Mothers Day

Mark's niece Hannah and her husband Matt just moved out here with their 8 month old baby Norah. They are living in Lynchburg just over an hour away from Charlottesville.  We are really happy they are here and hope we can meet up with them often. Our chances are pretty good as we have a Costco and Lynchburg does not and we are pretty fun people.  They came up yesterday so we had a fun Mothers Day brunch with them.  Lydia was so excited to see Baby Norah and Matt has a deep love for Star Wars just like Jared so Jared was happy to have someone else around who appreciates Star Wars like him. We had delicious crepes, eggs and ham and green smoothies.  After visiting at our house for a bit we headed over to walk the Monticello Trail.  Last week was really rainy so we were anxious for a day outside. The weather was perfect and we were able to walk the whole trail (4 miles round trip). To be safe we brought our stroller and it was a good idea. Lydia and Jared had good attitudes and Norah even got in a little nap. Mark doesn't get to head over there often so he was happy we made it all the way.  After our walk we headed over to Costco and then they went back to Lynchburg and we headed home.  It really will be nice to have them out here. It will most likely be for just a year but we will make the most of it.  

 

Before I went to bed last night I started to have some pretty bad allergy symptoms. Lots of pressure in my sinuses, a bad headache and stuffy nose.  I decided that I would stay home from church and it was a good idea. I typically enjoy church but I also enjoy having 3 hours of quiet time all to myself which rarely happens.  I could do without the allergy stuff that is still lingering but it was a nice morning. Mark made orange chicken for dinner, my favorite meal and I got some things I wanted and cute letters from Jared and Lydia.  Even though its a hard job its super enjoyable too.  I love being Jared and Lydia's Mom. 

I took a picture like this of all the preschool kids to give their Mom.  Hers was pretty funny because of the members in our family I get rid of the least amount of bugs/flies. 

Around these parts lately

Some General Conference listening. 

I didn't have a particular talk that stood out in a grand way this time around but I sure enjoyed listening to the speakers (it was probably Elder Holland's though, always a winner).  I tried to re-read all the talks from October conference and failed but I did get many read and it really helped me feel excited for this Conference.  We had our yummy conference cinnamon rolls, treats for hearing specific words in talks and fun conference activities.  Mark hosted a Pre-Priesthood Session BBQ which he hopes will become a conference tradition.  He had about 8 guys show up and they all seemed to have a great time. I am proud of him for putting himself out there and making it happen.  While he did that Lydia and I headed over to Tara's house (as Tom came over here) for a pizza night with the girls. It was great.  While at their house Tara brought out some raspberries she had bought at Kroger.  They were on sale for a great price so when I got home I told Mark about it.  A few days later he came home with these and proceeded to restock our raspberry freezer jam supply.  It is fun that Mark makes it.  Finding a place to store it all was tricky as our second fridge/freezer recently stopped working but Mark made it happen.

This past weekend Mark and Jared went out to lunch for their monthly date and Lydia and I headed over to Barnes and Noble.  Originally she said she wanted to go out for ice cream but we have done that a lot and it was slightly chilly that day so I brought up hot chocolate and she thought that was a great idea. As we waited in line for hot chocolate she saw the dessert display case and thought we should get some chocolate cheesecake to go with the hot chocolate and I couldn't really argue with that logic.  Afterwards we headed over to the book section and enjoyed reading some books of her choosing together. It was lovely. 

For some reason she has been asking me to put a bun in her hair lately.  I don't truly know how to do a bun but I try and she seems pretty happy with it.  We both have fine slippery hair so it is tricky to get it to stay in but the messy bun look is fairly popular so I think we are okay. 

.5 cents cone day at Kohrs Brothers!  Nothing else to say. We love this day!

Spring Break

Virginia is a really great place. It has been such a pretty Spring. This past week Mark and Jared have been on Spring break.  Now that Jared is in school all day I really look forward to these school breaks. I already really liked them since it meant Mark would be around more but now I really enjoy having both my boys home.

We started the week by heading to our first ever trip to the National Zoo.  The zoo itself is free but you have to pay for parking (in their lots) but when I think of how much the zoo in Colorado Springs cost paying for parking only is a great deal.  We went on Monday which was the most Spring like day. It was not super crowded and the weather was amazing.  We enjoyed all the exhibits the favorites were the Panda bears (Jared and Lydia had never seen a panda before) and the Sea Lions and Lydia really loved the beaver. I really liked North American trail exhibit.  The otters, my most favorite were not very active when we were by them but still cute. After enjoying most of the zoo (it's really not too big) we saw a frozen yogurt sign right out one of the entrances so we grabbed some and enjoyed it as we finished walking through the zoo.  I am glad we went and we all enjoyed it but we will not be rushing back there anytime soon.  Now we can check it off our list of things to do in DC and maybe go back next year?

You can just see the Gorilla by Mark's ear. 

We loved the baby Panda so so cute! 

Tiger sighting

These guys were really fun. 

