A Two Bucket Easter

Everyone loves an Easter egg hunt.  For the past week, I've joked with the kids that, like at school, when they have their egg hunt, they can each find 5 eggs. 

Well... that's not the way we do it.  The kids hunted for so many eggs that they had to use two buckets to hold their loot!

Kara has always loved hunting for eggs.  I still remember when she was little, we had to bribe her with an egg hunt when she woke up from her nap to get her to take a nap.  So we hunted plastic eggs in the living room for a month after Easter.

Jason was super excited to get a new stuffed animal as part of a special surprise.  Our Leo got his own Leo to love.

In fact, all of the kids got new friends to love... but still had plenty of love for the oldies but goodies. (Ross, you know I don't mean old in age!) 

My favorite Easter memory might go down in history as one of my favorite memories ever... I don't know how he comes up with this stuff, but Ben said to me, "Mom, you're the golden egg."  When I asked him what they meant, he replied, "that everyone wants you."

Pa-Ho-Mark

The kids are on Spring Break and even though work has not let up for us, we didn't want that to ruin their week.  We started the week off at Pajaro.  In past trips, we've found tons of sea shells on the beach.  So many that I told the kids we didn't need any sea shell souvenirs.

On this trip, the tide was really high and instead of shells, there was wood everywhere... and these proved to be treasures as well.  Each of the kids found sticks that they tied rope to, they found wooden long and short range "pistols".

It wasn't warm enough for them to really get in the water, but they had fun running from the waves and trying not to get wet.

There was playing and exploring and posing for the camera.

There was plenty of red hot spicy chicken soup to go around.

And there was a chance to see if maybe there is kendo in our future.

Though every trip is a bit different, Pajaro is always a relaxing and great time for everyone.

When we got home, we enjoyed the perfect weather and the kids had fun playing outside.

Sho has been wanting to check out MetalMark, an indoor climbing gym, so the kids got their first chance to climb on some serious rock walls.

Jason's favorite part was climbing up the "ladder" that I think you're supposed to use to come down after bouldering.  

Ben discovered that this kind of climbing is not quite the same as the rock wall at the park... but he faced his fears and did well on the big wall.

Kara was like Spider Man, making her way to the top of several routes.

It was amazing to watch Kara and see her so high up there! I honestly think she had more difficulty figuring out how to get down than how to climb up.

Since Kara was a baby, we've called her Bug.  And today our little climbing bug was all smiles.

I love March Madness!

If there are two things that we know (and LOVE), it's basketball and food.  Before Sho and I had kids, we would spend the first round of the NCAA tournament in Santa Barbara.  We'd stay at a hotel, get a bunch of different food and spend the weekend watching basketball and snacking. 

I love tradition and still love basketball and food... so when I tell the kids, "it's March Madness" they now know that they get to eat a bunch of their favorite foods while sitting in the living room and watching basketball. 

Last night, sitting in the living room stuffed and happy, one of the kids said, "I love March Madness!" which was music to our ears.

Pride & Joy

The end of this week has been busy... field trips, open house at school, egg hunts, piano lessons.  But these days have also been very rewarding as well.

For third grade, the students had to choose a hero, do research, write a report, give a presentation to the class and be part of a "living museum" during Open House.  Most kids in Kara's class chose presidents or well known historical figures.  Kara initially wanted to give a report about organ donors and then decided to be more specific by selecting Megan Snyder, a girl from Kingsburg (and a Clay alumni) who was involved in a car accident last year and became an organ and tissue donor.  Kara did a great job honoring Megan and her family.

During Open House, Ben eagerly showed us all of the different things in his first grade classroom.  The cutest part was the wall of what the kids want to be when they grow up.

No surprise here!  Ben has consistently stated that he plans to be a Lego creator when he grows up.  Hmm... any way our Lego purchases can become a tax write off?

Though Jason did not have an Open House, he had lots to be proud of that day because right before Open House, the kids had piano lessons.  Jason "rocked" two songs and received two polished rocks for playing the pieces perfectly without any mistakes. And earlier this week he earned $4.10 from Pampa for being able to read 41 sight words! 

Friday was the Easter Egg Hunt, which is always a fun event where the kids get to walk through the old Clay School building and go through the Kingsburg Historical Park to see and learn about all things Kingsburg!  Then the hunting begins.

It's hard to believe this is Kara's last school egg hunt... It wasn't that long ago that we followed the bus to school on her first day of of kindergarten.

We are proud of the kids for their accomplishments and hard work.  We're looking forward to spring break (even though Sho and I don't really get a break from work) to watch some basketball, relax and just appreciate the simple joy of being together. 

Jog-a-thon!

Today was Clay School's annual jog-a-thon!  Earlier in the week, there was a threat of rain... but luckily, the weather held up and it was a great day for a little running/jogging/walking!

Ben ran the entire 20 minutes and wouldn't stop for water or even to give me a high five.

Kara ran... and walked... and ran some more.  Always with a smile.

I am personally excited that the jog-a-thon is over and that it was such a great success.  Thank you for your generous pledges to support these kids!  No more fundraisers until the fall... YEAH!  Now that is definitely something to smile about.