Preschool Field Trip to the Police Station

Nathan went on a field trip with his preschool class to the Beaumont police station. The kids liked being inside the holding cell and we parents were tempted to leave them in there for a while!

 Of course the other favorite part was sitting on the police motorcycle.

 Nathan and his cute classmates with Officer Lunt

 Couldn't get these 3 to cooperate for a good picture but I just love when they are together.  Caiden, Max, and Lydia.  I happened to be watching Caiden on this particular day and these 3 cousins had fun causing trouble together.  There are only 6 weeks between the 3 of them.

Crazy Hair Day

In April we had "Crazy Hair Day" at school.  I'm not very creative with hair so I just added straws to their hair and called it good.

 I'll have to try to be more creative next year!

Good Times in April 2013

I love April when it starts to warm up again and it's beautiful outside.  Nathan and Lydia love playing outside in the mornings while the twins are at school.

 Love the mountains in the background!

It's so nice when the kids can eat their lunches outside

We love to have movie nights on the weekends with popcorn

Lydia is starting to like to play dress up with the big girls.

Easter 2013

I love Easter and all the activities that go with it.  I love that I get to host and family comes to my house.  I love making all the food and dying eggs and making pretty spring cookies. 

 My friend Jessica came over a couple of days before Easter with her 3 kids and we decorated sugar cookies all together.  These cuties, Lydia and Rylynn are about 6 months apart.

Decorating Easter eggs is something that Morgan and Madylin really look forward to.  They do a really good job, too!  

Madylin making polka dots

Examining their (and each other's!) Easter Bunny loot

 Lydia discovered how to open her eggs and promptly got to work eating candy

My mom and dad spent the night and were there to watch the kids hunt for eggs in the morning.  Our yard was a mess because Russell was working on moving the sprinkler line.

And it's not Easter Sunday without a picture before church!

We had the usual traditional Easter dinner after church with my parents, Russell's parents, Steven and Brandon.

Snow Day at Oak Glen

 In March there was snow again and this time we gathered and borrowed enough snow/cold weather gear for our brood and headed to Oak Glen to play.  We will have to do this every year because we had the greatest time. 

 With Lydia on Russell's shoulders we walked around the trails.

All we had for Nathan was pink gloves but hey, they kept his hands warm!

 We drove to another spot in Oak Glen where we could do a little bit of sledding.  There are these beautiful deer that live there.  They looked so pretty in the snow.

We all had so much fun sledding.  Actually it was packed down enough in one spot that the girls and I were just going down on our bottoms because we were wearing slick waterproof pants.  Lydia took a few turns but was happiest just being held by either me or Russell.  She didn't want to get down.  Nathan, Morgan, and Madylin could have stayed all day climbing up and sliding down the little hill we found.

It was a great family day and we got done just as the crowds started to arrive, so our timing was pretty perfect!

Valentine's Day 2013

For Valentine's Day this year the girls had their first school party! Madylin took Squeeze-It's to hand out and her card said "A Valentine's SQUEEZE from Madylin".  Morgan took Dum Dums with mustaches attached to them and her card said "Have a fan-tash-tic Valentine's Day." Nathan also had a party at preschool and he took the same treats as Morgan.

I attempted hearts in the twin's hair for school... it turned out okay.

 Russell's brother was kind enough to babysit for us that night so we got to go on a real date!!  I made heart shaped pizza with heart shaped pepperoni for the kids and Brandon to eat while we were away which is becoming the tradition.

 The weekend after Valentine's day the girls' school had a Sweetheart Dance for daddy's and daughters.  The girls were soooo excited!

 They all had a really good time and Russell said the girls were dancing machines and the videos he took of the occasion were pretty hilarious proof.

Snow in Beaumont 2013

We had our annual snowfall in Beaumont in early February.  I always feel like a little kid when this happens and I absolutely love it!  It's so beautiful!  The kids had fun throwing snow at each other for a few minutes, but the snow came in the afternoon, which was unusual, so it was gone by the time Russell got home from work that evening.

The Great Mouse Hunt

It became apparent to us in January that we had a mouse in the house.  He really like the pancake mix in the pantry.  One night after we put the kids to bed we heard it in the pantry.  Russell went looking for it and chased it into our living room.  And so began the hour-long mouse hunt of January 2013.  We squealed and jumped and barricaded and cornered until we finally got him in a small enough open space to capture the little vermin.  This is what our living room looked like afterward!

Lydia's First Birthday Party

The Saturday after Lydia turned one we had a small birthday dinner party for her with just immediate family. We had carnitas and chicken and chips and homemade salsa with all the fixings for tacos.  It was a fun night.

 She was not very cooperative for pictures!

 I tried to keep the decor low-key and went with lavender and yellow.

 I made lemon blueberry cake with lemon curd filling and lemon buttercream.  Hands down the best cake I've ever made and I've been craving it ever since.  Maybe I'll make it for my next birthday (;

Lydia was cautious at first, but loved it in the end.

She got some clothes and sippy cups and bibs.  What else could a 1 year old want?!