Reece's Birthday Date...

On Saturday, April 14th Reece had her birthday date with Aunt Abby and Uncle Joe.  Reece chose to go ice skating with Aunt Abby.  Uncle Joe had to work during the skating part but he was able to come at the end and even got some photos of them skating.  Then, they all went out for ice cream at a local dairy.  After dessert, they all came back to our house and we grilled out Brats and hotdogs and hung out together.  Reece had a great date and wants to say, "Thank You Aunt Abby and Uncle Joe for a fun day!"

Reece and Aunt Abby saying, "Hi" to Uncle Joe through the glass.

Riley's Birthday Date...

Riley had her birthday date with Uncle Joe and Aunt Abby on Friday, April 13th.  She really wanted to go to a local family fun park so we waited until the weather was nice to schedule the date.  Riley is finally tall enough to do some of the more challenging things including a high ropes course and driving her own race car.  Riley said the ropes course was scary but fun and definitely her favorite thing at the fun park.  After the fun park, Aunt Abby and Uncle Joe took Riley to one of her favorite wing places for dinner.  It was a great birthday date and well worth the wait!!!  Thanks Uncle Joe and Aunt Abby!!!!  

Uncle Joe squeezing into the Rookie cars.

 Riley and Aunt Abby about to do the high ropes course together. 

Monday Maids...

On Monday, April 9th the girls had off of school for Easter break.  We had some fun in the morning making Resurrection Rolls (which we did not get to on Easter morning) and then we played a new game we made up which I will call Monday Maids.  The house was in major need of a top to bottom cleaning, but none of us wanted to spend the whole day cleaning.  So, we came up with a fun game to make it faster and enjoyable.  Regan got a clipboard and we went around to each room writing down what tasks needed to be done in each room (such as straightening, dusting, make bed, empty trash, vacuum, clean mirrors, etc.)  After we accessed every room, we figured out which rooms had equal amounts of tasks or equal levels of difficulty and assigned each person a room and then had competitions against each other.  Some of the rooms were pretty hard so we would assign 2 people to a room if they were more difficult than another room.  Before the competition began, we gathered all the cleaning supplies we would need for the day and gathered them at the bottom of the stairs.  During the competition we timed everyone and whoever finished first won that round and we recorded all the times.  No one could be officially finished until I checked their rooms and made sure they were done.  We added up all the times at the end and whoever had the overall fastest time of the day did not have to help mommy clean the kitchen (which was by far the messiest room in the house.)  We worked fast and furious and was able to get the whole house clean, including kitchen, in 1.5 hrs.  We were all so exhausted afterwards and were even sweating.  So, not only did we have a clean house, but we also had our exercise for the day and we wore each other out.  Regan took a nap, Reece almost fell asleep and Riley was mellow upstairs.  I told the girls, "See how tired you are?  Imagine how I feel when I have to do all this cleaning by myself and it takes me 5+ hours since I have other interruptions throughout the day as well."  "That is why mommy is always so tired and grumpy when you mess up the house, after I have spent all day cleaning it!"  It was a great lesson for them to learn and hopefully will make them more appreciative and more willing to help?!  They did all admit that the game was fun and they would be willing to do it again. :)   

Making Resurrection Rolls...

 We took marshmallows and dipped them in butter and then rolled them in cinnamon and sugar (supposed to represent Christ's body being prepared with the oils and spices).  Then, we put the marshmallow in the middle of a crescent roll and sealed it up (like putting Christ's body in the tomb and sealing the tomb with the stone.)  We cooked the rolls and when they were done the marshmallow was gone from the middle (Christ had risen!). 

 Regan showing me her messy hands.  Also, you can see in this photo that Regan woke up with a Stye this morning in her left eye. 

The finished product...

Easter Dinner at Joe and Abby's

On Easter night we went over to Joe and Abby's for dinner and fun.  We had our annual Fernandez water balloon fight first and then enjoyed grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner.  The kids had a great time playing together and stayed outside all night except when they had to come in for dinner.  Thanks Joe and Abby for a fun night together!  

 Aunt Abby started with an organized balloon toss but that did not last more than about 2 minutes. 

 Regan is after Uncle Joe.

 Now she is coming after me and I have the camera!!!

 I love this photo of everyone getting soaked and all the excitement.

 Well, excitement for everyone but Josh. :(  He did not like getting wet and dirty.  I got to hold him for a while which was nice because no one would get me while I was holding Josh. He protected his Aunt K. :) 

 Reece reading to Lizzie out on the hammock.

 All the girl cousins hanging out on the hammock.

Happy Easter 2012...

Happy Easter!!!  Our baby chicks hatched this morning, the girls enjoyed their Easter baskets and we had a yummy church breakfast and wonderful Easter service.  We look forward to spending time with Joe and Abby's family tonight!  We hope all of you are having a blessed Easter!  The weather is gorgeous again today.

 The hatched chicks....

Ok, my kids are too old for this, they laughed at me but they did take off with their new chicks. :)

 The girls' Easter baskets...

 The girls all got new Webkinz, lots of candy, bracelets, and did I mention candy.  What was I thinking??

 Reece loving on her new Webkinz bunny named Sally.

 Riley got a new Webkinz Tree Frog which she named, Hoppy.

 Regan with her new Webkinz Horse named Smokey.

 Our attempt at family pictures is always a challenge.  The girls are rarely cooperating.  We had to do some more photos when we got home from church due to the lighting, they were not happy with me!

 Reece actually wanted to take these photos and they came out precious.

He is not here...He Is Risen!!!!  Luke 24:6

A Beautiful Day....

The weather was absolutely beautiful today.  The sky was a beautiful blue with no clouds and the lush green trees against the blue sky was gorgeous.  The day started out cool but warmed up to the high 60's.  It was perfect!  We spent most of our day outside in the wonderful weather.  We cleaned out our garage and hosed all the pollen off our screened porch.  We went to a local trail and ran 4 miles while the girls biked.  We then came home to dye Easter Eggs, make yummy bird nest treats and grilled Brats.  We enjoyed our dinner out on our screened porch.  Now Tony is watching baseball and I am about to fill the girls' Easter baskets in which they put in the middle of the den floor so I would not forget. :)  What a wonderful day and what a great time of year!!!  We look forward to celebrating our Risen Savior tomorrow and then a cookout with Joe and Abby tomorrow night.  Happy Easter everyone!!!

 The girls dying Easter Eggs.

 The girls helping make bird nest treats.

Some of the eggs are cracked, maybe they will hatch tonight!

The final products...  (I bet you can guess which one is Riley's favorite!)