lyla loves it...

...eli runs down it...bear gets taken for rides on it. it's a lot of fun.

the first day we got it lyla said "BIG slide!" at least 20 times...she's super excited.

my face hurts

on the way home from a baby shower for a dear friend, i realized my face hurt. strange. cheeks are soar, muscles are tired. i soon realized it was "happy face syndrome." i got it on the day i graduated from high school and the day we got married. it comes from smiling too much. i guess i don't have to talk about the fun i had with such great company, happy face syndrome speaks for itself.

we're in..

escrow! pray for us!...please!

on the way home...

we were driving home from church this morning when i saw a field full of beautiful purple wild flowers. i pointed out the pretty scene to eli. he said, "mom, can we stop so i can pick some for you?" i told him we couldn't because we didn't own that land (plus we were going 55 mph). he was bummed about the situation, but it's the thought that counts.

that's my sweet boy.

woot woot

on our hike yesterday all the owl babies were up and stretching their wings. they are so cute!

the zoo yesterday...

check out the snow leopard just cillin' behind lyla...

i have pockets!

all three lions were right up by the glass. one of the females was totally stocking lyla, which was pretty awesome. eli got to look the big daddy lion right in the face...

if there's a rock...eli is on it.

good zoo trip.

nooooOOOOOooooo

snap snap

the garage is not just for parking...

...it also makes a great classroom. as of last week, we've unofficially started homeschooling. ever since i was a (homeschooled) kid, i knew i wanted to do the same for my children someday. i can't believe it's that day already.

eli wanted to do his work on the floor of the garage...it was a beautiful day, so I don't blame him.

you can just see the concentration on his little face...

lyla had to get in on the highlighting action...

recess...hahaha

observances

eli just saw a picture of a little ring bearer and flower girl in a wedding. he said, "look! she has a dress around her waist and he has a president thing on!"

a president thing?

yes! pointing to the suit.

collister hike

last year the city of boise opened up a trail at the top of collister. it's a beautiful and easy trail, great for the kids. we went for a hike there yesterday to enjoy the sun and blue sky.

adam caught this bull snake...it did bite him...but it didn't break the skin. that totally freaked eli out. the rest of the hike he talked about how he could outrun any snake and how he will never pick one up...we'll see about that.

this was as close as he would get...

on the way back...

i'm so, so, so happy for spring.

hello 70's

the great thing about winter is that it's over. today was 72 degrees and sunny with a soft wind. in my book, that's about is perfect as it gets. it was greenbelt weather, so we went for a stroll.

taking a break from the ladybug hunt...

throwing rocks in the river...

us girls

boarding with the swans

good weather, good company, good times.

scott showing some of his mad skills...

thanks scott and keri! season passes next year for sure.

keepin' busy

cooking dinner can be a challenge in our house. as much as lyla loves to eat, she sure makes it hard to prepare food. she cries, "hold yooooooou," much of the preparation process. so some days she sits on the sink and plays with the water. those are good days.

"you gotta see this!!!"

eli is super excited about his new trick...i love his boyness.

marshmallow roasting bliss...

coloring

here's eli holding his "bad guy" egg. daddy drew the face and eli add thing coloring. this is what happened when i asked eli to smile...

this was lyla's first dying experience. she really liked it.

eggs aren't the only things worth dying...

in their Easter best....

happy (early) third birthday hailey!

since we were not going to be there for hailey's third birthday, we had an early celebration. it was complete with a dinosaur cake...every girls dream, right? well, hailey is not "every" girl...so we had dinosaur cake:)

grandma/nana with the kids

you are a fun, funny and beautiful little girl, hailey. i hope you have a fantastic third year of life!

la jolla and the maiden voyage

adam has been working on this surfboard since january. it is absolutely beautiful and will hopefully be hanging on our wall some time soon. he wanted to take it in the ocean at least one time, so he brought it on our trip. it worked!

eli and his "sand monster"

lyla chasing the sea gulls...