Early Swim Lessons

Jillian and Bridget are going to swim lessons again at Briarcliff, this time during the school year. They have been very excited about getting back in the pool, and it showed on the first day. Bridget got her floaties and went right in ... so much different from the cryfest of last summer; she swam all around, and enjoyed swimming on her back with her head all the way back in the water, something she's gotten good at. Jillian got after it, putting her head under the water early and often ... again, very different from last year. There are not many kids at this session, with only 3 others with Bridget and 7 with Jillian, so there's not much waiting and lots of swimming. Both girls are ready for bed when they get home.

Sandbox Time

Bridget was thrilled that Papa was getting the sandbox ready.  I got all the sandbox toys out and she had a great time, especially with the dinosaur scene.  At first she was only playing in the sand from the outside as she didn't want to get sandy but eventually went inside to play.  Tor watched from the gate and wanted to go in to, so next time we'll try it.

Adam's Sleepover

It was a special treat for the kids this weekend with Adam getting to stay the night with us. As soon as Adam showed up, they were all off and running until dinner (spaghetti and meatballs) and jammie & show time. We tried to watch The Wiggles, but it skipped like crazy from being so scratched up, so we watched Magic School Bus instead. The kids had worn themselves out because they all went to sleep pretty quick. Adam was first up in the morning at 6:30 pm, followed by the girls and Tor an hour later. We all had a big pancake and egg breakfast, followed by some Wii action before Adam headed home.

Late Easter Photo No. 3

Jillian and Bridget posed at Papa Ken's house in front of the flowers, dressed in their Easter dresses.

Late Easter Photo No. 2

In the afternoon, we all went to Papa Ken and Bev's house for an Easter dinner. The kids got to have another Easter egg hunt in the backyard, and they had to really work to find them all. Afterwards, everyone got to stuff themselves with ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and lots of other goodies. Then, we headed to the front yard for photos.

Late Easter Photo No. 1

These are a little late getting posted, but here's the first one. It shows the girls coloring the eggs. A few of the eggs didn't make it when they got dropped into the cups, but otherwise they all looked nice. It also didn't take long at all ... the girls work very fast!

Inside Weather

 It was cold, showery, and windy out yesterday but Bridget insisted on a tea party.  She said she didn't need a coat at first but asked for one later saying, "Coats keep the heat in.".  I watched out the window and she came to the door and said she needed a "guest" for her tea party.  I suggested her doll but gave in and had my coffee with her.  B-r-r-r.

 This is Jillian every day after school.  As soon as she gets home she has her smoothie and Princess soup.

Aunt Dianne always has good ideas so I used this one.  I cut dolls out of paper, clothes out of felt, and put out lots of scraps, and they could decorate the dolls like themselves.  They had a great time.  Bridget made three outfits and Jillian two.  I put Jillian in charge of the glue as she's learned how to use it the right way in school.

Easter

 The little kids got to do the egg roll first.  They got three tries and everyone was a winner.  Andy seemed to get his closest to the line every time. 

 The cousins lined up for a picture before racing off to hunt eggs.  Jillian and Rielee got a head start in the big kids section and did very well finding lots of eggs.  The little ones had the backyard to themselves.

 Jillian was very impressed with Rielee during the raw egg toss.  Jillian and Andy tried it but broke their egg right away.

Tor had just woke up from his nap and was having none of this picture taking.  The kids were very distracted as Tor was not about to cooperate.  It turned out to be a nice day.  I used a couple of Alan's photos.

Bunny Cookies

 On Thursday I brought up this Thomas train ride-on for Tor that shoots balls out of it's smokestack, talks and chugs.  It's cool and Bridget thought so too, so she rode it most of the day.  Tor in this picture is asking, "When can I have a turn?"  He got plenty of turns later.

 Tierney came home for Easter and played outside with Tor and let him soak himself in the fountain which he thought was great fun.  Here he is amused by Tierney taking a "selfie".

Bridget got to help me make the dough while Jillian was at school and then Bridget rolled out her half of the dough to make bunny cookies and decorate one for everyone.  When Jillian got home, her and Tierney rolled out the rest of the dough and had a great time frosting and eating cookies.  They made chocolate, white, and pink bunnies.

