Another 80 degree day in Portland

The boys and I drove over to our old neighborhood to play at Commonwealth Lake Park. Ben loves to watch the ducks and they have 2 playgrounds that the kids love. We did A LOT of swinging...

sliding...

throwing the ball for Aunt Lisa's dog...
Maddox even got to ride in the big boy swing...
After a picnic we walked around the park checking out the different kinds of ducks, birds and butterflies...All are tired and ready for a LONG nap!

Ben really wants to take swimming lessons with Sam...

he isn't old enough yet so last night he had to settle for this...

More fun in the sun...

Outside Fun

It is going to be a gorgeous, sunny weekend - they are predicting 80 degrees by Monday! We are going to spend as much time outside as possible!

Easter 2009

We had a good Easter morning - the kids woke up way too early and were excited to see if the Easter Bunny had come. Every time Sam found an egg he would yell "Egg!" and run off to look for another one.

Sorting through the goods...

Another egg...

Waiting for everyone to arrive for brunch... We had a great spread! Eggs, blueberry coffee cake, cinnamon rolls, sausage, fruit salad, hashbrowns and mimosas.

I was trying to get them to sit together for a photo but this is the best we could do...

Attempt at a family photo...
Busy boy...

The little boys playing with Papa...

Sam and Lizzie had a great time searching for eggs... We also had a dance party and made cards for Aunt Susie, Papa-Mimi and Grandma Sheila.

So proud of his chocolate bunny!

We had 3 other families over for dinner last night and the kids got to bed late and up early today - they were exhausted when everyone left and are both taking much needed power naps. The Easter Bunny is tired too!

Ben loves to help Brian clean up the yard

Easter Weekend...

We kicked off the start of our weekend with egg coloring Friday afternoon. The kids loved it and broke 5 eggs right way in the excitement! They had all 18 eggs done in the first few minutes but then had fun dunking them in different colors to see what crazy colors they could create.

Here is Sam with his eggs... Ben was still working on the rest of his and trying to dye his hands as green as possible. Almost all of Ben's eggs are some shade of green

Passing the time...

My Boyz

Field Trip

We picked up Papa this morning and headed to the zoo...

Most of the animals were out...polar bears, tigers, elephants, penguins... We love the sealions as they swim right up to the glass.

Ben insisted on walking most of the way. Mr. Independent wants to do whatever the big kids are doing!

The kids wanted to feed the birds in the Lorikeet Exhibit - a bird flew right by Sam's face and he decided maybe he didn't want them that close. We put our nectar on the ground and watched from a few feet away.

They loved riding the train...

Ben always wants to touch everything... Sam is too busy running ahead to the next exhibit.
Huge Salmon!
Driving the tractor...

We left at the perfect time - just as the kids were starting to get tired and cranky and the parking lot was swarming with people looking for spots!

Finally!

We are getting some springlike weather in the Pacific NW! It was 78 here today! The kids have been playing outside, riding bikes, and helping Brian with the yard. Sam and Brian planted a bunch of flowers yesterday... I love it!

Busy Week

Spring Break is over. Sam is back to preschool and we are getting settled back into our normal routine. His soccer classes started back up and I am playing softball again. The kids went in Thursday for a checkup... Sam had to get 4 vaccines for kindergarten. He was NOT happy.... amazing what lollipops can do for the morale.

Last night the Kirkpatricks and the Adams east side came over for dinner. We BBQed and the kids ran and ran and ran. Grace and Audrey kept them entertained for hours. Barry brought over some special treats (see above)... and Ben discovered oreos. Fun time had by all.