We Need More Kates

There once was a billboard that boldly stated,

"We Need More Kates."

We couldn't agree more.

It was our favorite billboard.

We meant to get a picture of it . . .

But, alas, that billboard is no longer.

 

At least we have a decent replacement.

We like this one nearly as well.

And, yes, we are just a LITTLE partial to KATES!!

The Bunny Came

 

We had a middle-of-the-night visitor that filled all our plastic eggs with CHOCOLATE candy and hid them all around the house for a HIGH-SPEED Egg Hunt Easter morning.  You see, the night before the kids fill their Easter baskets with empty plastic eggs.  The Easter Bunny knows to fill them with candy and hide them, so that in the morning we get to have the excitement of the Egg Hunt, or rather, the Egg Race!  All the Bunny's hard work and it is over in a matter of a couple minutes, if that!

Kate got her "Bobbleheads" (which to most people are called Littlest Pet Shop animals), Spencer found a Bionicle creature in his basket, and Nathan's face absolutely lit up when he spotted his new Mack truck from the movie Cars.

Swimming With The Fishes

 

  We had a fun time visiting the Aquarium and got a few fun pictures of the kids and their cousins swimming with a turtle, with a shark, and out to a sunken ship.

Make-believe is our specialty!

Show Me Your Love

This year Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday, which also happens to be our house-cleaning day.  The kids were not particularly excited about the prospect of chores, and to be honest, neither was I.  To get us moving I decided to set a time limit of 90 minutes . . . and then we could play the rest of the day!

My cute Spencer got right to work on his dusting job, his bathroom job, and vacuuming his bedroom, and because he has weekly practice, he finished rather quickly.  Next thing I knew, he was working along-side me, asking, "What can I do next?"  He continued to do that until all my tasks were completed.

Spencer has a very understanding heart and has always been good at showing me his love.  Hope you had a great Valentine's Day, too!   

Sweetest Valentine

This is the Valentine I received from my little girl just before the big LOVE Day.  She was so excited for me to see this Valentine that she had left on my pillow, but I was in the middle of making dinner.  She anxiously asked a few times, "Will you go see what is on your pillow?"  until I had a chance to find her precious message of love.  What a sweet sentiment from my little sweetheart.

In case Kate's message is unclear to you, it reads:

To:  Mom.

I Love you.  I Love you because you make dinner.I can't say all the things, but I Love a lot.  All my Love on you.

From your Kate! 

Nate the Great

Nathan, my preschooler, was part of a sweet "Singing Valentine" program at a retirement center the other day.  At the end of the musical part, the children wandered the room to give valentine gifts to the older members of the audience.

On the way home we talked about how nice it is to show others that we care for them even when they are strangers.

My comment: "Even if we don't know them we still love and care for them because we know they are Children of God."

Nathan's response:   "Ummm, you mean Grown-Ups of God."

My response:   Smile.

How could you not love this face

. . . and the cute personality that comes with it?!

What Did You Do For Christmas?

 . . . A little kayaking in the ocean . . .

 . . . A little hiking in the the tropical forest . . .

 . . . A little horse-back riding . . .

 . . . A little walking on Waikiki Beach at sunset . . .

 . . . And a whole lot of wearing shorts and T-shirts and sandals . . . oh, and swimsuits!

It is a little sad to come home from Hawaii to so much snow.

With the reality of a snow-covered town, I am beginning to wonder if Hawaii was just a dream.

(Maybe I should just climb into bed and dream until the snow melts!  But that may not happen until June!!)

 

"Mongo" Snow Fort

The kids' latest snow creation.  They call it the "Mongo" Snow Fort.

As one can see, we have had a bit of snow so far this December.  At least the kids know how to enjoy it!

 

(I must admit, though, that Rich & I have been out to help the kids with their fort and it was actually really fun.)

Scrooge

Spencer had the great opportunity to be in the Third Grade Play of The Christmas Carol. He was given the part of Jacob Marley, the chain-dragging ghost who was Ebeneezer Scrooge's late business partner.

Spencer did an awesome job.  He especially liked clinking his chains and moaning "Scroooooooge!"

Piano Recital

Spencer & Kate just performed in a Holiday Piano Recital showcasing my students.  These are the pictures we used in the program.  Nathan didn't want to be left out of the picture-taking.