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Easter

We had Easter brunch at our house. I made bistro french toast, potato casserole and my parents brought the ham and fruit salad. That is one of those meals you can just keep eating and eating.
James sat back and enjoyed watching the egg hunt. We decided to do the hunt outside since it had rained for like 40 straight days which meant a muddy mess.


My dad brought all of the change he has collected over the year to give to the kids. I don't think my dad realized how much money was really there. Each one ended up with almost $30 in change! They all put their change in their piggy bank. James and I told the story about how we broke into our piggy bank as kids and ate pizza and other junk for a week until it was gone. We (ok, maybe just I) felt horribly guilty for a long time afterward. I think James thought it was a fabulous way to spend our savings :)



Later that afternoon we went to the Lottes Easter for another hunt. The kids hung out in the basement and watched School of Rock- love that movie! Max is now dying to take keyboard lessons, not piano, but keyboard. We will make that happen this Fall.

We used a new dye this year for our Easter eggs and they turned out bright and beautiful!

Maura's Gymnastic Peformance

Maura had her gymnastics performance last week. It was a circus theme and so stinkin' cute! I'm starting to realize how much I'm going to miss these adorable preschool events when they are over in 2 years.

Spring Break 2011: Pere Marquette

Over Spring break we spent a night at Pere Marquette with Kate, Amy, Tara and Ryan. It was only 24 hours but we packed a lot of fun into our time together. We first went to lunch at the Finn Inn and then checked into our cabin. We took a hike which was more challenging for Maura than I expected. We then went swimming, had dinner, and went back to the cabin for bed. The next day we drove to the overlooks to see different views of the river. We then went to the Alton Lock and Dam to finish off our history lesson of the Great Rivers.




Nature Museum at Pere Marquette

Walking sticks make all hikes better.



Dominoes and checkers before dinner

Great Hall at Pere Marquette Lodge- "Four Rivers Fabric Art"

Cocktails before dinner





Ben was the official graffiti reader, thankfully everything was pretty tame.

Checking out the Mississippi from Principia



The Mistake House at Principia was created to show different construction techniques such as brick, concrete, stone and creating a thatch roof.

The Principia Chapel built in 1935

School Fine Arts Fair 2011

The Art Fair at CPOP is one of my favorite school events. Their Art teacher is amazing and creates a museum atmosphere in the gym. This year the theme was "Egyptian Art" so each class had a different project. Max created a clay sculpture. Ben's class worked on jewelry. Each student also had a painting framed available for purchase.
Other events that night included music by the students and the middle school play. The play was the highlight for the kids- lots of music and seeing the middle school students perform is so fun for the younger students. Max can hardly wait to be in middle school so he has more of a chance for theater at school.

Lewis Park

Sunday dinners at Mae Mae and Pae Paes also means time up at Lewis Park. I love their neighborhood because so much is within walking distance and so many people are always outside. James got a game of tag going at the park. Love this picture of Uncle James and Maura running!




Fuzzy picture but dang, what a cute smile :)

Heading back to MaeMae and PaePaes.

Girl Slumber Party

Maura had a slumber party and thought it was the best night ever. I think Maura was meant to be in a family with many children everyone sleeping in the same room. I think this is one of the many ways she and Max are the same.

Biscuits with Dad

Charlie makes perfect biscuits. Max and Maura love to help in the kitchen and Charlie has found a way to let them participate in biscuit making without compromising perfection.