4.13 = 3.14

Before I realized that there is a national Pi(e) Day on 3.14, we had already started a silly (but wonderful) tradition of having pie for breakfast on April 13th.  This started a few years ago when we had some left over pie and decided (on a Sunday morning) that we should just have it for breakfast.  I remember writing down "Pie for Breakfast" on the calendar and just like that, the tradition was born.

After dinner on Monday, Grandma was nice enough to help the kids make the sour cream apple pie.  Kara and Jason both learned different techniques with the pie crust.  Ben learned about leveling off a measuring spoon with a knife.

Everyone enjoyed Grandma's baking lesson and everyone LOVED the yummy pie this morning!  When Jason woke up this morning, his first words, literally, were "pie for breakfast!"  I love this kid!

So you can plan for next year... 4.13... Join us and enjoy pie for breakfast!

Hair today... and gone.. to a good cause

Kara has always had long, beautiful, silky hair.  In preschool, one of her teachers said, "Kara, I wish I had hair like you."  Kara's innocent reply was, "Miss Sarah, all you have to do is use conditioner."

Over the last year, we talked about her growing it long enough to donate and today was the day!  Though she was initially a little nervous because she could not remember ever having shorter hair (nor can we), she understood that giving this gift to another child would make a difference and we could not be more proud.

History in the Making

For the first time that I can remember, the annual Parlier Picnic was moved from a park to the church because of predicted rain.

On the way to the church, the kids were asking if the picnic would be different and they seemed disappointed that it had to be moved.

As always, they enjoyed all of the races...

And their competitive juices were flowing.

They came home with lots of fun prizes...

And they enjoyed spending time with their friends.

It's not a Parlier Picnic without Bingo where everyone wins... again... and again... and yes, again!  The kids had a GREAT time and some of us even talked about all of the conveniences and pluses to the change in venue. 

On the way home, we reminisced about how we used to leave the picnic early, then endure the 3+ hour drive back to LA... ugh.  So when we moved, we thought the 30 minute drive from Fresno to Kingsburg was so nice... but the less than 10 minute drive home today was fantastic, especially when you come home and watch the Warriors win their 72nd game this season...  it doesn't get much better than this!

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.