Easter

The day we got home from vacation, my birth parents came to visit us. I didn't get very many pictures, but we had a great time with them. They brought the kids a lot of presents ( we only see them once or twice a year, so we celebrate birthdays and holidays when they come). We went to the movies and out to eat. Here is Kylie with her nonna. They gave Carson this awesome train set. He played with it for hours that night. At one point he was even laying in the middle of it, watching a movie. My boy LOVES his trains!
My friend Melissa put together a fun Easter egg in our neighborhood. The kids had so much fun, and the weather was really nice
There were so many eggs and each was one hidden so well.....thanks to Melissa's mom and her friend. They did a great job!

Easter eggs! It seems like we never have enough eggs to color. They go so fast! Lots of fun though. We colored them right before the kids went to bed, so here they are in their p.j.'s and aprons.

Oooooh.........so pretty!

Easter morning.....baskets filled by the Easter bunny. We also taught the kids about the real meaning of Easter the night before. My mom was so impressed when we went to her house and she asked them if they knew why we celebrate this special day. They answered by telling her that Jesus was resurrected. That word is impressive....especially coming from a four year old.

Here the kids are all dressed up for the special day. The girls' dresses were a gift from their nonna and pop-pop. They looked beautiful in them. Carson always looks so handsome in his Sunday best=0)

We went to my parent's house for dinner that day. I always love to see her festive table.

She made them a special drink......yummy.

And my dad hid some eggs for an egg hunt. There was one golden egg that was filled with gold coins.

I guess Kylie found the grand prize

You know it was a great day, when the kids look like this on the way home!

I am a little behind on my posting, but before I forget I have to share a funny story about Lexi. She has really been talking a lot lately. Sometimes she surprises us with her vocabulary. Well two days ago after the kids had a bath, she put a lot of her shoes in the bath tub while it still was full of water. I let them dry in there over night, and yesterday I told her she needed to put them all away. She started with one pair and came back over to me. I asked her if she cleaned them all up and she said "I can't, my too little mom". ha.ha. Too funny!

Vacation part IV (Sunny San Diego)

We started out our fun in the sun by taking the kids shopping for sun glasses and hats at this beautiful outdoor mall. They had sunburns on their scalps from Disneyland.

The beach!!! Carson LOVED finding seashells. I think he almost liked it as much as Disneyland!
Lexi and her yummy chocolate chip cookie=0) We all loved relaxing and playing in the sand for a few hours.

and here is Kylie building a sand castle with her daddy!

I do miss the ocean! It is so peaceful.

That night Kyle took us on a carriage ride. He said he always wanted to take me on one, and there was his opportunity!

This horse was named "Prince Charming" how appropriate.

And then he took us out to dinner at a cool place right on the water. I love clam chowder in bread bowls.

We met Julie at her favorite beach the next day.

She taught the kids how to dig for these little crabs. They were all over! A little creepy. She said that was the most they have ever found.

That beach also had tide pools, we were able to see star fish, and crabs.

Even the walk to and from the beach was beautiful!

We got to go in this cool tunnel under the highway to get there

On our way back to our hotel we drove by the beautiful temple in La Jolla.......gorgeous!

We then started our trip back home, and stopped in Palm Springs to see another family friend, Yvette (Julie's sister) and her boyfriend Sean. She has such a nice house with a pretty backyard. They also had this cute, sweet dog that the kids fell in love with! Carson was not even afraid of him at all. I was really surprised. The weather was hot over there and the kids would throw the ball in the pool, and the dog would jump in to get it.
Yvette was awesome! She made the kids cupcakes and let them decorate them. She knew exactly how to get to their hearts=0) She also made us the most delicious lunch. I have already called her to get her recipes, and have made it a few times. She is a great cook! I was craving her food all the way home. ha.ha
We stayed in Las Vegas again on the way home. We found the pawn shop that is on t.v by accident, but we had to get a picture of the long line of people waiting to get in!

And this was my favorite street! Kylie wanted to find one that was named after her too!

It was great to get home, but it is also so wonderful to take a vacation together with no responsibilities to worry about. Can't wait to do it again!

Vacation part III (The Happiest Place on Earth!)

Getting ready for our big day and enjoying some doughnuts! My throat was still very painful, but at least the rest of my problems were gone!!

So True!!

We had to get a picture with Mickey Mouse right away

Then we hopped on the train and headed to Toon town!

Our first ride of the day........."It's a small World"! So cute. I always thought it was my favorite, but then as we went on some more rides, I would think they were my favorite. They are all so fun. I have several favorites!ha.ha. I love Carson's happy face in this picture!

Testing out Minnie's lounge chair

The cookies at Minnie's house were a hologram and Lexi kept trying to pick them up and eat them. he.he

Disney ears........princess style! Oh yeah!

The little tail on his hat was so funny

Perfect weather!

Winnie the Pooh ride

My prince and princesses in front of the beautiful castle

Daddy looks a little tired in this picture! Not my kiddos though=0)

The carousel was another one of their favorites!

A little spin in Mr. Toad's wild ride.

The famous Dumbo ride. Woohoo

By the end of our first day we were all exhausted! It was a wonderful day. Kylie stayed awake just until we got on the bus. Then Kyle and I had a challenge transporting three sleeping kids to our room. We couldn't even get them to wake up long enough to walk for a minute. They were troopers the entire day! We were at the park for almost 12 hours!
The hotel that we stayed at had bunk beds and Kylie and Carson were in heaven. Carson's exact words were "this is amazing". ha.ha. They each had a night light next to their bed and they were thrilled! Lexi had her own bed next to them also. It worked out great.

My happy little munch-kins all ready to go for another big day!

We spent a lot of our second day at California adventure. They are getting a new Cars ride. We will have to check it out next time we are there!
Toy story ride.......so fun! We were all laughing at Lex wearing her glasses upside down. The funny thing is they fit better that way. She entertained us while we waited in line!
One of the stores had this cool train, so Carson had to go in and check it out=0)
This is one of my favorite pictures of the girls. They went to cool off in the water area, and you can tell by their faces that they were having the best time together!

A much needed break and drink.........it was pretty warm that day.

Yum!

We had to get a picture at the entrance!

My little pirates! The kids liked the ride, it even put Lex to sleep. She was a little scared by the pirates and snuggled into me, and she was asleep within a minute or two. Carson and Kylie loved thunder mountain............it's a train so of course it was Carson's favorite ride. I was surprised how brave they were, that is a fast roller coaster. It worked out perfect because Lexi was not tall enough, so they rode it while she had her nap both days. Kyle and I took turns taking them on it. I screamed more than they did.
My life-long family friend Julie lives in Southern California, and was able to meet us for a few hours at Disneyland. Kylie and her daughter Lauren ( who is just a few months younger) got along really well together. Carson and her other daughter Emma also got along really well......I heard them talking about snakes and worms, it was really cute. We were all in line to ride the roller coaster in toon town. I was nervous for Lexi to go on it, because it actually goes pretty fast. Kylie and Carson first rode it at age 2 1/2, so we figured she was ready. She LOVED it so much, that we had to ride it twice in a row. She was a brave girl that night. She also rode the Matterhorn. She did not ask to go on that one twice. ha.ha

I can't even explain how much fun we had there! I see another few trips in our future=0)