Spring Break

Konrad was out of town for work/volleyball game watching all during Spring Break.  Rather than hang around here all week my mom and I took the girls to Moses Lake for a couple days.  We headed there b/c there was sun in the forecast.  :)

Our cute hotel.  It was smaller than any hotel I've stayed in, in a long time.  No elevator...1 flight of stairs to our room from the right side.  3 flights of stairs from the left side.  

The girls made good use of the swimming pool.  The first night was pretty cold, as you can tell from Allison's face, below.  The girls went dripping wet out to the front desk and asked if they'd turn up the heat.  It slowly got warmer as the days went on...or they just gave in and had fun anyways.  Kimber and Allison didn't last long the first time in, but after that we put earplugs in their ears and they could last much longer.  Samantha would have swam for 3 straight days if we let her :)

 On Wednesday it was sunny outside but oh so windy.  Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I think I remember someone saying 50 mph winds.  Walking through parking lots was dangerous...tons of garbage and dirt flying in our eyes.  We decided to attempt the park anyways.  The girls lasted longer than I though they would.  We did have to watch where we were sitting b/c huge branches were flying from trees and crashing to the ground. 

Playing on the playground:

Then we headed over to check out the lake.  There were white caps, the water was so choppy. 

 Kimber's cute new shoes she bought on one of our shopping trips (Moses Lake has a Walmart, a Ross, and a Big Lots....if that doesn't make for some great retail therapy, I don't know what does :))

 

 Alli found a crab claw...gross!

 Last morning at the pool:

It was a great little get away.  Can't wait to go back to Moses Lake in the summer when it's warm...I think it would be even better then. 

Other highlights from the trip:

• girls loved watching DVD's in Grandpa's car (so much better to have it installed in the car rather than deal with laptops or portable DVD players!)
• Driving to Euphrata to see the "famous" billboard that is on the commercial for some college.  There was no such billboard though :)
• Having Sam say "But Mom, we haven't shopped at  Walgreen's yet!" when I said we were heading back home right after swimming.
• Disney Channel
• HGTV
• Free breakfast...they had these yummy spice waffles.
• Watching "Oz the Great and Powerful" in the theater all by ourselves
• the girls feeling spoiled b/c I bought them each one of their favorite drinks "Wow, we love being on vacation...mom buys us stuff!"  
• Having a vanilla frosty in a waffle cone at Wendy's...are those available around here???
• spending 3 days with my mom

Easter 2013

We had a great Easter...as always...but this one was extra great because it was absolutely gorgeous! Sunny AND warm.  Amazing!
 
The weather was great pretty much all week leading up to Easter.   We started the festivities with our Annual Easter Egg hunt with friends.  We got the biggest group ever this time and that to a very busy park (b/c it was the first really warm day of the year) and things were a bit crazy.  It was all fun though.  I swear we had close to 100 kids there...looks like I over-estimated, but still, there were a lot.  I'll have to find a picture from the first year we did it...the growth is amazing :)

Here they all are waiting for the word "Go!!!"

 Each child brings 15 eggs for us to hide and each child goes home with 15 eggs (or so we hope).  I'm a bit crazy and make them be fair...that way everyone leaves happy.  With so many kids the park was covered in eggs.  With so many kids that weren't there for our hunt, we lost a few eggs to those who couldn't resist joining in on the fun, but that was fine.  I just made Kimber sacrifice half of her eggs :)  Stinks to be the oldest one there, huh!?!

Sunday morning Sam and Allison got up, got dressed in their new Easter outfits, and came and woke us up.  After 15 minutes or so of them begging we headed down stairs to see what the Easter Bunny brought.  Sam says she heard him hopping around like crazy around 2:00 a.m.

Looking for eggs....

 The Easter bunny even brought me some of my favorites! 

 Each girl made a pile of their eggs they found. 

 Konrad took a few pictures before we headed off to church....

 Sam's eyes are mostly closed, but this picture showed most of their outfits....

 After church we headed to the cemetery to visit Ian's grave.  We left him a little Easter basket and some eggs.  There was a family there visiting their little boy who died at the beginning of the month.  He would have been 3 next month.  Awful.  We could tell it was a recent death b/c the amount of flowers around his marker was amazing.  Tons of bouquets from the funeral.  So sad.

Alli and I shed a few tears while there.  It's so hard when she is so sad and so confused about it all.  She still hopes that the resurrection will happen really soon so Ian can be with us.  She still wishes she got to see him, before he was buried, and didn't just have "gray pictures to look at".  She wishes she got to hold him.  I had to explain to her that I was too sad to hold him very long but that I wish more than anything that I had held him for as long as they would have let me.  Oh the things you would change.  If anyone ever falls into the same situation...please please please hold that baby for as long as you can.  Even if it is traumatizing.  You'll wish you did.  Luckily Allison understood why I couldn't hold him for long...she compared it to when she was too sad and upset to put a rose on Ian's casket (or box as she calls it).  She wishes she had done that as well.

