Happy Easter

This year for Easter, we stayed here in town. Eleanor has perfect attendance to-date at school this year, and she would be devastated if we messed up her perfection so that we could get away for a long weekend. In the end, though, it was nice to be home without any weekend games or activities planned. Mimi and Papa ended up joining us since they did not have any plans either, and we gladly welcomed them into our chaos.

Easter morning arrived, and the kids were up with the sun. They were eager to get out front and hunt some eggs (or at least the ones that remained after some critter got to some first overnight). While we were out front, our neighbors, the Tuckers, were out front as well, hunting their eggs that the EB had left them. They soon moseyed on over, and the kids compared their loot. Yes, that is a lollipop in Ben's mouth at 7:15am!

Once all of the eggs had been found, we headed back inside to get ready for church. This year, we took pictures before church with the thought that the subjects would be patient. Unfortunately, our schedule ended up being tighter than we had hoped (doesn't it always?!), forcing us to capture the moment quickly. After church, we had a yummy Easter lunch, and then the kids played outside for the rest of the day - water gun fights, sprinklers, kick ball, candy sale, soccer, and trampoline - while the adults all took naps. All in all, it was a fabulous Easter!

Ben's Preschool Days

Last Thursday, Ben's class held its annual "Preschool Days" musical performance. During this time, the kids showcase some of the songs they have learned throughout the school year while in music. This year, Ben's class sang songs such as "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" and "Teddy Bear". Ben was not intimidated by the crowd and the cameras, and stayed on the line of tape (see photo above) throughout the performance. Some songs he sang, while others he just stared at his personal audience (Mom, Dad, Hayes, Mimi and Papa). I was relieved as Hayes had had quite the opposite reaction when he was the same age. Hayes came running into my arms the minute his class started singing their first song, and he never recovered enough to return to the "stage". I think Ben's classmate Charlie (standing next to him in the photo below) had a similar reaction to that of Hayes years ago, but at least Charlie stayed on the "stage". Once the performance came to a close, Ben was thrilled to escort his family back to his classroom, and he especially wanted to hold his big brother Hayes's hand. Thanks for putting on a show, Ben!

Fun at Julia & Hugh's

One beautiful afternoon last week, the kids and I decided to go visit my great aunt and uncle, Julia and Hugh. They live nearby and have outdoor "toys" my kids love - a trampoline, a large swing and a zip-line. The kids had a ball taking their turns on each of the "toys," though Ben is still too young for both the swing and the zip-line.

First, they all started on the trampoline. Then, Eleanor decided that it was zip-line time! We pulled Uncle Hugh away from reading some annual reports he had just gotten in the mail, and he helped the kids hook up to the zip-line. Away Eleanor went!Then, it was Hayes's turn . . . All the while, Ben stayed up near the trampoline and the house. He kept spotting bugs (ants, bees, butterflies - you name it), and he wanted nothing to do with them. He also discovered Julia and Hugh's back door bell and rang that door bell for a good 15 minutes. Unfortunately for Aunt Julia, she was inside at the time and had to put up with Ben's shenanigans.

After a few runs on the zip-line, Uncle Hugh set up the swing for Hayes to try, and I think that was more his speed. Hayes kept hooting and hollering as he swung through the trees. At one point I heard him yell at the top of his lungs, "I'm king of the world! I can see the whole Earth!" Eleanor had to give it a try after Hayes had so much fun. She was able to swing high!We loved our time in their backyard, and we look forward to returning to play soon. Thanks for letting us invade your home turf, Julia and Hugh!

Ben's Easter Obsession

Ben is currently obsessed with Easter. I'm not sure why. Maybe because Christmas left such a lasting impression on him that he is eagerly awaiting his next holiday. He asks me each night when he goes to bed if the Easter bunny is coming the next morning. When I tell him no, he is truly crestfallen. I'm anxious for Sunday to finally get here so his Easter-anticipation will finally come to an end.

This morning while watching The Cat and the Hat on PBS over breakfast, Ben suddenly asked me at the top of his lungs and with some panic in his voice, "Mom, why does the Cat and the Hat NOT have EEEAAASSSTTTEEERRR? Where is his Easter basket and eggs?"as if everyone in their right mind should be carrying around an Easter basket filled to the brim with eggs this week before Easter. I quickly calmed him down and explained that we were still a few days away from Easter, but that I was sure that the Cat had his own basket that he would pull out this upcoming weekend.

I would not be surprised if Ben remembers to ask me Sunday morning, "Mom, does the Cat and the Hat have his Easter basket full of candy too?"

