Thursday, April 30, 2009

A Race for Alex and Easter

The day before Easter, Alex did a race which was 6 miles of trail running and 12 miles of mountain biking. The thing was, it started to rain just 2 minutes before the race started and poured the entire time, so I reversed roles with Alex for my marathon and stayed in the car with the kids most of the time. The kids were excited (they are great cheerleaders) and were trying to help Alex get ready. The race started running, then they would transition to their bikes, then back to running. Here was where they parked the bikes.
It was really muddy, but I think the rain helped wash it off, because he doesn't look too bad.

Here he is at the finish line! We were proud of him and did stand in the rain to cheer him on!



Later that same day, we went to pick up my sister and her husband from the airport. We were so thrilled that they could come and spend Easter with us! We thought we might be going it alone! Thanks Vic and Ben. Then on Easter morning we were greeted by the Easter Bunny...


Christopher always is analyzing and then discussing his booty.






Mark is generally easy to please...




We always try to squeeze in an early morning Easter egg hunt as well, which can be tricky when church starts early.








Mark was willing to search everywhere.





Anna was hilarious and kept thinking she was in competition with the boys. She let it be known which eggs she was after!













On the hunt.







By Easter Sunday the full bloom of the Cherry Blossoms had already started to diminish, but we tried to capture a little of it in the background with our family picture.








My sister, Vicki, and her husband, Ben, look pretty good with three kids, don't you think?














And then of course, there was egg decorating. This year, the kids painted their eggs. It was a bit different from tradition, but I thought they did a great job. Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the completed product.





































Sorry for the extra long amount of pictures, but, believe it or not, I left a lot out. I find it hard not to think all the pictures of my kids are cute. Does anyone else have that problem?














Brookside Gardens

After I got back from my short trip to California, the weather was nice and Christopher was on spring break, so we went up to the Brookside Gardens. For those of you in California, it is kind of a small Arboretum. I love it when the kids can run in great open areas and just feel uninhibited. And swing from trees.



After a long winter, the colors seem even more vibrant.





The kids found a little "house" out in the middle of a trail and played for literally something like an hour there. I am still convinced that toys are a total waste (not all of course, but large amounts) . Kids are so thrilled with the simple, free stuff! Anyhow, Anna is showing off her discovery of the window and the ability to play peek-a-boo with it!










Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tidal Basin and Cherry Blossoms

Alex even ventured to the Tidal Basin for the Cherry Blossom Festival with the three kids by himself. I am very proud of him. He said it was crowded, but boy, those Cherry Blossoms never fail to impress.





A Muddy Fun Time

I had to go out of town for a long weekend to help my mom with some things and Alex was fantastic at taking over the care of the kids. In fact, he did so well, I teased that maybe we should switch roles for a while! He kept them busy and they were exhausted when I came home. Here is a fun day by a river and the kids got muddy and loved every minute of it! They started off clean enough... But it didn't take long to jump in and start mudslinging.
Anna just enjoyed the flowers.





The boys love laser tag, but Anna loves it more. Every time she hears the sound of the guns, she squeals with delight and gets herself right in the middle of things. Here she is inspecting one.



Showing off some of the dirt.











Heading home. Alex made them ride in the car in their underwear, but when Mark told me about it, he laughed and said, "We got to ride home naked!"












Warm Weather

After a long winter, we finally got some warm weather (this was late March). As soon as the sun was shining we headed to one of our favorite spots on the Potomac. The kids loved to run and play and Anna watched the boys and wanted to try to fish with a stick as well! Boys and sticks. They love them.
Alex and I took turns making sure Anna didn't nosedive into the water. She sure would have if she had her way!

It seems endless the fascination with nature!