:: more spring break and some easter::

On Friday Kris had a day off--he had to do some continuing ed work stuff in the morning but he still didn't have to go into the office--in the morning I took the kids up to the ski area so Sandy could do one more day of lessons.

Max and I skiied together all morning until Kris got there at about lunchtime.  After lunch we got Sandy out of his lesson (he liked it a lot better this time because there were only two kids) and we took him on the lift and the regular hill.

Can you see how slushy it is?  It was prettymuch all slush.



He was already pretty tired by the time we started.  He had learned to do a little bit of turning in his class, so we were working on that.  One of the times though he got going a little fast and got away from Kris.  Kris caught up to him but not before Sandy fell down, and of course that made Kris fall down too, pretty much right next to Sand.

Sandy didn't think that particular fall was very funny, but he did fall down a lot of other times that he thought were pretty funny.


Anyway, it was fun even though he got all worn out and just had to go in and play ipad for a while to get his energy back.
It was fun that the ski area was able to stay open through this weekend.  And it's fun that it's spring now.

''

On Saturday between conference sessions Max and Kris went up to the ski area to whta I guess is a traditional thing--the "Slush Cup" where people try to ski across a freezing cold slushy pond.

They were excited.  I opted out.  Kris forgot his goggles so he's wearing my pink ones.

 

I have to say Max is pretty brave to do this--now keep in mind he is NOT afraid of cold water.  He'll get in any ocean at any time of year, wet suit or no wet suit.

He's wearing his wetsuit here--which is a good thing.  Kris said the water was freeeeeeezing.



And there he goes--way too light and thistledown like to zip across.  He went right in there.  Poor freezing boy.  And yes, Kris brought a change of clothes for him.





Wipeout!  He described the whole thing to me as "epic" afterwards.



And I guess this was Kris's second time.  The first time he actually just zipped right across and didn't get wet at all.  Then he decided to get creative and did a spin.





As you can see, he spun right into the freezing water.



But, also being in a wetsuit, he survived to tell the tale.  But he said it was very very cold.



Later on Saturday while Kris watched the Priesthood session (and Lucy), the boys and I worked on decorating eggs.  Eggs are always the toughest thing for me to fit in on Easter weekend and it always comes down to the wire for me--I always think I'm going to run out of time and then we barely squeak it in.



Max made some of his classic astronomy eggs.  One was Jupiter, one was Earth and one was his favorite of Jupiter's moons (why can't I think of the name of it right now??!)



Sandy took the decorating very seriously this year--a first for him--and was very particular about what he wanted done.



If I had realized he was going to enjoy it so much I probably would've decorated a lot less myself and let him go for it.

Anyway, as it was we all had fun doing a few.



We used a mix of dye, markers, paint pens and crayons.



Sandy almost cried when the last egg was gone. Cute, but that let me know it was bedtime, so off we went to bed.  Busy weekends are the most fun, but boy are they busy!

::spring break 2015::

It's Spring break!  Spring break is nice because I don't have to haul everybody around to school, dropping off and picking up all day.  BUT kids also just really want to have fun all week, and that's tough sometimes when there's still all the regular stuff to do.

But I did my best this week, along with the regular work.

Tuesday was a very exciting day for Max.  He had earned a rather sizeable amount of money from a few different sources (poop pick up, office work, learning Ring of Fire on guitar.) and he decided what he really wanted was a ipod nano 6th generation that could be worn as a watch.  He carefully picked out the one he wanted on ebay (they're not available new anymore) and waited with complete impatience for it to arrive.

On Tuesday we were going down to Albuquerque with Caryn and Emily to visit Barnes & Noble and the Disney Store and have lunch and stuff.  But before we could leave I had to run Max to the post office to pick up his ipod. (The guy had sent it with signature required and of course with the way our stupid mailbox works I had to go sign for it at the post office.)

It was the best thing ever when we finally got it.  He was very happy and proud.

\\

We had fun in ABQ too--despite what Sandy's face in the above photo is trying to say.  We found some great books and mostly just enjoyed the good company.



