Easter and Other Spring Things

I can't believe how fast our Spring is flying by. We had a great Easter this year. Hayden had more fun than ever coloring Easter eggs. She surprised me with how independently she mixed up the colors and managed the whole process. Boy, she's growing up so fast.

The Easter bunny did not disappoint - he brought some delicious candy, a much-needed Ken doll (the male-to-female ratio in the Barbie bin is very out of whack), some new sidewalk chalk, new markers, and a new Palace Pet!

We went to Church on Easter morning with my Mom and then went out to breakfast afterwards. I did not take any photos! Why do I keep doing that? It was a wonderful morning and I'm so glad my Mom came down to our side of town to spend the morning with us.

In the afternoon, Mary had us out to her house for a yummy dinner.

We played some fun games together like Go Fish and Headbandz. It was so much fun to play together with games that were fun for all - the youngest to the oldest of us!

Not too long ago, we took a quick trip out to the domes to enjoy some of the Spring flowers.

Hayden had a field trip at school and was VERY excited to pack a lunch for the day. She insisted on making the PBJ sandwich herself!

I completed another half marathon in early April. It was the first race ever where I trained and ran the race completely by myself. I thought I wouldn't like it, but I actually loved the alone time. And I was able to tune into my runs a little better and I had my best time ever during the race! I was so happy to see Steve and Hayden at the finish line and I swear the thought of my little girl waiting at the finish to cheer me on carried my tired legs through the last two miles!

Steve and I had a date night to see one of our favorite bands and we luckily ran into our friends Meg and Jeremy while waiting in line to enter the venue. We made a happy double date out of the night.

This has got to be one of my favorite pics of my Steven - he is just always smiling and laughing!

My friend Meg...

We recently had Drew and Brooke over for a few hours so Erin and Bryant could attend an event. The big cousins had a blast tearing apart the toy room while Brooke was pretty content to just sleep the evening away on the couch. I must admit there was about 1 hour there where things were crazy with the baby crying and the big kids needing help with dinner, but it all worked out. It gave me a new appreciation for moms with multiple kids, that's for sure!

Hayden began her new session of swimming classes. This session she will be introduced to the 'big pool' and I hope all goes well. Her swimming skills are coming along nicely and we are all looking forward to when the outdoor pool at our club opens for the summer.

Hayden got a new scooter for Christmas and has been dying to get out and ride that thing. We finally assembled it on Saturday, bought her some elbow and knee pads and took it out for a spin. This new scooter is much faster than her old one and it's taking a little practice to get used to, but she's doing great!

The Bucks unveiled their new logos at a special event at the Bradley Center so we all went down there to check it out. Hayden had too much fun meeting Bango and the other players with Daddy. And I couldn't get over how cute she was with that little Bucks hat on!!

Hayden has a special week at school this week. Yesterday she had to dress up like a rock star and she pulled this look together. Pretty impressive if you ask me. I told her I wanted to take a picture and she gave me the 'rock star pose'.

We took Hayden to a movie last Friday night and when we were leaving there was a store on Silver Spring having a little kids event. We popped in there and left with this amazing balloon animal. I have never seen such complex balloon creations before. It was an unexpected treat!

My Mom took Hayden overnight on Saturday so Steve and I could hang out with some friends and she and Hayden visited the VanCronkhites for dinner. Looks like the cousins had a blast in the backyard!

These past couple of weeks have been so much fun as the weather is getting warmer and we're able to be more active. It's making me so incredibly excited for the fun summer plans we have to look forward to. I keep saying this, and I'm sure I will every year going forward, but this is just the best time ever for our family. The three of us have an unbelievable amount of fun and laughs together and I know it's just getting better and better!