Massanutten Resort

We drove out to Massanutten Resort, about 2 hours from here, for Memorial Day weekend. The weather was perfect, and the resort had lots of fun activities to offer... the only problem was that I was sick the whole time.  Really sick.

Jack and Leo went to the water park, and to the petting zoo, and had lots of fun while I stayed in bed (with a fever and feeling miserable).  Lena and I got to watch lots of bad daytime TV.  It's been years since we had cable, so it was fun to watch the cooking channel. But everything else... ugh.   Even the commercials were annoying.

So despite the gorgeous weather, a good part of our trip looked like this...

Leo loved the petting zoo. He even got to ride a horse!

Another highlight was this incredible indoor water park.  Jack and Leo went Saturday morning, and that evening I was feeling a little better so we all went together.  What a fun place!

Lena and I enjoyed floating down the lazy river.

Leo's Preschool Graduation

Leo just completed his second year of preschool at PNS. He has enjoyed both years there very much. He's a little sad to leave all his friends, as we move out of state.

They had a little graduation ceremony on Friday.  Here's Leo, with his "diploma" and his teacher Mrs. Millward.

Last Campout at Pohick Bay *sniff*

We had our final campout at the Pohick Bay cabins this weekend, and I definitely shed some tears. We have been coming here for the last 2 years, and it is one of our very favorite places.  We will miss camping here with the Hansens, and all the lovely little spots in this beautiful corner of the world.

We had fantastic weather this trip. It was not too cold, and not too hot- and it rained a little on Saturday afternoon- which was actually perfect- because the kids sat and watched a movie on the iPad while we took a nap. (awesome!)  We also went to an Indian Restaurant for lunch, and had some seriously delicious food. (a nice break from the camping meals of bacon, hot dogs and marshmallows)

Leo and "Aunt" Rebecca sharing some marshmallows.

The boys rode their bikes a lot. It's nice that the cabins are on a little cul-de-sac, so it's the perfect place for them to ride.  Leo was getting a little more adventurous on his bike this time, so we might try no-training-wheels soon...

 The cabins have these great little porch swings that we really love. It was the perfect place to feed and rock Lena to sleep.  (We wish we had one of these at home!)

We played a game of miniature golf with the kids at Pirate's Cove. There was more ball throwing than real putting, but they had a good time.  ...And Leo does a pretty good Pirate face, as you can see.

 

Lena hanging out in the Baby Bjorn with me.   I only got in one golf swing, but it made her giggle when I did it. 

On Saturday we hiked down to the bay. The weather was cool and it was sprinkling- which is so nice for hiking. When we got there, there were lots of dead fish floating in the water. The boys kept picking them up, and throwing them around. (So gross!)  We were sure to disinfect everyone afterwards.

The boys spent lots of time picking up worms and various types of insects. Their favorites were the little green caterpillars they found. They made them a little home in a box and fed them leaves.

Today was a lovely Mother's Day too. I got up early and snuck down to the bathrooms to take a long and leisurely shower. It was dreamy!  Thirty minutes of hot water magic.   It was fantastic.  When I got back, Jack and Mike were making us a yummy breakfast; French Toast stuffed with cream cheese and chocolate chips, hash browns, bacon and sausage.  It was such a beautiful morning, with clear blue skies, and birds singing all around us. What a fun way to celebrate Mother's Day!

After breakfast we packed up the cars, and then drove down to the Bay.  We sat by the water and had our own little church service. We sang and prayed, and shared our testimonies. Rebecca and I expressed our gratitude for motherhood, and how lucky we feel to be moms to these beautiful children.  We are so blessed.

On our way out, Lena got a piggy back ride with Leo.  This is one of my favorite photos from the whole trip....  my three favorite people in the whole world!  They are so cute.

3 months old!

Lena is 3 months old!  She is looking less and less like a newborn.  She has started to smile, although it's been very hard to catch it on camera! 

Leo keeps telling us that he "can't wait till baby growns up so I can play with her!"  In the mean time, he tries to play with her, but tends to get a little rough for what a 3 month old can handle.  He adores her.  Almost everyday he says "I'm so glad I got a baby sister" or "I always wanted a baby sister!"  It is so cute.

We dug out Leo's old bouncy chair, and Lena has been trying it out. She is definitely more cautious than Leo was, but she still seems to enjoy it.

 Bath time. Look at those big brown eyes! She could not be any cuter.

Preschool Mother's Day Brunch

Leo's preschool does a fun little brunch for Mother's Day.  The kids spend all week making adorable gifts for the moms, and I just love it!

The kids sat in a semi-circle and sang us some songs they'd been practicing. They are so cute!

A giant banner they made.  I just LOVE how Leo writes his name.

The cute stuff Leo made for me. A painted wooden box with his photo on top, a placemat, and a card. I sure love this sweet little boy.

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...