After our busy Saturday, we took it easy on Easter Sunday. We did our grocery run and then had the kids wait patiently downstairs while I got everything ready for their egg hunt in their rooms. I hid 9 eggs and 3 prizes in each of their rooms. They got a kick out of searching their rooms for their treasure. Here is Evan with one of his prizes - the Lego Ninjago Ice Dragon.
Here is Ellena with one of her prizes - the Lego Ninjago Turbo Shredder. Both sets were on the kids' wishlists, so they were excited to build their sets for the rest of the afternoon.
Pops smoked a turkey for our Easter dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, and I made a chocolate cake with strawberry filling, buttercream icing, Peeps and chocolate chips to make it look like a sunflower.
Saturday was a very busy day for us! We had a bunch of errands to run, as well as some fun activities for the kids. The first kid activity was a huge egg hunt at a community church. We met our buddy, Taryn, and hunted for eggs! This church does a good job of splitting the kids up by age, so Evan went with Pops and rocked it out - through some strategizing with Pops, he came back with a bucketful of eggs! Taryn & Ellena on the other hand did not do as well - the volunteers screwed up the hunt by taking a third of the group to another entrance, but starting the hunt without all of us there. By the time we got in, most of the eggs were picked up and the girls were left with just a few. Luckily, they were pretty ambivalent (Moms were more irked than anything!) and the girls were pleased with their chocolate treats and tattoos!
After lunch and some downtime, we were off to our next outing - a Build A Bear birthday party for our friend, Addison. Evan chose a rock n roll bear (complete with green mohawk) and Jedi clothes - he named him Rock Bear. Ellena insisted on something blue - she chose a blue peace bear with sparkly tanktop, pink ballet shoes and a Jedi lightsaber with sound effects. Ellena named her Bluey.
Ellena has become really attached to Piko and Poki - she calls them her "Snuggle Babies". She insists on keeping her door open at night, in case Poki wants to come in and snuggle with her. Piko has a knack for finding the sunny patches in the house and basking in the warmth. Well, today Ellena found him at the front door and snuggled up to him. She was feeling a little sick and found some comfort snuggling up to her brown kitty.
Evan, on the other hand, has tested positive to a cat allergy, so he keeps his distance from the cats and they are not allowed in his room. When they go (hey, they are 12 years old!) hopefully his asthma will improve.
On our last day in Vegas, we walked over to the Jerky Store to get treats for the kids and some snacks for Uncle Stu, who catsat for us. We also ate at Triple 7 Brewery for the first time - wow, HUGE portions! All in all, the food was so good - hawaiian food, seafood buffet, prime rib buffet, champagne breakfast buffet, Cal snack shop, ox tail soup at midnight - we had nice full bellies!
Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bang Bang were amazing babysitters - thank goodness! Pops and I spent many hours at the 3-card poker table because of G&G. What was one of the big draws for the kids? Ice cream!
On Sunday my parents took us to the Mirage to see Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. The kids really enjoyed watching the dolphins train and the large cats sleep (that's all they did, but it was still neat to see.)
On our second day in Vegas we took the kids to Circus Circus, of course! The kids enjoyed playing games for tickets. They redeemed the tickets for some Super Mario toys and won these cheeseburger pillows from a fishing game. When Ellena showed Grandma Sue her prize, Grandma asked her, "Wow, did you get a cushion?" Since Ellena is unfamiliar with that term, she promptly corrected Grandma, "No! It's a pillow, not a cushion!" Ellena had all sorts of comebacks for her grandparents on this trip!We also viewed three free performances at the big top - contortionists, a juggler and African acrobats. I'm so glad we stayed for the acrobats - they were by far the most entertaining! I forgot to mention that on the first day in Vegas, we also went to the MGM Grand to catch a taxi. While there, we went to the Lion Habitat and were really impressed - another free activity that was great for the kids. They had a few trainers inside with the lions, actively playing with them and getting them moving. The lions enjoyed their play time and we loved watching them in action.
After a delicious family dinner to celebrate Aunty Ellen's birthday, we walked over to watch the Fremont light show. I don't think the kids realized how cool it really was - spoiled kids.
Kids enjoyed coloring their Easter eggs yesterday during TV time. We did 4 colors and soaked the eggs for 5-10 minutes each. Pause the show, take out eggs, put in new ones, resume the show. Much better than sitting around and waiting :)
On April 8th we were off to Las Vegas for a mini family reunion. It was a blast! We dropped our things off at the hotel, had lunch with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bang Bang at a Hawaiian food place and then went off to the Strip to visit the M&M store. I can't believe how much there was to see! We spent over an hour exploring the 4 floors - mixing a take-home bag of uniquely colored M&Ms and watching people make their own printed M&Ms. What did the kids decide to buy? An M&M slot machine, of course! That night we went out to dinner with the family (about 18 of us in all!) to celebrate Aunty Margie's birthday (that would be the kids' great grand aunty.)
The latest pattern I picked up for Evan included a "head wrap." I told the kids it was a bandana, so they call it a "banana bandana." After hounding me all day to finish if for them "Is it done yet? Is it done yet?" I finished it and forced them to wear it all night. When Pops heard "bandana", he was thinking a simple piece of triangle fabric. Oh no, no! Much more complex! When he saw it on the kids, he said, "Is that a doo rag?" Yeah, I guess it is. They like to wear it with their eye patch and pretend to be pirates - Arrrrrrr!Ellena flipped hers around and she looked like Tupac. So here they are looking like Tupac.Evan's school had pony rides this week and they invited the kids to wear cowboy outfits. A checkered shirt was the closest we got, but he was thrilled to take in his cowboy hat!
Happy first day of Spring Break! I took the kids to the Pacific Science Center - it was free admission day, sponsored by our favorite grocery store! The kids had so much fun and thank goodness they were so patient while we waited half an hour in line to enter. Phew! Here are the kids in the Butterfly Exhibit. It's one of my favorite places.Here are the kids inside the Science Center. Behind them is the Space Needle.The kids are posing inside a guitar. In case you can't see the little monkeys, I've posted another pic below of a close-up.
I can't get over how much Ellena has grown in the last month or two. She's taller, she's talking up a storm, she's drawing with intent (here's his eyes, his legs, this is a heart balloon) - WOW!
As cute as her little bob haircut was, Ellena decided she does not want any more haircuts and will be growing her hair out. We have been doing pigtails when she lets me. Once, she pulled the rubber bands out and her hair was a little wild. Evan looked at her and said, "Why does Ellena look soo.... soo Chinese?" Here she is modeling her Girl's Day purse from Aunty Bette. She totes along Hot Wheels!!!