25th Annual Fun Run

Morris Brandon held its 25th annual Fun Run this past Saturday morning. Unfortunately for Eleanor, our family's representative in the run, Friday night was the first night we let Ben sleep with Hayes in Hayes's room. Needless to say, Hayes was still in bed at 8:30am, a definite record for late sleeping for Hayes! So, Thomas took Eleanor this year since I witnessed her second place finish last year. I honestly thought it would be hard to beat last year's great finish.

I got a phone call from Thomas's cell phone around 8:35am. (The race officially started shortly after 8am, with fifth grade boys going off first followed by fifth grade girls and then on down through the grades.) I answered the call, expecting to hear Thomas, when I heard a sweet, excited voice shout, "I won! I came in first place, Mom!" It turns out that Eleanor finished first among the participating 2nd grade girls! I ran upstairs to wake up Hayes (which he was not happy about) and loaded the boys up in the car so that we could get to school in time to see the trophy presentation. It was hard for her to hide her big smile. She and Gwyn, the girl who won their grade last year, switched places this year as Gwyn finished second.
Way to go, Eleanor!

Hayes's Own Slam-Dunk Competition

Last weekend in the backyard, Hayes came up with his own version of the NBA's Slam Dunk Competition. He put an obstacle (Ben's ice cream truck) in front of a basketball goal and then tried to score a basket via a slam dunk over the truck. Here he is in action: Success!

Top Lists from Disney

Now that we are home from Disney, Thomas and I asked the kids to give us their highlights of their visit to Walt Disney World. Here are their responses . . .

Eleanor's Top 5 from Disney:
1. Spending the night in Grace's room
2. Staying up late to watch the fireworks over Cinderella's castle & Space Mountain3. Eating at the rotating restaurant, The Garden Grill, in The Land @ EPCOT(Dale signing E's poetry notebook for school)
4. Trading pins
5. Kim Possible missions in numerous countries @ EPCOT. (These are scavenger-hunt-like missions in nearly every country.)
Hayes's Top 5 List from Disney:
1. Splash Mountain ride @ WDW(Scott and Grace in front row, Jenny & Andy behind them and then Hayes and me in the third row)
2. Toy Story ride @ Hollywood Studios3. Figment character from Imagination @ EPCOT
4. Test Track ride @ EPCOT
5. Kim Possible missions in numerous countries @ EPCOTBen's Top 5:
1. Eating @ Chef Mickey's and meeting all of the characters
2. Riding the Tea Cups @ Magic Kingdom3. Riding the Toy Story ride @ Hollywood Studios4. Seeing NEMO @ EPCOT
5. Taking naps in my stroller (according to Mom)Over the few days we were there, fun was had by all at Walt Disney World!

Another Note From Hayes

Hayes left me this note in the middle of Mimi and Papa's front hall rug while we were at their house over Spring Break. I did not find it until hours after I had disciplined him for something.

I constantly tell our kids that I will always love them, even if they make tons of wrong choices or get into a lot of trouble. Hayes likes to quiz me regarding this line of thinking, coming up with different scenarios that would "test" my love. I always have the same answer for him. "I will always love you, no matter what you do." Looks like I've gotten my point across!

Meeting Characters

I think the highlight of Ben's time at Walt Disney World was meeting all of the characters. He was genuinely crazy-happy anytime he was in a character's presence. . . and I mean crazy as in jumping up and down and screaming his or her name over and over. The first characters he met were Chip and Dale. The pair was in Tomorrowland, and we went to meet them while the rest of the group rode Space Mountain. Ben did not have a clue who they were, and was a little unsure what he was supposed to do with them. Luckily, he was easily convinced to go "give them five" (to which he responded, "No, a fist pump,") and the rest is history. The next day, he met Lightning McQueen and Mater. Later that night, we planned on eating at Chef Mickey's so that Ben could meet all of the main Disney characters. Ben was so excited by the mere thought of meeting Mickey and Gang that he stuck Mickey stickers all over his body and literally cleaned the entire waiting area (we waited an hour to be seated) with WetOnes. Once we made it into Chef Mickey's, we met the whole crew. We met Donald, Minnie Mouse,
and Goofy.Ben was so excited to see Pluto that he first hugged his leg and nearly tackled the poor dog before Ben turned around to give us a big smile.
Finally, we met Mickey!The next night, we got lucky and walked into a great restaurant in The Land at EPCOT where we saw many of these characters again. Ben was well aware that this was his last night at WDW so he did not hold back. He posed with Plutoshowed Chip his "Chip" trading pin,gave a fist pump to Dale, got an autograph,and showed Mickey his Mickey Mouse pin. He still feeds off of the older kids as supported by the following two pictures . . .Thomas and I loved watching Ben absorb everything Disney has to offer as we saw a sparkle in his eyes throughout our visit.