April 13 - Bunny Time

Spring egg hunt!! Luke's class came to our house the week before Easter for a spring party. Everyone brought in a dozen eggs and I had to label them 1-18 (which corresponds to the kids class number) before the event. We had a HUGE rain storm the night before the count and I made a last minute decision to do it in our front yard as well as our neighbors (they ok'd it, the front yard was not as muddy as the back). After spreading the eggs out, I went up to school and the kids hopped over to our house. They had a blast looking for their numbers (it also took longer) and then we played some fun games. After pizza and cupcakes, I gave the kids little buckets with bunny ears, bubbles and a little bunny stuffed animal. The weather held out and everyone had fun!

The Saturday before Easter we had brunch at the Aquarium restaurant in Kemah. Jillian was initially a little weary of the Easter Bunny but she quickly got over her fear and kept trying to run up to the bunny. It was so cute!! The food was delicious and we will definitely be back next year. 

The kids were up early Easter morning and were excited to see their baskets and candy. Also...they loved the egg hunt around the downstairs!! Jillian very quickly realized the eggs were filled with candy and kept trying to get them open and shove chocolate in her mouth. 

Kemah (the windows are tinted blue which is why the color is...unique)

Organizing eggs for Luke's class

Love these babies

March 29 - Ninja Warrior 2.0

Ninja Warrios!

The kids ninja warrior competition was rescheduled for last Sunday, the 25th. JD had to work all-day Saturday and had a lot of yard work to do, so it was me with the kiddos. I contemplated driving up Sunday morning and making a long day of it, but decided that would be too much with the baby. So we drove up Saturday afternoon and stayed at the Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, Texas (just outside Austin, only 20min from the competition site). I've driven by the entrance to this hotel many times but had never been to the actual hotel. Wow! After turning at the sign we drove 3 miles down a winding road. The hotel has a golf course, ponds, pool with a lazy river and waterslide, hiking trails, horses and lots of open spaces for the kids to run around. They also had s'mores at an outdoor firepit, which Julia and Luke loved! 

S'mores!

After a quick night at Lost Pines (we will definitely go back for a long weekend at some point) it was time to head to the competition. We had no idea what tot expect and after parking in a field, we took a path to the courses. There were different courses for every age group and kids were signed up alphabetically. This was a bummer as both Julia and Luke were last and their courses were close to 1/4 mile apart from each other with no line of sight between them. Luke was in the 5-7 age group and Julia in the 8-10. They both had approx. 40 competitors listed (combined boys and girls, just like the tv show). After lugging Jillian back and forth multiple times, I found a parent on Julia's course who had a child competing in the spot in front of her. She agreed to text me when her daughter was going. I spent most of the time watching the 5-7's compete while Jillian played around...in the mud (there was no way to avoid mud there and she LOVED it.

Jillian watched Frozen and loved it!

I've never been so muddy in my life). There were 6 kids in front of Luke when I got the text "Your daughter in on-deck." I hightailed it back to Julia's course with Jillian (who wanted no part of leaving her mud pit and was limp noodle and crying) only to find they added 10+ competitors in front of Julia that were not on the posted list. I then hightailed it back just in time to see Luke. He did fantastic!! He made it through the course without penalty and was very proud of himself. We then ran once again back to Julia's course (no joke, I must have walked 6 miles between courses) and made it in the nick of time to see her compete. She was the last competitor and only 4 kids completed the course without penalty all day, she was one of the 4 with the fastest time. Great job!!

Ninja Luke

Ninja Julia

March 28 - Temper Tantrums Already?!

I really love this pool

 We were outside playing the other day when Jillian discovered my neighbor's pool. She shuffled up their driveway, put her hands on the gate and stared at the pool intently. I eventually made her leave-she managed to wiggle out of my arms and shimmy back up the driveway to stare at the pool. Once again, I removed her from their driveway and she then gingerly laid herself on the ground and started to to have a little tantrum. Complete with leg stomping! People, she's only 18months old!

Speaking of our little 18mon old, she has the activity level of Julia (on the go) with the climbing skills of Luke (little monkey). She's getting good about using her toys, chairs, etc to get what she wants. We have to watch her like a hawk! 