Tuesday we packed up our car and headed over to Lexington, VA.  Quite a few friends from Charlottesville have told us how much they love Lexington.  There are 2 Universities there, Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee.  Both have very different architecture and beautiful grounds.  At Washington and Lee we toured the Lee Chapel and it was nice to see and read about a different side of General Lee then just the Civil War history.  He did a great job as President of Washington and Lee and was much beloved.  His horse, Traveller also has a plaque there honoring him. We took a nice stroll down their downtown district and it was cute.  It was not super warm out but with our jackets on we were pretty comfortable.  I really wanted to eat at a fun taco shop there but sometimes I don't want to spend the money if Jared and Lydia will not really eat the food.  Next time we go to Lexington I will make sure we stop there as it looked so yummy and well priced.

Virginia Military Institute

VMI, its really nice having a child old enough to take pictures of us together. 

Washington and Lee

Lee Chapel in the bottom right.

After Lexington we drove over to Douthat State Park to camp over night.  When we planned this trip we originally wanted to camp two nights but the weather did not look great for camping most of the week so we opted for just Tuesday night.  Late Tuesday night and Wednesday morning were FREEZING!! It was so very cold and un-Spring like.  When we got up to cook breakfast it was 26 degrees with such cold wind!  It was bad.  The campsite was great and we had fun with our friends the Wooter's but it was so cold.  We enjoyed our campfire Tuesday night and ate delicious s'mores.  Jared and Lydia had a great time playing outside and messing around with the flashlights.  We bought some headlamps which I think are genius for camping and they thought they were amazing. Making breakfast and packing up our campsite was not fun at all but after we finished that we went on a fun hike to a pretty but no so impressive waterfall.  I was impressed with how well Jared and Lydia did.  The hike was about 3 miles and it got to be a decent incline at the end. We all enjoyed being out doors and were glad we made it to the waterfall.  This park is really pretty and one we would be happy to go to again. They have boat rentals, a beach, hikes, swimming and 2 playgrounds.  We stayed at the tentsites but it could be fun to rent a cabin or Yurt as well.  It was really nice to go somewhere new in VA.  The drive out there was so beautiful.

He loved this headlamp so much!  And the S'mores but not roasted. 

26 degrees!!! 

The steam was fun on the lake. It really is a beautiful campsite. 

At the waterfall at the end of our hike. I was surprisingly pleased that I looked this normal in this picture.  I had not showered and had been wearing a beanie all morning.  I was proud of these little hikers. 

Thursday I spent most of the day at the Library planning preschool stuff.  I will have my State inspection on the 26th and will be happy to have that out of the way.  Tuesday morning a family moving here for the next year stopped by to chat about preschool. I am not sure if they will come here or go to Northridge but I am glad I could meet them. Friday we headed over to Walnut Creek to meet up with the Farnsworth's.  We are always glad to hang out with them.  Mark had a great time playing disc golf and we had fun catching up. Again not awesome Spring weather but warm enough.  Friday afternoon we cleaned out the car and I caught up on house work.  I don't love cleaning my house or the car but it does feel good to be in a clean place.  I feel like this week went by super fast.  It's hard to  believe we are down to the last 7 weeks of school and that there are no more days off except right at the end.  Lydia starts swim lessons next week which will be nice. I hope that it really clicks with her and she can feel ready to swim for the summer she was so close at the end of last Summer. I am sure the warmer weather is coming but I will not complain about this colder Spring weather as it keeps the humidity away.  Soon enough it will be hot and yucky.

Baking and milking a cow.

When I was growing up I desperately wanted an easy bake oven.  I loved baking with my Mom and still do today.  I am apparently not the only one who wanted one of these ovens but never got one.  A teacher at Mark's school always wanted one too and so her husband bought her one a few years back.   Cute right? After awhile she decided she really didn't need one and so she asked Mark if he wanted it and he brought it home for me  Lydia.  When we moved into this house I put it in the guest room closet downstairs to have it out of the way yet knowing it was there waiting for me Lydia.  Awhile back Lydia saw it and asked if we could use it and I said we could soon.  The day finally came this week.  In Lydia's Easter basket this year I got her 2 mixes that we could bake together. We pulled one out Tuesday and started baking.  She loved the miniature baking pans and tools and had fun mixing up her batter.  We put them in the oven and waited over 20 minutes for 4 little cookies to bake.  Electric light bulbs = not super fast at cooking. She mixed up the frosting to add to them and took bite and then said "these are good but not as good as yours." True story.  It was fun to take a trip down memory lane with Lydia and I know we will use it again soon but I am going to stick with real ingredients and a real oven.

Our theme this week in preschool was "farms." One of our activities was to "milk a cow".  I filled a medical glove with water and a little white paint and poked a hole in one of the fingers.  I placed a jar in a pan and told the kids to milk the cow.  They loved it!  It was really fun to watch them, they did not want to stop.  When Jared got home from school I told him about it and he wanted to try it and did it so much he almost filled the jar.  It is a really simple fun activity, go do it!

