Easter Festivities

March was a bit of a blur for me between working and going to California for a week so Easter snuck up on us. We ended up keeping the day simple. Jason was working so the kids and I dyed eggs Easter morning after they found their baskets that the Easter Bunny had hidden for them.
 

 

 

The Easter Bunny was all about gardening and playing outside this year. It took Willem awhile to find his hidden behind the curtains. He liked how tricky the Easter Bunny was.

 

My attempt at getting a picture of the three of them before church. It was a miracle that we made it to the 9am service but I forgot how jampacked the Easter service is. Luckily we got seats but the kids couldn't see well and we ended up walking around a lot. (Outdoor service + 3 kids under 5 = A lot of entertainment for the other parishioners)

Love the easter egg hunt the church does each year. Since we don't have little cousins nearby it gives my kids a fun Easter experience with other kids)

Suzuki Workshop-March

March felt like Suzuki month. Willem's studio performed at the Coronado Home Tour so there lots of practices leading up to the performance.

His group (VSSA) also held their spring workshop in March. It's a full day workshop filled with games, arts/crafts, group classes and master classes. I didn't know how it would go trying to help Willem in his classes and having Audrey along but it worked out well. He's slowly getting more independent in the classes and he loved having Audrey there.

 

 

All About Ellie

Ellie is talking up a storm these days and has so much to tell us. She tells us all about school and her friends and her baby dolls. She's incredibly loving and nurturing and silly. She likes to say everything Willem says and is quite mischievous!
 

 

 

She loves Audrey and her babies to no end. At school she beelines straight to the baby dolls to make sure her doll is there. Then she puts it in the shopping cart and goes about her morning. Same routine every school day without fail. 

At home she's taken to using the carriers and nursing covers with her babies so when we saw her teacher was making baby doll slings we had one made for her. She loves it and takes her babies out with us in her sling when we run errands. We've had some funny moments on sleep deprived days when I've seen her dolls on the couch or in the bassinet and done a double take thinking it was Audrey.

 

Catching up with Friends & Family

For Spring Break we went over to LA to visit family and friends. We hadn't been there in 8 months so we had a jam packed schedule in order to see as many family and friends as possible.

Night #1 we were at the Harris' having dinner when we heard a big thud. Josh looked around the backyard and popped his head out the door and didn't see anything. 2 hours later we went to leave and were flagged down by a guy telling us he'd hit Moms car. Never a dull moment...

After a lot of legwork on Moms part we had a rental van in place the next afternoon so we could get around town. Ended up being a great thing as we were able to experience how nice a van is with 3 kids. 

Before we had the van we spent the morning over at the park near Opa and Lita's. Love being able to walk to the park.

On night #2 we met up with our good friends the Renks and hit up Chuck E Cheese. We have known the Renks since BK (before kids). We were in a young married couples group in Iowa and have remained friends all this time even through our move to Arizona. It's been really neat because the kids have continued to see each other once or twice a year ever since, so it was a fun reunion.

 

Chuck E Cheese, it doesn't get much better than that:)

We now have 3 kids each and they are all 3-6 months apart. We ended up getting together with them 3 times while in CA and it was neat to see the kids having so much fun. That night we took the kids to the Harbor House Cafe for the first time. It was neat to show them one of our old jaunts and then hit the beach at night afterwards. They cannot get enough of the beach!

Tante Linda with a sleeping Audrey. 

Ellie loves gardening with Opa

Opi gets to meet Audrey! We had stopped by to visit him at his home a couple days before and it was great to get to see him again. 

 

Adventures in Disneyland

We took Willem and Ellie to Disneyland (thanks to Tante Linda and Jim), while Opa and Oom Rik watched Audrey. What a treat to have that time with just the two of them. This was Ellie's first trip where she was really into the characters and the rides. And Willem was all about the roller coasters and going on the fast rides with Daddy. We stayed the entire day until dinner time and had a blast.

 

 

The Radiator Springs Racer ride was my favorite ride of the day. It was really fun not knowing what to expect and seeing the kids reactions. We hit the jackpot and had a shorter wait time because the ride had been closed and Jason just happened to be nearby when it re-opened and ran to get us a spot in line. 

Longest wait time: Pixie Hollow which is really just a chance to take pictures with a fairy and Tinker Belle, but truly was Ellie's favorite thing we did all day.

 

Ellie was all about the Ergo that day and after noon had no more interest in rides. Disneyland is still a bit too much for her. 1-2 hours there would have been great for her. On the plus side, I learned if your child has a tantrum for a long enough time you'll get moved to the front of the line and receive extra treats for the kids. 

Another highlight of our trip was Autotopia. It was our first time doing the ride with the kids. Willem drove with Jason and Ellie drove with me. We manned the gas pedals but they did all the steering. Thought we may need to go to a chiropractor the next day with the way they drove but they thought it was hilarious and were quite excited to have been driving.  In fact, Willem still carries his "Drivers License" in his wallet.

This trip to Disneyland gave us a glimpse of what future trips will be like. Each time we go we are having more and more fun and the kids experience is totally different as their interests are changing.

The Endeavor and Pat's Birthday Dinner

Before going across the street to the Science Center, we had lunch at USC and did the traditional Tommy Trojan picture. It's always fun to be back on campus and see all the updates they've done since we left.

The Space Shuttle exhibit was amazing. We loved the museum leading to the actual shuttle and learned about life inside the shuttle and the training the astronauts go through. Willem and Jason did a simulation of a space shuttle voyage which was really neat (I aborted before blast off). 

What made the trip extra special was that Willem's cousins Esthercita and Racquel met us there.  

 

 

 

 

Willem is still bragging about how he can lift an entire car off the ground. (I think Opa helped a bit)

From there we went over to Pat and Rands house for Pat's birthday. Rand made a fantastic meal and we had a great time catching up. Also learned that my kids love caesar salad, definitely adding that into the rotation:)

 

We are all loving having Jason home this week.