was the best because the kids actually listened. The following 5 hours were decent because they were entertained with the activities. The last 2 hours, they were over it. We'll work on it. One day I'm going to explain to them how lucky they are to watch conference at home, and one day they'll understand and appreciate it. When I was a kid, I had to go to the stake center to watch conference. Someone was in a different room, translating the talks, live. If I ever go back to Belgium during conference weekend, I bet they'd put ME in that room. Cool, huh?

A visit from Annie

Out of the blues, I got a text from a friend from Med School. She lives in northern Ohio with her orthopedic resident husband and 2 boys (4 and 18 months). Her hubby was  going to a conference in Columbus and she was coming along with their kids. So we HAD to get together. It was great to see her and meet her kids. The kids had so much fun together that I think we'll have to do it again soon.

On Friday, we weren't able to get together until the afternoon, so we played at our house, so that the younger kids could still nap.

And on Saturday we went to an indoor playground. With all the climbing, sliding, and jumping, the kids were exhausted- and that's a good thing.

Aren't her kids so stinkin' cute???

 

 

Easter fun

Our Easter celebrations didn't all happen in one day- no they didn't- they lasted the entire month of April.

We had an Easter Egg Hunt with our church friends at a local park. Taylor ate so much candy that he threw up. But throw-up aside, the kids had a lot of fun. I wonder if they had more fun opening up the eggs and eating the candy or actually finding the eggs and putting them in the basket...? Afterwards we had a picnic and the mommies chatted while the kiddos played on the playground. It was a nice day to be outside.

 

I took the kids to the Mall for a picture with the Easter Bunny. Kendall didn't want anything to do with him. I have to admit, this specific bunny wasn't very fun and exciting. There was probably an eighty-year-old man under that suit... or a pissed off teenager. Anyway, Kendall is past the point of sitting there crying. If she doesn't want to do something, she runs away from it. And I wasn't gonna fight with her over it.

Then the kids had an Easter Party at school. It started off with... ANOTHER Easter Egg Hunt! Then the kids went back into the classroom, played some games, made some crafts, and ate some snacks. (I love that Jaylee wanted to be in the class picture- she's so tiny compared to the rest of them!)

On Easter weekend, we went to some random church's Easter Egg Hunt. They also had tons of fun activities for the kids- a train, rides, inflatables, lunch, and balloons. They had a blast! And everything was FREE! Score!

 

Kendall tried a few Easter dresses on before we found the perfect one.

 

On Easter morning, the kids found their Easter baskets filled with goodies, mostly underwear and socks (useful stuff- haha!). They also discovered that the Easter Bunny had visited them... and left roughly 60 eggs.

Easter morning, all ready for church! Cheesy smiles and all!

Oh, and we decorated eggs, too, and this time we did it with shaving cream. It was messy, fun, and groovy ;-) From left to right, Taylor's, Kendall's, and Logan's eggs.

 

Spring has sprung! (BFFs)

I cannot contain my excitement that Spring is finally here! This week, William is working 2pm to 11pm, so with lots of time to kill, we spent a lot of time outdoors. We went to a different playground every day, we blew bubbles, and we went on walks around the neighborhood.

The kids have been getting along well lately. They can actually play together and have fun without getting into fights. Maybe it's getting some fresh air and not being cooped in... I love when they hug one another and laugh together.