Great fine, small motor skills! 

April Fools Day:

Tomorrow is April Fools Day.  This is one of the few holidays I do not celebrate, but I am making a small exception this year.  My friend Julie asked if I would be interested in doing a prank on Jared and her son (one of Jared's best friends) Tyler.  They are in the same class together at school and are fairly inseparable. (It will be a sad day for them if they are not in the same class together next year.) She suggested we make identical lunches and send them to school with matching notes and food only we addressed the note to the wrong kid.  It is such a fun idea.  We shared different food items, came up with a note and she even sent a matching green spoon for their applesauce!  I wish I could be there to see their reactions.  It's great to have such fun friends. I hope they love it!

Easter

I love this printable I found online! 

And the bunny silhouette. Those are Jelly beans in the jars. 

 I will miss having decorations out. Our house always looks so bare after a holiday. Nad the last ones have been so close together. I mentioned thinking about when I would take this stuff down and Mark requested that it stay up for a good while. He was quite helpful with these banners, he's a keeper. 

Easter came up so fast!  We finished celebrating St Patrick's and went full speed into Easter.  I hope that they will be farther apart from each other next year.  Easter is a special time and I hope we can enjoy it more fully next year.  That being said we did get some great activities in. We did our Resurrection eggs, watched the Bible videos on the Atonement, Crucifixion, and Resurrection, listened to beautiful Easter music/videos online and went on a Easter walk/scavenger hunt that I saw online. We had some fun learning times, Easter egg hunts, traditional foods, egg dyeing and Easter baskets.

Friday I made our bunny buns and Saturday we woke up and did our family Easter baskets. Jared is at a point where we can get him anything Star Wars and he is thrilled, Lydia is much trickier as I don't feel like she has a "thing" that she loves.  The baskets were fun and the bunny buns delicious.  Lydia pretty much ate all her candy within the first 30 minutes of getting it, much like her stocking at Christmas. She was very concerned that Mark and I had not opened our eggs and kept bringing them to us.  When I put the eggs away I took Mark's candy from his basket and set it on the counter in the kitchen.  A few days later Lydia brings me a Ziploc bag with 2 unwrapped pieces of candy in it both with big bites taken out of them.  She bought me the bag and asked me to close it for her. I knew immediately that she had taken those bites out of Mark's candy.  Such a stinker! She did feel very remorseful.  She has such a sweet tooth! When I talked to her about it she did what she often does when she feels bad about something she did she sent herself to her room.  It was a sad moment for her to have to tell Mark what she did when he got home.

That morning we headed over to Greenleaf Park for an Easter breakfast potluck/Egg hunt I had organized with two other friends.  We had a great turnout with nice sunny weather.  I think everyone who came had a really nice time.  The park has some beautiful flowering trees and it was fun to hide the eggs and watch all the kids hunt for them.  That afternoon we dyed our eggs.  The weather was nice enough that we headed outside to our picnic table to dye them which really cut down the stress level.  Spill dye? No big deal we are outside.  Jared and Lydia enjoyed it.

I felt really clever hiding eggs like this. 

Maddie, Aprillee, Laura

Sunday we headed to church in our Easter best and then after church we went on an Easter Walk. I found the idea online HERE. We went over near UVA Research Park by our house and read certain scriptures and then each scripture had a correlating object to find.  Like something dead to represent Christ dying, something sharp to represent the crown of thorns and something alive to represent the Resurrection.  Jared and Lydia loved it.  It was nice to be out, reading the scriptures and having a hands on activity.  I am sure it will become a yearly tradition. It was not a nice Sunny Spring day so we had to bundle up to go but luckily were able to do it before the rain came.

Its all turning green again!

Find something Dark

Find something alive

We had our friends the Lenox's over for dinner which is always nice.  We had the traditional (for us) ham, rolls, funeral potatoes, green beans and broccoli.  I made my chocolate cadbury mini egg cookies and we had a great time visiting. We also met up with our friends the Shaw's and the Wooter's at Pen Park on Tuesday for an egg hunt.  Which Jared and Lydia loved and succeed in eating all the candy before we got home. Oh well, now its all gone which is great.

These swings are the coolest! I love them. 

Learning Time fun:

Feed the Bunny made a comeback. I think this is the 3rd year we have done this.  It has been fun to adapt it to their different learning levels.  This year I did teen numbers for Lydia and sight words for Jared.

This face!  I love it.  Side note: Jared lost his second tooth right before Easter too. 

Dissolving Peeps experiment: Water, Laundry detergent, Vinegar, Soda.  We were all surprised that the laundry detergent made it dissolve the most. It actually just left the brown eyes and nose.  What on Earth are those things made of? The soda made it look so disgusting, as if they are not already really gross.

Wobbly eggs: I hot glued some marbles in the bottom of the eggs and hot glued them shut so you could roll them and then they would pop back up. We had fun rolling them to see who could get it the farthest and just playing with them.

Onto some conference fun and then a nice break!  Its been a bit intense in 2016 so far.