Afternoon Art, Afros & Easter

{MONDAY} Every afternoon Taylor has been helping herself to the arts and crafts. Today she decided to finger paint and even let Landon paint with her. I love her creative side! 

{TUESDAY} This is usually what my kitchen looks like every night after I make dinner: a complete mess! Hank and I have a little agreement where one parent bathes the kids and the other parent cleans up the kitchen.

{WEDNESDAY} This is my handy little pocket calendar. It is vital to my day-to-day living. I keep all of my appointments and school-related activities in here. Twice this month, I temporarily lost my calendar and was sent straight into a panic attack. Thankfully it resurfaced and all was good with the world again!

{THURSDAY} Hank was digging through our costume closet to find our Afros for an upcoming skit that Hank was going to act in for Wyld Life. Landon was our only child willing to try it on. This photo is awesome of the two of them together!

{FRIDAY} Our good friends came over today to have lunch and decorate Easter eggs. The kids, mainly the girls, enjoyed dyeing the eggs and didn't want to stop after two hours at it. Such a fun afternoon!

{SATURDAY} After attending the Easter service at church tonight, Taylor and Landon prepared a plate of snacks for the Easter bunny. Taylor decided the Easter bunny would enjoy carrots, lettuce and ranch dressing. She also wrote him a note with a picture and her note said, "Hi, Bunny Bunny".

{SUNDAY} The kids woke up bright and early with excitement to go find their Easter eggs. They were so excited to see that the Easter bunny ate their snack and that he even left baskets for them full of candy and gifts. For lunch, we headed to my brother's house and the kids were able to play with their cousins and swim a little too! 

Landon's Photo Shoot {3}

Here are some great photos that my friend Lorie took of Landon when he turned 3. Landon was not in the photography mood and made me jump through hoops to make him smile, but thankfully the dog and pony show worked. My little man is so handsome and his personality shows through even in the photos. And of course we had to capture his beloved cowboy boots!

Paint, Piano Hands & Puzzles

{MONDAY} Taylor and Landon have enjoyed painting a lot lately. It's especially fun when they can sit outside at their picnic table and paint together. Today was cool enough to hang out in the backyard and spend time creating watercolor artwork.

{TUESDAY} This boy loves his suckers....especially the blue raspberry ones that dye his entire mouth bright blue. I've wised up over the past few days and placed him in his highchair when it's a time for his special treat. This boy drools like none other and makes quite a mess!

{WEDNESDAY} One of the kids favorite games is to play "piano hands" with Daddy. Hank lines the three of them up close and next to each other. Then he goes crazy playing the piano on their highly sensitive bellies. The kids love the anticipation of being tickled and go nuts. Ryland inevitably decides to turn this time into a WWF event and usually tackles whoever is laying next to him.

{THURSDAY} This is what happens when you leave your creative child alone for a few minutes. Even with a boatload of paint on her face, she is still as precious as ever!

{FRIDAY} I took the kids to the library for a little bit. I have a funny feeling we will be here often during the summer. There is a lot for the kids to look at and play with and it is always educational. Taylor was completing lots of puzzles while Ryland watched and attempted some himself.

{SATURDAY} We met up with our good friends Casey and Mindy and their two boys. We treated the kids to ice cream cones at McDonald's...it made their day. Taylor looks so enamored with the older boy in this photo.

{SUNDAY} Tonight Grandpa Don and Grandma Carol brought over Oma Mies to come and say goodbye to the kids. Oma leaves early tomorrow morning to visit family and escape the heat. Our kids will definitely miss her!

Preschool, Princesses & Landon's Party

{TUESDAY} The weather has been gorgeous this past week...even a bit chilly for us desert rats (as my dad would say). Today the kids requested that they eat breakfast on the patio. Ryland fell backwards already so I backed the table up against the house wall and it was the perfect catch. The three of them loved eating breakfast outside. I want them to enjoy being outside as much as possible because soon it will be way too hot!

{WEDNESDAY} I was asked to fill in for a teacher who was sick at Taylor's preschool a couple of days this week. It was great for me to see what they actually do in a Montessori school and how the kids work independently and with each other. It was definitely an eye opener and showed me that I need to expect more out of my children because they can master a task once they are taught and that I need to step back and help out only when necessary.

{THURSDAY} I was originally supposed to take Taylor to Disney Princesses on Ice tonight, but after her afternoon preschool class and a rare nap, she was on fire. Taylor had 102 to 103 degree fever and her cheeks were bright red. My childhood friend Jenn had given me the tickets and thankfully they were vouchers that could be used for any show. So we ended up going Saturday night instead when Taylor was better. Taylor loved the show and is now a little more interested in watching a Disney movie. It's kind of funny that she loves the Disney princesses but has never sat down to watch one of their movies.

{FRIDAY} Today Landon's classmates celebrated his 3rd birthday. My cute little man received his birthday crown and the class looked at his photos from newborn to now. He was proud to show off his crown!

{SATURDAY} Today was Landon's 3rd birthday party at Gymboree. Landon was so blessed to have many of his family members and classmates attend his party. It was a great time even though Landon was super shy and didn't like it when all of the attention was on him. My friend Carrie made a special helicopter birthday cake for Landon as that is one of his favorite toys right now.

{SUNDAY} After dinner, we loaded up the kids and took them to an aquarium on our side of town. We had been saving coupons and if you go after 5:00 pm, the price is less. Landon was excited by all of the sealife, including the sharks. He was running around saying, "Mommy, look at this...look at this!" Taylor was afraid of most of it. So I held Taylor often while Hank and Landon were the brave ones to touch the starfish and eels. Ryland wanted to run everywhere but thankfully we had the stroller. Ryland liked the flamingos the best. A fun evening for our family and to make Landon's actual birthday a little special.

Plies, Planting & a Photo Shoot

{THURSDAY} Taylor dresses up almost every day in her dance gear and practices her moves. She loves to have an audience and dance for me and her brothers. Here, Taylor is showing me her plies.

{FRIDAY} Tonight we played volleyball during our WYLD Life event. It was a fun evening. In this photo, you can see Taylor attempting to learn the sport. She thinks she is a big kid!

{SATURDAY} There is something about gardening that soothes my soul. Maybe it's because it's a creative outlet, it takes no thought, and let's you focus on the simple task at hand. I love making our drab backyard a little more beautiful.

{SUNDAY} Tonight my friend Lorie tried to take some photos of Landon to commemorate his 3rd birthday. For some reason, he was in a funk and did not want to smile. I had to work extra hard to get him to smile and bribe him with ice cream. He did give Lorie a few smiles, but a lot of the photos have his trademark serious look.

{MONDAY} After school this morning, I took the kids to the park to meet up with Monica and Rylan, some of our old neighbors who moved away. It was so good to see them and let the girls play. I caught this cute photo of them having some type of lemonade stand.