THE Hungry Hungry Hippo Champion

No more letting Owen win at Hungry Hungry Hippo - game on!  This kid is undefeated!

Meeting Colbie

Our good friends the Pereas just had their 3rd girl named Colbie and they invited us all over for a BBQ to meet the little cutie.  Lucy was enthralled - she can't wait to take care of her own baby sister (or brother).  She always includes "or brother" as an afterthought.

Spring Play

Lucy's preschool class put on a Spring play, called Princess Picky.  Lucy was originally supposed to play the part of the Queen, but after refusing to learn the lines, she decided she was better suited to play a (silent) lady in waiting.  Princess Picky was brilliantly played by my niece, Lola.

On a side note, the king standing up is Lucy's ex-boyfriend, Alexander...she broke up with him because his breath is stinky.  Now she is dating a boy named Owen, whose mom thinks he is too young to get married.  Lucy reassured him that they are just boyfriend and girlfriend and that she doesn't want to get married NOW...just when they are older, like teenagers...

During the play, Owen was entertained by his best babysitter - Bailey...

Happy Easter!

3 Easter celebrations fit into one Sunday makes for a very fun day!  After the kids opened their Easter baskets, we headed over to Grandma & Papa Poort's house for brunch and our annual Easter egg hunt. 

Owen and daddy worked hard to squeeze some fresh orange juice...

and this is all the juice they produced out of a Costco bag of oranges...!!??

The hunt gets more and more intense every year, so the kids listened intently as Papa explained the 2012 rules...

 Lucy found a lot of "bunny bucks", but coveted most the "puffballs", which she got to turn in for coins...

 The banker worked with the girls to figure out the complex bunny buck & puffball exchange...

 And then the kids took on Uncle Ben in a game of tug of war...

 Uncle John had to come to their rescue...

 What a fun group of uncles and a never ending supply of activities!  Now on to parachute...

In the afternoon, we headed to Beepa & Bubba's house for some over-the-top Easter basket goodies and a good old fashioned egg hunt (a carton of dyed hard boiled eggs) with Cousin Wade....

Owen was determined to find those eggs...

The last egg, hidden in the bird bath...will anyone find it?

Victory!!...

Now, the fun part - smashing the egg into little pieces onto the grass.  Owen cracked open every egg, but didn't eat any of them...

 Yay for Easter!...

Happy 1st Birthday Wade!

How cute is he??!!...

Mat sat on Sam.

After months of hiding the "BOB" books in her closet, Lucy decided that she was ready to read.  Now she is reading those books on her own and sounding out words all over the place! It's fun to watch a new skill develop.  Now, I just wish I could help her understand the plot of the BOB books - mom, what does "Mac digs a rag hat" mean?  I have no idea. 

Thursday Mornings

I am so grateful for my part time work schedule and our lazy Thursday mornings! I sometimes wish we could all sleep just an hour longer, but who am I kidding?  With #3 on the way, sleeping in is but a dream....

TKDC does Gearhart

For our fourth annual TKDC (Traveling Kappa Dinner Club) girls trip, we decided to have some downtime on the Oregon Coast.  Allison hooked us up with a great house in Gearhart and we spent the weekend chatting, drinking (well, mocktails for me), EATING,  walking along the beach, playing games, and shopping in Cannon Beach.  It's nice to actually be able to talk without the kids interrupting us...we left behind 14 kids between the 6 of us...

Bridget, Melissa, Jodi, Karissa, Allison, Samar...

                            

Playdate with Nat

Lucy has been begging for a playdate with Nat, a boy in her preschool class.  Now I know why - he lets her boss him around! :)  On a side note, Lucy just noticed that she is taller than most of the kids in her class...

Lucy Lost her First Tooth!

While Lucy was at Grandma and Papa's house, she lost her tooth!  And just in time...the new tooth was growing in rapidly behind it.  Lucy was SO excited (except for the tiny amount of blood).  She wrote a note to the tooth fairy and tucked her tooth into her new pillow from Bubba...

  

What she wished for most was a note back from the tooth fairy and one of each coin, "a penny, a dime, a quarter, and the medium one", which she promptly put in her piggy bank...  

The Lorax!

Happy Birthday Blake!  Thanks for letting us come to your movie party.  Nothing like popcorn and candy at 9:45am!  Of course your mom went above and beyond with these Lorax themed goody bags...

Terrible Twos

It took Owen a little longer to hit this stage than Lucy, but he is officially a toddler now!  Temper tantrums and all....

Big Jeps

Beepa and Bubba had Lucy & Owen for the day, so they took them on an adventure with Uncle RyRy to the Museum of Flight.  Even though Lucy has now been to the museum 5 or 6 times, this was Beepa's first visit! Owen keeps talking about the "big jeps"!

A Fancy Date with Bubba

Bubba invited Lucy to the Fancy Nancy ballet! She was thrilled to dress in feathers and spend the afternoon with her Bubs...

Pizza and Movies with the Cousins!