An Exciting Easter

This weekend was full of Easter fun.

First, I took the kids to see the bunny at the mall. Neither was impressed. Aidan was bored because the bunny can't talk and Kiersten only wanted to pull on his whiskers. We colored some Easter eggs.

Aunt Karen came to town. She helped us make our bunny cakes. Our neighborhood had an egg hunt. Kiersten was in the 'under two' division which was not too competitive. Most of the kids couldn't move yet or had no idea what was going on. She enjoyed sitting in the grass and having eggs brought to her.

Her favorite part was taste-testing all the eggs. Aidan, on the other hand, was a man on a mission. He filled his basket, a bucket and all of Darren's pockets with his finds.

On Easter Eve, we started our resurrection cookies. The recipe walks through the Easter story with bible verses to go along with each cooking step. Aidan asked a million questions (no surprise) but I think got a lot of the process of making the cookies.

The last step the night before Easter is to put the cookies in a warmed oven and seal them up overnight like the tomb. By Easter the morning the cookies were ready. They turned out looking somewhat like a tomb and when bitten into they are empty inside. Although not the best tasting cookies, it was a neat process that I hope will become a family tradition.

Easter MorningWe topped off our celebration with some confetti-filled eggs. Even Kiersten got into the fun.

Aloha!

We had the pleasure of spending Spring Break in beautiful Hawaii. The kids are great travellers. We had a great time enjoying the sun, sand & surf.

Are we there yet? Kiersten's first look at the ocean
Enjoying the sunshine Busy in the sand Lunch on the beach Kiersten's wild beach hair. It stayed curly the whole time we were there. Aidan teaching Kiersten how to play in the sand. I don't think this is quite how she was taught but it works Kiersten's cabana. She took wonderful long naps on the beach in the tent despite the chickens roaming around.

Learning to snorkel A frozen pineapple from Banana Joe's, a Kauai tradition.

Hang Loose Shave ice, another Hawaii tradition

Aloha - Part 2

Aidan's breakfast buddy. Actually the cardinal visited our porch after every meal we ate outdoors. Smart bird. No can ever accuse us of packing too lightly
Boogie Boarding BabiesFloating in the pool Riding the waves Enjoying our Puka Dogs Aidan & I at our hula lesson. Soon after this photo, Aidan decided he was done and just stood there the rest of the time.

More fun in the sand Tired out and ready to come home

Kiersten's 15 Seconds of Fame

While watching the Stars warm-up for a game earlier this month, the kid next to us yells "Hey, your baby is on the scoreboard". And there she was...

Sesame Street Live

One of my favorite childhood memories was going to see Sesame Street Live. When I was young, I won tickets in a radio contest to see the show and have a special breakfast with Bert & Ernie. I had written a letter as to why I wanted to meet Bert & Ernie and they read it on the radio. It was a proud moment in my life.

Anyway, I was afraid I was going to be let down seeing it again as an adult but I was wrong. It lived up to how I remembered it. The kids loved it. They both sat frozen still for the first 10 minutes or so. Then Aidan was up dancing and Kiersten was perfectly content.

Aidan with Elmo before the show

Ready for the show to start
I always said I would not dress up kids in silly outfits but if the Elmo onesie fits...

I was trying to capture Kiersten's intent concentration on the show. She was mesmerized (or maybe hypnotized)

Baby Dedication

We had the privilege of dedicating Kiersten at church last Sunday. Despite having to wake her up before going into the sanctuary, she behaved perfectly. We thank God for our beautiful gift.