I do not want to leave the pool!

Trouble maker for me

Snuggler for daddy

March 27 - Kemah Boardwalk

Best attempt at a pic of the kids

 We did take one short trip during spring break to Kemah Boardwalk (for a few hours). The boardwalk opens at 10am and it's normally pretty quiet until closer to dinnertime. We got there at 10.30am and it was packed! We luckily found street parking and bought ticket quickly. Luke and Julia walked around together riding rides while I was with the wiggly little beast known as Jillian. We did the merry-go-round several times. At first, she wasn't sure what to think of it, but once we started moving she did not want to get off. In fact, she threw a fit every time I pulled her off the horse (or dolphin..whatever she was riding). We also did the Ferris wheel, which proved challenging as she kept trying to climb out the entire time, so I had to have her in a super tight grip which made her scream (sorry for anyone near us). She loved the train though and just running around Kemah in general. She'll love it when she's taller and can go on more rides. Fantastic spring break!

I'm not sure what this is, but I think I like it

Don't touch me-this is MY horse!

Love these two cuties

March 26 - Spring Break

For the first time in 6 years, we stayed home for spring break and did pretty much nothing all week. I took the week off and we just relaxed and played. The weather was absolutely perfect for outdoor fun and we made the most of it! 

Park Fun

Water table...she loved to to climb in and out

Jillian loved the sprinkler!

Let's take a ride

Fun with neighbors

March 19 - Ninja Warrior

Ella, Luke, Julia & Logan

Back in the fall, I signed the kids up for a ninja warrior competition at an outdoor venue in Austin. Rain or shine, the event was happening (according to every communication they sent in the last few months). The competition was on a Sunday and I considered doing a long day driving there and back (about 3.5h each way) but JD suggested we stay overnight and make a mini-trip out of it. Our friends Ben and Dana offered for us to stay with them and we drove up on Saturday. After playing outside on bikes, mini-go karts and other vehicles, the girls put on their swim suits and were swimming and hanging out in the hot tub. I'm not exaggerating when I say they were outside for at least 5 hours straight. The boys played video games and had a great time together. We ordered in Texas bbq for dinner (delish), had a good night sleep and then packed up the next day for the ninja competition. 

"Where is the entrance?" JD asked me as we were driving down a random road near the Austin airport. I was looking at the pin they dropped showing us the parking location and we saw no one there. JD asked me to verify the event was happening and I said it was supposed to be on 'rain or shine' but I checked and ...lo and behold, they had cancelled due to rain (it was barely misting) at 10pm the night before. Arg! No worries though. We headed back to Ben and Dana's and everyone (except Jillian and I) went out on dune buggies to go mudding. It was a great weekend!

Ella wants a baby sister now

February 28 - He Loves His Stuffed Animals

I just have to share this sweet photo with you guys. Many of you know that Luke loves video games and YouTube, many of you may not know that he also loves stuffed animals. For awhile, he had them tucked all around him in bed (getting him into bed was a process but he had limited room) and now they have their own area in his room. Last week we put him to bed then heard him walking around upstairs. I went up to check on him and he had written all of their names on a piece of paper and then taped it to his wall. So sweet!

February 26 - Chili Cook-Off

Go Texan Day

 Last Friday was Go Texan Day which means....it's rodeo time! As anyone who has spent anytime in Texas knows, the rodeo is a huge deal around here. To celebrate, the kids are invited to dress up in their western wear. In first grade, there is a dad's chili cook-off and dancing in the gym. Luke was so excited for JD to come in and cook with his class, he was up and dressed at 6:30am. They ended up wining 'Most Creative Chili' and JD had fun watching Luke do some square dancing, the hockey pockey and the funky chicken in the cafeteria. 