First Tea Party of Spring

 Bridget loves to do homework and usually asks for it every day.  I sat with her and read the directions each time and when she was finished I couldn't believe how much she got blue pen all over both of her hands and the counter.  Thank goodness she managed  to avoid her shirt and it was washable but it took a long time with the soap.  I still don't know how she was so messy but her paper was very neat.

It was cold outside but they still wanted to have their first tea party since I had put up the patio table.  They started with water but then Jillian wanted chocolate milk since that looked more like tea.  With mini-oreos, they had a delicious tea time.

Girls on Bikes

Here's all of the girls on their bikes at Lake Sacagawea. We got Bridget her own bike yesterday, since she had learned how to ride one with training wheels at Grannie and Papa Woodruff's house, and we wanted her to be able to ride along with Mommy and Jillian. Bridget was so excited to get her own new bike (not a hand-me-down from Jillian) though Jillian was unhappy about not getting something new, as well.

After church in the morning, the girls all got on their bikes, while Tor got into the stroller with Daddy pushing. We went to the "new park" at the lake first ... Jillian led the way - way out in front! Mommy was next to remind Jillian to stop at intersections. Next was Bridget, and her little legs were pedaling furiously trying to keep up. Daddy and Tor brought up the rear, mainly to help Bridget when she got stuck. At the park, all of the kids played for awhile, then we biked over to Cousin Adam's house to play in the bouncy house. After playing there for an hour, we biked back home. At this point, Bridget was exhausted, and we had to give her lots of pushes and encouragement to get her home.

Bike Riding, Pushing, and Shooting

 Bridget is now an official bike rider.  We tried the balance bike and she wasn't crazy about that and then suggested the bigger bike with training wheels.  That fit her fine and in no time she was zipping around the drive way, very proud of herself.  Now she can go riding with Mommy and Jillian.

 Not to be left out with all the bike riding, Tor was pushing the trike in circles for a long time.  We put the front wheel to turn and he went fast just going in circle after circle.  He should have been worn out.

Jillian wanted to show how us how Brock taught her to bank a basketball shot.  She loves to shoot baskets.

Croquet and Peek-a-boo

 The croquet set was lost last year but Jillian found it in the back of the shed and she and Bridget were excited to set it up.  The weather was beautiful for a game. 

Tor is so funny when you ask, "Where's Tor?"  He immediately slaps his hands over his eyes, sometimes missing and getting other parts of his face.  Then he thinks its hilarious. 

Up and Going

Tor's newest trick is that he can get off the floor to a standing position without having to grab hold of something, or crawling to something to climb. Now, he is definitely free to motor around on his feet wherever he wants.

His other trick has no picture, because there's never time to take one ... we're too busy rushing to rescue him! Tor has figured out how to climb on the girls' small Dora chairs, and then stand on them with no hands. The first time it happened, Jillian was yelling for Daddy, who showed up just in time to catch Tor before he splatted on the floor. Another time it happened, Tor was all smiles on the chair before Daddy took him down ... that's when Daddy put the chairs up on the table.

Spring Break Beach Trip

All of us got away to Ocean Park for a few days as soon as Spring Break rolled around. We left on Friday night when Mommy got off work, so we got there at almost midnight, but it meant we could sleep in and already be at the beach on Saturday. The kids must have been excited, though, because the latest we slept in was 7:30 am. It was a pretty wet, cold and windy four days, so we only went to the beach once, and the kids played for only 30 minutes before they got too cold. The rest of our stay revolved around hanging out in the cabin watching shows, reading, playing and just relaxing. We did make our way to the Astoria Pool twice, and the water was very warm, so we stayed for a couple hours each time. We also made a couple trips to Funland, where the girls set records for least number of tickets won.

Visitors

 When Jillian went up to Rielee's, Bridget helped me make peanut butter brownies.  She was licking the bowl and when I looked at her she had the chocolate spoon in one hand and the peanut butter spoon in the other.  Guess it's true that those flavors taste good together.

 Rielee and her friend Neddie came down to play when Jillian came home from Rielee's.  Neddie was fascinated with the zip line and they all played outside a long time.  After the tree house they headed for the jeep, trike, and scooters. 

When Bridget was napping, Jillian still wanted to play outside.  Tor joined her and ran all over outside.  Jillian volunteered to take Tor for a ride in the jeep and during the whole ride Tor was clapping and laughing.  It was so cute.  He was not a happy camper when Jillian was tired of holding him on her lap.