Easter Egg Hunt

Last Saturday (March 27th) was the annual Easter Egg Hunt... The one time in the year when kids actually WANT to pick up things. Too bad they don't get as excited to pick up toys and laundry at home. Hmmmm....maybe if I gave them an Easter Basket to put it in. Somehow I don't think it would be the same.


Unfortunately Drew couldn't attend the event, so most of the pictures I took were of Luke. Cole and Mia took off and I didn't even see them until the whole thing was over. They were too dedicated to wait for slow Luke.



Donuts and drinks were provided. So yummy!
Mia with her friends Aspen and Hanna


I love my little kiddos!

St. Patricks Day 2010

Every year for St. Patrick's Day we have a "green" dinner. This is our 2010 spread. Spinach tortilla sandwich pinwheels, green jello with banana gold coins, sugar snap peas and green ranch dip, sour cream and onion chips, and some real "Dubliner" cheese from Ireland. I wasn't sure if the kids would eat the sandwiches, but they ended up loving them.



I also added a container of "gold" (pineapple) - halfway through the meal.

American Girl Trip 2010

Mia is the world's most amazing 7 year old. She makes life so much fun. One of her favorite things to do is go to the American Girl Store in Los Angeles, so we do our best to get her there. We started the tradition last year. And since the whole "doll" thing is only a small moment in time, we're hoping to make this a yearly trip at least a few more times, before she gets too old.

This year we went on March 12th and 13th. Since baby # 4 is due in just a few weeks, it was now or never. So my sister Jill (who is also very pregnant) and her daughter Reagan, joined us on the trip. They flew down to Las Vegas, then we drove the 4 1/2 hours to LA.

First stop... THE BEACH!!!


The water was cold but it was so beautiful. Even Jill and I couldn't resist wading in a little bit.


This is what the girls looked like after 30 minutes of beach fun....SOAKED! They walked like ducks back to the car.

After getting cleaned up, we headed to The Grove shopping center and went to Maggiano's Italian Restaurant.
The next morning we got up early and went to the store where we spent hours and hours.
At lunch we dined at the American Girl Cafe.

Warm cinnamon rolls welcomed us.
Our appetizer...

Mia loves getting the mini hamburger and mini hot dog meal. Don't forget the pink lemonade.

And dessert was adorable.
We finished shopping and drove back to Las Vegas. It was such a fun girls weekend. I hope we can do it again next year.

R.I.P. Awesome Clock

My 2 year old loves to leave a trail of destruction. And here's his latest victim. My favorite clock bit the dust yesterday when Luke decided to throw a basketball in the house. It bounced off the 3 foot clock, causing it to fall to the tile below. It's made of particle board, so it's not the most fancy clock, but I've had it for years and it's traveled the country with us.
So my clock stand is sitting empty on the wall. I'm hoping that I can make a new clock to replace it. We'll see if my talents extend that far.
But in the end, it's just a clock and Luke is still my little sweetie. I just have to take a few deep breaths sometimes and remind myself that it's just a phase. Eventually he will no longer have the desire to color on my piano, or break my decorations.... someday.

Incidentally, Drew is convinced that he can fix THIS clock. Does it look bad (symbolically) to have the clock that represents our "Swasey & Co" with a large crack down the middle? I'm just saying!