Spring Randomness

Random thoughts and events during the last few weeks--

It always seems spring brings a FULL calendar. Matt and I had to sit down and compile all the commitments and events that fill up one's calendar completely for the next 5 months. It seems that there is always one weekend each month in the spring that EVERYONE and their dog chooses for events. Oliver had the start of spring soccer and two birthday parties on one day only minutes apart. He had two slices of cake and 6 pieces of pizza and lots of fun. 

Emma Claire is preparing for her dance recital that will require an entire weekend of dress rehearsals and performance walk-thrus. They're three. THREE! Who are we kidding, everyone knows who steals the show in all dance recitals--the little kids. 

Emma Claire and her dance pals. It also somehow worked out that EC and the three little girls to her right are all in the same pre-school class next year too. Should be fun. 

 After putting up the winter gear because temps were in the 70s in March, we pulled them all back out because temps have been in the 30s in April.

We discovered our barn has its own Facebook page from when it was used as an exercise facility. A completely illegal, unzoned, unlicensed exercise facility mind you.

You can't "like" the page anymore, it's now defunct, though people have expressed their sadness on the page that they can no longer work out in the barn. Sorry folks, it's our house now. It's a family party barn now where this is happening on any typical day--

The kids had a dental check-up. Oliver finally has loose teeth! Chloe got a stick on mustache from the prize bin and then proceeded to take 500 selfies with my iPhone.

Personality

Emma Claire dressed herself this day, she even picked out her accessories. She's taken to saying "Hashtag Winning!" to her brother and sister when she does something she's proud of or get's a one-up on them. Since she was looking so stylish, I had to preserve the moment.

Spring Snow

Winter decided it wasn't done with us yet....

Easter

It was a low-key Easter this year. We came back from the hotel on Saturday, got some things done around the house and had a nice Easter lunch as a family on Sunday before we hunted for eggs.

The attempts to get a nice photo of the kids with their Easter Baskets---

Emma Claire was excited about the "Oyster Bunny" visiting this year. "Who is the Oyster Bunny!?" demanded Oliver. Perhaps next year the word "Easter" will be a little more clear.

 Then the egg hunt began--

And then insanity ensues with the breaking of the cascarones. This is such a hit at our house. The kids love these confetti eggs and I have to thank BeBe for shipping them every year from Texas where they are in abundance and easily found during the Easter season. Our neighbors came out to see the kids throwing the eggs and smashing them on their heads and their siblings heads. Forget the candy in eggs, my kids prefer the cascarones.

Happy Easter!

Staycation 2016

After last year's Spring Break Staycation was a hit, I promised the kids we would repeat it again this year. We made plans to go to the same resort as last year, but a different hotel--the one with the biosphere pool. We chose not to stay at this hotel last year because it has a slide and Oliver was not tall enough for it last year. To avoid drama and to ensure all had a good time we skipped it. This year, Oliver was tall enough for the slide. The hotel and the biosphere was a hit. It was a brief 24 hour stay-over but just long enough.

The kids loved the pool and especially the water slide. It takes a while for Emma Claire to come around to the idea of swimming a splashing and getting water in her eyes, but when she did, she enjoyed it. 

We spent the majority of our time at the pool and I think the kids would have opened and closed the waterslide if we let them. Matt enjoyed a massage at the spa for his birthday present and we all had a nice family dinner at a hotel restaurant with a game of pool and ping pong afterwards.

Inside the biosphere pool. Nice, warm and lush. It's like a tropical paradise in NJ!

Chloe and Oliver "hanging" at the waterfall.

Emma Claire gave the pool a thumbs up. 

Dinner out. Oliver is looking at the creepy family next to us that stared at us the entire meal. Chloe got up and asked me quietly, "What are they looking at?" I replied, "Us. Apparently this is a people aquarium and they've never seen a multi-racial family." It was awkward, enough to make us be like "eat up and lets go", I almost said something, but I thought I would take the higher ground--I told Oliver and Chloe it was their problem, not ours.