April Fool's!!!!

We always like to do something a little different to weird our kids out on April Fool's Day.  Sometimes it's wearing our underwear on the outside of our clothes and saying that we are meeting with the principal of their school that morning, other times it's turning their milk green when they pour it over their cereal, or even serving dessert for breakfast. 

This year when they came downstairs, this is what they found. 

A nice centerpiece. 

Chairs 10 sizes too small.

And all the silverware had mysteriously disappeared. 

All Rian could find to eat her pancakes with was this spatula. 

Hayden used this pair of tongs.

 

Jessie was a good sport about the whole thing and tried to use her melon scooper, but resorted to using her fingers.

Grandpa even got in on the action and left his own April Fool's joke for the girls.  He wrapped up empty water bottles in paper and aluminum foil to look like breakfast burritos from their favorite place in Longmont. 

Hayden didn't think it was all that amusing.

Rian found it hilarious! 

 

 

Owl watching

We have been keeping our eye on the owl nest across the street from our house for the past few weeks.  The mama has been sitting in her nest nonstop and now we know why- she had been sitting on her eggs which hatched a few days back.  The owlets are so fuzzy and cute and the mama is very proud.  The dad often sits on the branch next to the nest. 

 

The girls have fun checking on the owls with their binoculars.

Not the greatest picture, but this is the mama! Her owlets are hiding behind her.

 

We watched them all Spring and boy, did those owlets grow FAST!!! Here is one of them sitting on a branch.

Papa Owl flying away. 

 

Mama.

 

Hoppy Easter Everyone!

Easter morning, the girls were up bright and early to start hunting for eggs.  As usual, the Easter bunny didn't disappoint. 

 

 

3-2-1 Let the hunting begin!

I think because the girls are getting older, the Easter Bunny is starting to hide their baskets in really tricky places.  Rian's was hidden behind the TV (her favorite pasttime) and you could only see a hint of it if you crouched down and looked beneath the screen.

Hayden got some new flip-flops and Jessie liked her fashion design set.

Gifts from our neighbors, Willey and Diane. After breakfast, everyone showered and put on their Easter dresses and we headed to church with Grandma and Grandpa.  It was a very nice service and a beautiful day outside (almost 70 degrees) so we stopped at Coyote Ridge on the way home for a quick picture or two.

 

 

 

Once we got home, the kids played outside and then we headed to Grandma's for a late lunch.  It was a very nice day and once we returned home we went on a nice long walk around our neighborhood.  We love Spring!!!

Coloring Eggs

We had fun coloring Easter eggs Saturday night.  With Easter being Rian's favorite holiday, we made sure we had plenty of eggs for everyone.  The girls really took their time this year, and the colors turned out great.

Let the decorating begin.

 

Sisterly bunny love????

After awhile, we began to see a pattern in our egg-making.  Many of them were Hawaiin- themed.  I guess we still all have Maui on the Brain!

One of Rian's eggs had a hibiscus flower on it, and one of mine said "Aloha Keiki".  Mike thought he was clever drawing the islands of Hawaii.

Done and done.  Now all we had to do was wait for the Bunny himself to do the rest.

Rian's 1st Grade Music Program

This year, Ms. Harrison (the music teacher at McGraw) put together a Spring Music Program for the 1st graders and their parents. There was definitely a lot of excitement in the air and the kids were so proud and happy to show off all the songs they had learned throughout the year. Rian was nervous at first, but quickly got comfortable and had a great time. 

Rian is front and center in the red dress.

 

 

These two BFF's dressed in matching colors and it wasn't even planned. 

Rian's Gotcha Day paired with the perfect snowy day

To celebrate Rian's Gotcha Day, she wanted to go to Bounce with our neighbors and good friends.  As luck would have it, we were hit with a snowstorm that gave us over a foot and a half of fresh snow.  The roads were too terrible to drive anywhere, so we decided on a sledding/playdate/hot chocolate party instead. 

Jasmine, Rosebeth, Jessie and Rian ready to go.

You can barely see Hayden and Sarah working on a fort at the bottom of the hill. 

Happy Gotcha Day Boo Bear!! It doesn't seem possible that you have been home 7 years already.  You make each day such a joy and fill our hearts with love and pride. 

Jessie's BFF, Rosebeth liked her first encounter with snow.  Except whenever she got some in her face- at which time she would just stop wherever she was and scream!

 

After everyone was frozen to the bone, we warmed them up with hot cocoa and an afternoon playdate.  What a great way to spend such a special day. 

Tet party in Boulder

Kristi and Mark Kremer organized another really fun Tet party in Boulder.  Because the crowd was going to be so large this year, it was hosted at their church.  The kids all dressed up in their traditional Vietnamese clothing and everyone brought an asian dish to share.  I am regretting not taking pictures of all the room decorations, it was all done up beautifully.

 

We provided two crafts for the kids to work on- paper lanterns to paint with watercolors, and some dragon crowns to color with markers.  Hayden had fun helping the younger kids get started.

Jessie and Sophia

 

After crafts, we had dinner and met a few new families along with getting the chance to visit with some families we had met at Heritage Camp last summer. 

The kids had a lot of fun doing the dragon parade at the end of the night.

Jessie was very excited waiting her turn to be leader and control the dragon's head. 

There she is, leading a small parade around the room.  The mood was relaxing and nice  and a great way to start of the Lunar New Year!!! Year of the Snake!!! (Hayden is born under this sign)

Chuc Mung nam mo'i!!!!