Happy Easter!

Because of our busy schedule, we celebrated Easter over a two-week period this year. We're big on holidays at our house, and so we have lots of fun traditions- but this year we definitely did them a little differently, and out-of-order. Oh well. The kids don't know the difference.

Our friend/neighbor Karin hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at her house. The kids loved it.

Our neighbor Bianca, who was one of Leo's first babysitters- and Lena's too.

 They even had a real bunny for the kids to pet!

Family photo on Easter Sunday, after church. Virginia is so beautiful this time of year- the Forsythia is in bloom, and so are the Dogwoods and Azaleas.

Can you see Lena's little bunny booties? Nana made them. So cute!

Dyeing Easter eggs!

Easter is a fun holiday, but we try to emphasize the REAL reason we celebrate.  We talk about Christ riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, and we wave palm branches and shout "Hosannah."  A few nights later we sit on the floor,  eat hummus and olives by candlelight, and talk about the Last Supper.  It is a wonderful week, and we feel closer to Christ as we study and talk about his final days.

Passover

As part of our Easter celebration we choose to celebrate Passover with a Seder feast. The Passover has such beautiful symbolism of the Savior, and we love the history behind it.   Our friends the Hansens joined us again this year (along with Mike's parents, who are in town).  I made the Braised Lamb recipe again (thank you Martha Stewart!)  to rave reviews.  The boys all played outside (instead of eating dinner) and Lena was napping, but we had a lovely evening.  We love this time of year! There is so much to celebrate.

After dinner we took a walk around the neighborhood.  It was an incredibly beautiful Spring day.

Leo and Hart rode their bikes.  It's finally warm enough for them to play outside!

Lena snoozed in the stroller.

Spring Break

The week before Spring Break I realized that we REALLY needed to plan some activities for the kids to keep them busy and engaged during their week out of school. So I emailed some friends, and invited them to come over each day for a 2 hour playdate and fun activity of the day.

Day 1: We played in the backyard, and enjoyed some of our first warm Spring days.

Day 2: Tie-dye T-shirts (and onsies)

Day 3: Paint projects.

Day 4: Parachute games on the lawn

Day 5: Bake and decorate sugar cookies

They came out pretty cute, right?  (The shirts aren't bad either)

Leo in his Boba Fett costume, showing his star-shaped cookies.

Finally, we took a trip to Mount Vernon, which was George Washington's estate. They have a working farm, gardens, orchards and even a few animals for the kids to see. It was really beautiful out there, with all the trees in bloom.

Where George and Martha Washington are buried.

Spring Break was fun, but it's always great when the kids go back to school...

Lena is Two Months Old!

It's hard to believe that our little girl is two months old!  She (and her hair) are growing so fast!
What a little cutie.

She is starting to smile more now. She smiles when we make funny sounds, and when her big brother does anything that amuses her (which is almost anything).  She is such a happy and cheerful baby. We   adore her!

Her cheeks are getting chubbier by the day, and we love her dark curly hair that is getting longer by the day.

Here a few photos from the last month...

Lena's First Campout

We spent a wonderful weekend camping at Pohick Bay with the Hansens and some other new friends.  Lena did great on her first campout, and seemed to really enjoy the outdoors. Leo loved playing with all the other boys, riding bikes, and just being outside.

We celebrated Brooks' birthday on Friday- and Rebecca went all out!  She had a piñata, a "campfire" birthday cake, toys for all the kids, and a bunch of fun games to play. She is the master party planner!

This was our fourth time at this campground, and we just love it!  The cute little cabins are so fun, and we love the little cup-de-sac that is perfect for the kids to ride bikes, play baseball and more.  We also love the short hike to the lake, and the nightly campfires, of course!  We love this place!






Here is a list of our favorite things from this campout:

1. Cooking hotdogs over the fire.
2. Brooks' "candy" birthday party
3. Ghost piñata and "campfire" birthday cake.
4. New buckets and bug catchers from "Aunt" Rebecca.
5. Leo catching worms, and ladybugs.
6. Raccoons eating Leo's bucket of worms.
7. Leo riding his bike all over the campsite- quickly increasing in balance and speed.
8. Rocking Lena on the porch swing, and listening to Conference.
9. Hiking down to the lake.
10. Wading in the lake, throwing rocks, finding sticks.
11. Roasting marshmallows over the campfire.
12. S'mores
13. Rebecca shoving a huge chili dog in her mouth.
14. Snuggling with Lena around the campfire.
15. Cooking sausage and pancakes outside.
16. Seeing kids running through the woods, and playing outside ALL DAY.
17. Clear blue skies, and breezy Spring days.
18. Playing catch with Jack.
19. Gazing at the moon and stars.
20. A fun weekend with family and friends.

Mustache March

The guys in Jack's office decided to do "Mustache March" together.  Jack's mustache came in pretty nicely, although it's still not a look that I'm crazy about.  

On the last day, we decided to show some family support for Mustache March, and even Lena joined in on the fun.  What could be cuter than a baby with a mustache?