After wiping the tears away we headed to my parents for the big Easter party.

A yummy dinner was provided and then the much anticipated egg hunt began.  This year my dad hid 230 eggs, each filled with coins.  I think we found all but 6 :)

Here are the "big" kids all lined up, in age order of course, ready to get going.  The "little" kids head out the back door into their section.  All my kids were "big" this year.  And yes, we do invite boys to the party as well...there were 4 of them heading out the other door :)

 Grandpa counted to 5, or 10, or 20 between each one, just to drive them crazy :)

 They got serious and even dove into the bushes to see if they could find any.  Sorry for the broken branches mom!  :(

 

Here is the only picture I have of my getting-bigger-every-day belly.  34 weeks and counting :)

We had a great time.  Yummy dinner, yummy dessert, great company, sunshine, and a fun egg hunt.  I'd call that a success!

Here is a picture from 2009...I think I should have had one from 2008, but it wasn't on my computer.  That was the one we did at Friendship park...I'm pretty sure that was the year before this one as well as the first one.   The kids are so tiny.  For reference...Hannah B. is the one on the far left in the pink coat.  They've all grown up!

What Happened in March?

Konrad and the girls attended an awesome 50's Daddy Daughter Sock Hop. 

They went to dinner with a big group of dads/daughters to Johnny Rockets (a 50's style diner) and then had a great time dancing the night away.  (the upcoming pictures were taken by Tami)

The girls continue to earn points each morning they clean their rooms...so worth the money for a small treat every few weeks!  Alli chose a shake this time:

 Sam saved up 100 points (normally they get a treat after 50) so that she could get a caramel apple from Fred Meyer.  50 points equals a treat under $1.50.  100 points got her a $3.00 treat :)

 Allison started Spring Soccer.  She got to be Captain for the first game (at least I think this was the first game)

 

What else?

• Allison took swimming lessons at Kinder swimmer and loved every minute.  She taught herself to swim a couple years ago, but I wanted her to learn the basics so I bought a Amazon Local deal for Kinder swimmer b/c I'd heard amazing things.  They really were amazing.  If your child is afraid of water...take them there to learn.  Seriously, it's SOOO worth the extra money.
• I went to Arizona for a few days to see my Grandma, my Aunt Nancy, and my sister Michelle and her family.  Steph's family and my parents were there too, but I get to see them all the time.  :)  It was way way way hot.  In the 90's.  I was a pregnant baby and disliked that amount of heat.  I was hoping for 75 or 80.  Oh well...I was able to work on my tan a bit, just not as much as I had wanted to!  I ate Cafe Rio, watched the Game Show network with my sisters, played some boggle, sat and visited with my Grandma and Aunt.  
• We took a little "vacation"...a one night stay in a hotel about 20 minutes from our house :)  We had a free night we needed to use by April, so we loaded up swim suits and headed to the pool.  We also did a little shopping at the mall and went to dinner.  Throw in some ice cream at the end of the night and I call it a good "trip"!
• I had 4 non-stress-tests for the baby and 2 ultrasounds.  I go in weekly for NST's, just to keep an eye on her.  
• No, she doesn't have a name yet.  Probably won't until the day she makes an appearance.  AND even if she does, we won't tell anyone.  We're mean like that.  Sorry.
• We booked a cruise for November.  We are taking the girls and we are all super excited.  Western Caribbean, once again, but this time with a couple new ports thrown in.  We'll get to go to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Bahamas, and Mexico.  Baby girl better get here before May 17th, b/c she needs to be 6 months old BEFORE November 17th :)  Konrad's parents are coming with us.  It will be sooo much fun!
• Went to dinner with friends.
• Ate Cafe Rio (made with our own hands...not the real stuff) with friends.
• Completed two science fair projects.  If you want to know what happens to an egg when it is put in soda, juice, or milk, Kimber could tell you.  If you want to know if more salt makes water boil faster, ask Sam, she can fill you in.
• My "story" was shared at the Bellevue South Stake Conference.  The Mission Presidents wife had attended the Women's Conference I spoke at, about Ian and how my RS family had taken care of me, and then felt she needed to share some of it at the Bellevue South Stake Conference.  A few friends recognized it as me...small world.  My parents are in that stake, but they were out of town during conference so they didn't hear it.  Crazy, right?
• I got to look at these cute chicks that my preschoolers made.  Made me smile each time I saw them.  Probably one of my favorite kid crafts ever.