Another day, later on in the week, Max saw the little car (HIS old car, probaby the best toy we've ever bought--the most used anyway) and realized that it would be perfect for Lucy.

It was perfect.  She couldn't have been more excited to ride in it.



So Max pushed her around the house for a good long while.  At some point he put a speaker in the little back trunk area and they were jamming to tunes too.  She really liked it.  She loves attention from Max no matter what, but the car was so awesome to her.



So I hurried and got some work done while they were busy.



Sandy was busy being Doc McStuffins--If you haven't seen it, Doc McS is a cute little Disney Junior show about a girl who doctors broken toys.  Sandy found this Buzz Lightyear that had been sitting in the washroom waiting to be fixed for who knows how long.  He talked me in to fixing it and was so pleased and proud that Buzz finally worked!



And he ate bananas too I guess.



Eventually the little car ride morphed into a stroller ride.  This is also something that Lucy really likes--though I'm not really sure why.  Max pushes her around the house.  That's about all there is to it.  Oh, and sometimes they do chase Sandy, I guess that does add a little extra fun and excitement.



Later that day we went to the movies and saw Cinderella.  It was beautiful!  But of course with the wiggly kids it was hard to concentrate.  Lucy did pretty well, and honestly so did Sandy with how long the movie was.  He lost patience at one point, but later said he loved the movie and wanted to go to it again.



So there you go.  See, I'm a fun mom, right?

::cousin time::

Cousin Esther came to visit and brought her mom and dad along.

Lucy thought she was an interesting creature--really wasn't too sure what to make of her actually.



Lucy and Esther are basically the same size, but Lucy is lighter.  Now, the other difference is that Esther is almost exactly 3 months younger.  She can't crawl yet.  Lucy thought this was ridiculous.



She wanted Esther to play catch with Pooh, and that wasn't quite working out either.  But she perservered until somebody else finally stepped in and helped Esther play her part.

Esther liked me pretty well, though she doesn't always like to show it.  In the below pictures she was snuggling her head against my face.  And the hilarious thing is that her facial expression stayed exactly like this for quite a while.



I was taking pictures with my phone and laughing so hard, and she just stayed in exactly the same spot.  She's a funny thing.



The girls did play together some and had fun, but most of their interaction involved Esther finding a fun toy in one of the boxes, then Lucy crawling up and taking it away.  Then Esther would get sad and eventually find another cool toy which Lucy would promptly take away and then crawl away to a safe distance.



We were hoping Lucy's mobility would inspire Esther to try a little harder, and I actually think it did, but actually frustrated Esther more than inspired her.



The interaction is too funny.



Sorry everybody in the below shot--it's an action shot.  Both babies look silly, but oh so cute.







It was a fun visit and we're pleased that Murphy and Laura would take time out to drive to us and spend time.  They're always so sweet with the kids and Sandy and Max adore them.

It's going to be really fun to see these girls grow up and spend time together, hopefully they'll be very good friends!!

::sunday kiddos::

Here are the kiddos all dressed pretty and ready to leave for church--maybe on time, but probably just barely late--as usual now that there are three to dress and feed and herd into the car.



Sandy always likes to wait until the last second to put on his socks--wouldn't want to wear socks for too much of the day.



I love Lucy's hair here.  Of course halfway through sacrament meeting she pulled it out and I couldn't get it back up without making her scream, but oh well.  I got some pictures!



He works so hard on these faces.  I'm sure he'd be very proud of hos this one turned out.



I think Sad Sandy was just told that he can't wear his superhero cape to church.  Boo hoo.



Now we're to after church--late afternoon after dinner.  Lucy plays piano with Kris.
This picture KILLS ME.  She looks so so cute.



You'd think Max was singing along in the below picture, but no.  Don't be fooled.  He was talking loudly about something.



I just love those cute little chubby little legs on the Lucy.

Sundays are nice.  Wish they could last twice as long.

::not really in the mood for selfies::

Think she needed a nap?