They Grow Up So Fast

Eden's 1st Grade Choir Concert

She's such a poser!

Her artwork was projected on gym wall for all to see.

Then she delighted us with "La Raspa." (Video Below) Try not to be too jealous, she has her father's natural rhythm. It doesn't help when you are paired up with the shortest gal in the entire school.

Crazy Hair Day

Their own ideas for Crazy Hair Spirit Day!

A Right of Passage

First lost tooth = $1 from the "tooth fairy"

Father/Son talk on "now you are a man" = Priceless

Are you serious? Seriously? Really?

Copied from a 1950's textbook, this is what they taught girls back then. I have highlighted my very favorite parts just so you know at what points smoke starts coming out of my ears.

(click on the picture to enlarge for easier reading...because you don't want to miss this!)

I am without words, however, I might vomit.

THIS ONE'S FOR GRANDMA T

a colorful thank you for everything!!

Hold Your Horses

A fabulous trip to Portland for spring break.

Safari Sam's black light mini-golf.

Bob's Red Mill for breakfast. Huge portions, yummy food.

Don't let this kid fool you. It took a bribe of $1 to even get him on the horse and it lasted just as long as taking the picture. That grin says..."sucka...I got your dollar!"

My brother Chad and Olivia. Olivia was a tough cookie to get back on ince she had already fallen off the horse once.

Chad and his little family.

Eden was once again in control. She wanted to lead. The horse's face pretty much says it all.

Luke and Olivia with grandma by their side.

Eden being quite the mother to little Audrey.

Feeding the ducks.

Riding the bikes.

A Colorful Easter

DYING EASTER EGGS

Dying eggs hasn't always been a tradition but we hunkered down and did our seasonal share. I am not much of a word artist so I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

Found this genius idea for dying eggs for younger children. Use a wisk!!

COMMUNITY EASTER EGG HUNT

I instructed the kids to run as fast as they could to the other side of the field so that they would have their pick of the entire field instead of competing with the rest of the kids toward the beginning. It worked. They bolted and filled their baskets while the rest of the kids battled for the few eggs at the beginning. Like locusts to the crops. I haven't laughed that hard in months. I was literally drooling.

Olivia didn't fair as well in her 0-4 age group. It is hard not getting as much as your older siblings.

CHURCH FUN RUN AND EASTER EGG HUNT

They ran a good part of the way, I was very impressed with their enthusiasm as opposed to two years ago.

FIRST ANNUAL NEIGHBORHOOD EASTER EGG HUNT

We put on a neighborhood Easter egg hunt for the first time since we have lived here. The friends we have in this neighborhood makes the desire to leave non-existent. Maybe that is why we keep backing out of buying a home. Priceless!

THE Cruise

As you can imagine, the shear thought of posting all about our cruise completely overwhelms me since it took me about 15 hours just to compile our photobook about the whole experience. For the sake of my eager followers, I am choosing just a few of the most interesting pictures to keep it brief. All in all, we had the most fabulous time and are already planning our next trip.

As most of you know, I didn't receive my luggage when we arrived in Long Beach. It turned out to make the whole trip a bit more emotional than otherwise planned but I was determined not to let it ruin the entire vacation. After much frustrating shopping for ridiculous clothing, things turned out just fine. What is frustrating is that Melain made it with all her luggage and I didn't get my one and only bag.

We had booked a limo for a special treat and got to go 100mph since we were held back so late because of the luggage debacle.

Of course the airline reimbursed me a few hundred for my trouble which turned out to be an insult. Rob was way more excited about it than I was. He was hoping that any leftover cash would be put toward buying him an iphone. Not in his wildest dreams.

Carnival cruise lines really came through for me and went out of their way to travel 160 miles to retrieve my luggage by the third day.

The ship at night. It is a sight to behold. It makes you feel like one of the rich and famous when you board. Fun fact: this is the exact ship we took on our honeymoon 10 years ago.

This is the inside middle of the boat. The atrium is spectacular.

Finally about to board the boat, a huge waive of relief come over all of us. We almost didn't make it so the smiles on our faces are true happiness.

I think the activity we did the most was EAT. We never stopped eating. It was absurd.

$15 rip off special of the day. Coconut monkey head pina colada. Ouch! However, nothing screams "we are on vacation" quite like a coconut monkey head pina colada by the pool.

More eating.

The soft serve machine was our favorite attraction. In fact, we became so addicted that all four of us have made Mcdonald's ice cream cones a regular part of our diet ever since we got home.

Our first stop was Catalina Island. It was beautiful weather. We shopped the entire time for clothes when we would have rather been parasailing.

We had two formal nights while on board. We loved the gourmet food and dining followed by spectacular shows and music.

We always sat on the front row and had the best time.

A second formal night.

Rob always has to be eating something in pictures.

I was treated to the song I HATE the most in the whole wide world (Love Shack) by Rob and Melain on Karaoke night. The nights we did karaoke were some of the most fun.

Ensenada Mexico is not all it's cracked up to be. Especially not in February but we got some great pictures there.

Rob went straight for the authentic fish tacos serenaded by a Mariachi Band.

Jon was all about towel-snapping the moochers that would wait unattended food.

The boys had a good time pretending that they won on the slots.

In the aiport on the way home we sat and munched on a box of Whitman's chocolates and enjoyed a relaxing wind down to a crazy week.

Well, folks. I hate to say it but that sums it all up. Unbelievable fun that has it's own set of inside jokes and memories that just can't be explained. I guess you just need to book your own cruise and see for yourself.