eggs, treats, & roosters

egg hunts at school were fun but ancient history it seems. easter falls on the end of our spring break, so i have just been keeping the kids busy busy busy so i can stay happy happy happy. we had at least one recreational activity per day and i tried to sneak a daily educational activity in there as well. this post will just show the easter related outings. i wanted to keep them very happy on my birthday which fell on the thursday of their week off. so i made em pose as a present to me. then we headed out to enjoy the bunnies, goats and fresh strawberries at "the farm" here in town. the next day grannie annie hosted her annual easter party for the kids. they dyed eggs, made krispy trest eggs (idea from the cute commercial) ate bunnies in a blanket and hunted for their eggs. it was quite the success. on easter eve we headed out to the Barlocker Ranch for our ward's easter get-together. i spent most of my time at this rooster cage with caden. he was fascinated for some reason even though the cock-a-doodle-doo was too loud for him. (notice his fingers in his ears) the other kids ate and ate then loved exloring to find bunnies, cows, and horses. and yes, that is my oldest holding a chicken--have mercy. it was a great turn out, it was great to see and chat with friends we don't always get to. and the day was beautiful, so they hunted for their eggs, and we headed for home. a pretty successful holiday thus far considering easter morning is tomorrow.

i have a man cave???

so there's some guys (jared's former young men+ a friend) who have come over to hang out. it started with PS3 playing & snacking into the midnite hour,and now has progressed to wrestlemania with the kids during a "fry party", a meaningful converstion here & there, and family scripture reading/prayer quality time with my clan. the boys use the fried food, video games and binging on junk food as an excuse to hang out with jared and i cause we are so cool. nah, not really, but these guys are great and we love having em over. sorry the pictures are blurry but these are definite action shots, my phone's camera isnt fast enough to keep up with the body tosses and human catapulting into the couch cushion mountain. the boys catapulted me too, its pretty safe and the kids love it. after the food and fighting frenzy we settle down for some quality time. that consists of raylee demanding on stories read by whoever is her favorite that nite, then we get a kick out of including them in our family stuff at the end of the day, picking on them for prayer etc. this great group of guys are growing up and going on their separate ways in life. but as one of them said at Spenser's going away party, "this is like our man cave". and one of them is famous for referring to me as, "the old lady we hang out with". we are excited for their upcoming adventures and so proud of who they are already. they will always be welcome to come hang with the old fogeys in the cave.

my kids' first sport--besides gymnastics

even before i knew about the gym closing i finally braved the big bad world of childrens sports. i settled on the rec center's basketball program. this was a risky move considering where we reside and how i'm a bit of a coach-snob. i swallowed my pride for the sake of brady and kendra who really wanted to try this sport. i was very happy with their coaches. kindergarteners playing this sport is more than a crack up. the amount of ball hogging and traveling that happens is unbelievable. brady only took about 4 shots all season, and he made one. he was so shocked and thrilled in that moment. he looked at me (as i was quite the spectacle standing, screaming and jumping for joy) he paused and wanted to come hug me since he was so overjoyed but i shewed him back to keep playing. he was on cloud 9, it was adorable. we had a good cheering section for both of the kids' seasons. lots of family support, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma vofo and tanner and rob made it to see them in action. kendra had a blast learning the game. she did pretty well and maybe shot the ball once. she gained some skills and loved that her coach nicknamed her "smiles". her games got pretty competitive for 4th graders which meant i was shooting my mouth off at the refs and other team, which meant jared was shushing me and shaking his head. and we've only just begun. brady and kendra had a blast, that is what matters most (i suppose). nah, it was great to watch them acquire different skills, work with a team and respond to their coaches so well. bring on the next sport for this family.

my boy and some fishies

10 ASD kids for a couple hours at the monterey bay aquarium--like i would miss that!! these kids were so enthrawled with every little thing. it was wonderful to watch. caden enjoyed posing with the statues, he gave them a lot of love too. so much to see and get right up next to. the kids had a blast. the teachers did a great job at leading them thru. i loved every minute with my little guy, watching him be so fascinated is such a joy and to see him conform, listen to direction, and be well behaved is always comforting.

teenagers and gymnastics--an interesting combo

im way behind on my blogging, lots of fun stuff has been happening. this week the gym ive been coaching at is closing. before all my fun is over, i squeezed in a youth activity there and a field trip for caden's class. i was only able to get a few shots of the youth, as i was slightly busy making sure nothing or nobody got broken. i started the nite explaining a little bit about the sport and how different body postions transfer to all the different events. then we warmed up, stretched out and i taught them some basic tumbling on the spring floor. most of them could roll but when it came to handstands and especially cartwheels, it got a little ugly. but totally hilarious and we all enjoyed ourselves. as we split into groups to hit the other events, i gave them a few facts explaining the equipment etc and they gave it all a try. the young men on the balance beams was a total HOOT. they were actually quite good and graceful even. the training and uneven bars were challenging but a few of them were able to get a pullover which isnt easy. they vaulted off the vaulting table--which really just looked like a bunch of guys falling all over the place. then at the end they all got to just have an open gym and try the ropes, rings, and trampolines. it was a BLAST and i am so grateful no one was hurt, i had prayed several times for that. i wish i could do that every year with them, they were so fun and funny and gracious, they were humbled by what they couldnt do but were proud of what they could. LOVE THEM!