happy easter!

Auntie Janne and Uncle Adam were able to come out and visit us for the weekend!  We picked them up at the airport on Friday and headed to Panda Express for lunch (Christopher and Nicholas picked!!).  Then it was time for the trip to Target to introduce Janne and Adam to the girls at Starbucks and some shopping at Southlands.

On Saturday we planned to go explore downtown Denver but woke up to cloudy, rainy weather.  Instead we went to Park Meadows for more shopping and lunch at Wahoo's (Janne's favorite!).  After Lexie went to bed, we all dyed Easter eggs!!

 

The egg dyers!  Nick, Janne, Ben, Adam, Christopher

Uncle Adam helped Christopher with his eggs!

Ben waiting for his turn

Nicholas had fun doing the eggs this year!

You do WHAT with the egg?!?

After decorating Easter eggs, the kids headed to bed!  They woke up bright and early eager to see if the Easter Bunny had come.  I went downstairs and made coffee and got breakfast started and then it was time for everyone else to come down.

The Easter Bunny DID stop at our house!!

Christopher found most of the eggs.  I think the EB picked hiding spots that were too easy this year.  Next year will be harder!!

Ben found an egg with help from Uncle Adam!

Lexie thought the eggs were for eating, shell and all!

Auntie Janne got a new cow (and the Barnyard movie) in her basket!

Lexie was very intrigued with the candy in everyone's basket since hers only had animal crackers.  She tried peanut butter for the first time in the form of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup!

After hunting for eggs and going through the baskets we had a relaxing afternoon.  The kids watched Madagascar 2 and then in the afternoon Auntie Janne and Uncle Adam took Christopher and Nicholas to see Monsters vs Aliens.  They had a great time!!

We had a delicious ham for dinner and spent the rest of the evening playing and watching movies.  We had a great visit with Janne and Adam and were sad to see them go on Monday!!

Waiting for dinner....

Adam carving the ham!

And Janne was in charge of the wine!

orders!

After weeks of waiting, we FINALLY found out where we are heading after graduation!! Jacob has Airborne school in GA, then will come home for a couple of weeks, and then we're off to Fort Bragg in NC!! We are so excited to finally know where we are going and to be able to start planning!!

army update!

Jacob was able to call tonight and he sounded MUCH better than when I talked to him on Wednesday.  Most of the guys in his platoon have been sick all week, but they're all doing better.  They started Week 13 on Friday which is the last week of law enforcement training.  Starting next Friday they are working on the combat support aspect of being an MP.

He said they learned to drive police cars this past week.  They had to do a curvy driving course and the posted speed limit was 40mph.  He did the entire course at about 70mph and his drill sergeant was amazed with his driving skills.  I guess all those years of driving CO mountain roads has really paid off!!  :)

Other than that, there wasn't anything new going on.  We're still waiting on orders and hope we find out where we are headed soon.  It is looking like we'll be headed to either Fort Bragg, NC, or Vicenza, Italy (about 45min from Venice).  We should be moving in about three months so cross your fingers that we find out where we are going quickly!!

A random picture of Jacob from a few weeks ago.

sugar bowl

Sugar Bowl, in Old Town Scottsdale, has always had a special place in my heart. My grandparents used to take my Mom there when she was little and my Grandma started taking me when I was little. Every time I would spend the night at her house, we would go to Sugar Bowl for lunch the next day. And we ALWAYS had the same order. Grandma ALWAYS had a Camelback Soda, a reuben, and a sundae for dessert. I ALWAYS had a shake, a BLT, and a sundae for dessert. :)

A lot of my memories of my Grandma center around Sugar Bowl- it was that big of a part of our lives! Growing up, many events and special occasions were celebrated with a trip to Sugar Bowl- sometimes for lunch, and sometimes just for ice cream. Jacob and I even went to Sugar Bowl the days that we found out Christopher and Nicholas were boys.

Since Sugar Bowl played such a big part in my life, I was excited to pass it on to my children. We went for lunch with my parents and Janne. In the four and a half years since I'd last been there, Sugar Bowl changed, A LOT! While the front of the restaurant was the quaint 1950s ice cream parlor that I remembered, the back of the restaurant had changed; it was expanded into the next space and an arcade was put in. We were relegated to the back of the restaurant (because of the four kids?) where it completely lacks the ambiance of the original Sugar Bowl. The whole experience reminded me of a visit to Chuck E Cheese, complete with overpriced, mediocre food. While everyone had a good time, it was definitely not the Sugar Bowl experience of my youth, and I don't think that I'll be returning.

Benjamin loved his grilled cheese!

Christopher and Auntie Janne

Lexie's 1st Sugar Bowl ice cream

Ben was so excited!!

Christopher and Auntie Janne both got a Mint Chip cone.

Grandpa and his hot fudge sundae.

Nick digs in to his chocolate with rainbow sprinkles!!

Mommy and Lexie

desert breeze park

We met Pam at Desert Breeze Park for lunch one day.  We brought the sandwiches and she brought the Costco cookies-- yummy lunch!!  The kids had fun playing at the playground and then we went for a ride on the train.

Christopher

Nicholas loves slides and even convinced Pam to go with him!

Ben is always on the go!!

Such a nice big brother.  :)

Having fun at the park

boys will be boys ;)

Auntie Janne and Uncle Adam bought Lexie a cute tea set for her birthday.  I'm sure that they envisioned her playing with it for hours, or at least, her playing with it.  But alas, as soon as it was opened, her brothers claimed it as their own.  They've played with it on a daily basis for the last week and a half and I don't think she has used it once.

Ben knows how to pour the tea.

Cheese!!

Benjamin and Christopher enjoying morning tea.

zebra and mmm-hmm's birthday

Zebra and Mmm-Hmm (Christopher and Nicholas) were feeling left out from all of the birthday celebrations so we had a birthday party for them as well.  We went to Target and made sure they both had presents and that we had stuff for goodie bags for the kids!  Christopher insisted on having another birthday cake because Zebra and Mmm-Hmm needed to blow out candles.  The cake stuck to the pan so it was turned into a trifle instead-- yummy!!

Birthday dessert!!

Christopher and Zebra

Nicholas and Mmm-Hmm: ready to blow out candles!!

Benjamin and his goodie bag.

Lexie finally got a chance to play with the purse she got for her birthday!!