I realize I've been slacking with the blog lately so here is a quick update on the kiddos:

picture day

Julia
Our 4th grade teachers don't believe in homework this year so Julia has had a lot of time to play after school with her friends (other than Mondays and Tuesdays, she stayed late both of those days for robotics). She is a total tom-boy and all about 'being active.' She loves to run, play soccer, tag, climb trees, anything that involves moving. I 'forced' her to dress up for picture day last week and she was very annoyed that I wanted her hair down and she wasn't wearing active wear (because "how am I supposed to play at recess mom? I cannot run in jeans and this fancy shirt?"). Never fear, after the picture was taken, she immediately changed into shorts and a t-shirt. She is pretty much 'all about her friends' these days but is still a great big sister. She eats a bowl of oatmeal and Cheerios every morning for breakfast, love pb&J for lunch and eats almost everything for dinner (usually 2-3 servings!). She loves swim team and is excited for a track meet next month.

Luke
Our 1st grade teachers do believe in homework. Luke has specific books he has to read every week and gets a list of 20 homework activities at the beginning of the month that are due at the end of the month. He also now has writing homework weekly, which he is not a fan of. He is best friends with Serene, who lives around the corner and they play often, although he still spends a lot of time playing video games. Swimming has been a challenge since December as the indoor high school pool we used to go to is closed for renovations. We've been going to an outdoor pool that is supposedly heated, but it's been a cold winter here and he has only had it through practice twice (he lasts 30min out of 45min). Now that the weather is warming up, hopefully he will be more excited to go to practice. He loves pancakes, chocolate breakfast shakes, oatmeal, turkey and cheese sandwiches and yogurt. He loves ice cream for dessert every night and usually clears his plate simply so he can get dessert afterwards. 

under the sink is FUN

Jillian
Our crazy little baby munchkin is almost 18 months old and so much fun! She's a climber (like Luke was) and gets into everything-the chairs, kitchen table, couch, you name it. She loves to climb into cabinets too. She can run now and is quite fast. She loves to laugh, giggle, eat (she especially loves to sit in our laps and eat) and...eat some more. She loves to open her drawers and pull all the clothes out. Her favorite sayings "Dog!" and "Uh Oh." She is still a wonderful napper and sleeps fantastic at night. She rarely cries and is just one happy little girl. 

Amelia
Amelia is still the furry love of my life. She continues to slow down but she still wants to eat and go for walks, so that's great. She sleeps about 20h a day and is completely deaf now. I think she is also blind in one eye but I'm not certain. 

February 20 - Swim Girls

Jules, Reese & Kennedy

This past weekend was the last short course championship meet until the fall. Julia has been practicing sporadically since 'the constant sickness' started in December and she was very nervous for the meet. No worries though-once she was with her girls, Kennedy and Reese, all worries went out the window. The best part of meet for the girls? Hanging out in the tent. They spent so much time laughing and giggling together, it makes my heart happy that they are so close. And bonus... all of the girls did amazing and both Julia and Kennedy earned personal bests in every race. Incredible! 

Eat My Bubbles! Kiss My Splash! Go Aquastar!

February 17 - Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's boxes

What a whirlwind week, let's dive in. For the first time ever, both kids had to make Valentine's boxes this year for their class parties. Julia was initially was stressed out about this as her class was having a competition for Best Sports Theme, Best Use of Hearts and Best Overall. Being Julia, she 'wanted to win.' I told them they had to do their own boxes and they ended up having fun with them. Julia did an old school I-pod and Luke did a monster. Julia was a very nice big sister and helped Luke a lot with his box. They have had ice cream sundae parties with their classes on actual Valentine's day and it was fun being at school and helping out. 

our littlest Valentine

For Valentine's dinner, I surprised everyone in the family by cooking a nice dinner. 'Wait a second Christine, you don't ever cook nice dinners?' If you consider crock pot meals nice dinners-then yes, I cook a lot of fantastic meals. On this rare occasion, I put together a delicious meal of steak, shrimp and crab cakes. We even had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. Yum!!

This weekend is relatively slow weekend for us. I spent the morning picking up cookies with our troop cookie mom and organizing them for each girl. Next step-organize our specific orders, that will take awhile! Julia has a swim meet tomorrow afternoon that should be fun. 

Happy Saturday everyone!! Enjoy these pics from our school fair last weekend.

Julia and fellow GS helping with the chili cookoff

Luke helped me at the Angry Birds booth all day - it was packed all day, he was a huge help!