Beach with our bestests!

Over Spring Break, the rain stopped long enough for us to take a trip to see our bestests!  We had so much fun at the beach!  We usually only get one or two trips a year but the boys loved it so much that I think we will be going more often this summer! 

It was so relaxing. 

The boys played. 

They didn't need much. 

They weren't fighting with each other. 

Bliss.  Almost.

Wyatt wasn't so sure about the waves and wanted me to stand next to him while the waves came in. 

After the beach, we headed a few blocks over to our bestests house for lunch and Mickey shirt makin'!  (Blog post coming soon with our super cool Mickey tees.)

Both boys slept the entire way home.  An hour of quiet time in the car is a beautiful thing.

:)

 (The only picture I took this trip with all 4 boys in the same pic!)

 (Sandy toes during snack time.  Wyatt and Mommy.)

Egg huntin'

Where is the time going??

 

Waaaaaaaaay back... a long time ago...  We celebrated Easter!

On the day before Easter, we headed to a nearby neighborhood to see a helicopter egg drop.  While the idea sounded great... it was very overwhelming!  The helicopter was actually dropping little packages of marshmallows and candies.... on everyone's heads! Throw in a bunch of wind from the blades and lots of dirt flying and kids (and parents) pushing.... and yes... I'm sure you get the point.

 

But the boys had fun.  They were able to participate in an egg hunt a few minutes before the helicopter came and scored some eggs. 

 

Afterwards, we headed to Grandma/Grandpa's house where the boys used their Hess planes to recreate the egg drop.  :) :)

 

Annnnnnnd, we did a little Easter craft!

 

Up next.... Easter Sunday!

Anmal Kingdom

For our 5th visit to Disney world, we headed back to Animal Kingdom.  This time, we took Ms. Amanda, Mr. Lynch, and another *unnamed* guest with us.  Such great weather!  Caydin got to ride Expedition Everest for the first time and loved it!  He was nervous as we waited in line.  Thank God for short lines and fast passes.  He really only had about 3 minutes of nervousness.  Such a great ride.  Wyatt was too small (obviously) but has since "rode" the ride via you tube about a million times!

 

We also did the Bug Life's show for the first time.  Very interesting.  Definitely not what I expected but everyone loved it!

 

After checking out the animal trails, we did the Safari ride (our favorite!)

 

No trip to Animal Kingdom is complete without a kid getting "lost" in the dinosaur play area.  After  locating said "lost" child, we headed home! 

 

(Total price of park annual pass divided by number of visits: $96!  Less than that of a one day ticket!)

 

Sweet Kobe

One week ago yesterday, I took Kobe to the vet and decided it was time to put her to sleep.  We miss her so much!

Kobe turned 11 (yes, you read that correctly) years old in late January. 

That's really really old for a bunny.

In fact, the vet was in shock when he read the age on her file. He said he had never seen a rabbit anywhere near her age.

One of the downfalls of have an indoor rabbit in a cage was watching her poor front legs decline.  Over time, her legs didn't bend right. She had a unique hop/flop.

Well it got to the point that she would fall over (or lay down) and would get stuck. Literally could not use her front legs to help her get up. Each month and each week, the falls got more frequent. Some mornings, we would wake and find her stuck. I always felt terrible since I had no clue when she did it or how long she was stuck for. 

She also had an infection that made her one eye turn white. Normal aged bunnies could easily take an antibiotic but Kobe was too skinny and too sick to do it.

With a few pictures and kisses, we headed to the vet.  While I knew the likely outcome, I wanted to make sure the boys could say goodbye. I cried like a baby while talking to the vet. My gut instinct was right.

Her cage is still in the living room.  I know its time to take it apart.
The boys are doing fine.  The first night, Wyatt cried and cried for Kobe.  It was totally unexpected.  He totally didn't understand what was happening.  (Still doesn't probably.)  Wyatt has asked to go to the pet store so we can get Kobe back.  So sad.  And no.  There are no plans to get another rabbit.  We are doing just fine with 2 cats and a fish.

So... Kobe, thanks for a great 11 years! 
Hoping you are hopping (and not flopping) all over bunny Heaven!

 

oh mygym!

Today was my last class mommy and Wyatt class at mygym! Now Wyatt is in an independent class. While I'm happy that I don't have to run around the gym floor anymore, I'm sad that my baby doesn't need me there anymore! Wahhhh! 

Early Easter!

Caydin found some empty Easter eggs in the garage this past weekend and decided it was time for an egg hunt.  Wyatt was so excited to join him after his nap.  They spent a good hour hiding the eggs and then finding them on Sunday.  I'm pretty sure they will be experts in egg hunting by Easter!

 

What better way to cool off from a hot afternoon of egg hunting than to take selfies in the shade?!  I love this kid! (Caydin refused to take a selfie with us.  He's too cool for them apparently!  :)  )

 

1st Grade Update!

We are so so lucky to have a wonderful teacher for Caydin.  In my opinion, he wasn't very strong with his academic skills (reading and writing especially) going into 1st grade.  I even made the poor kid go to summer school.  Yeah yeah... It helped that I was working at summer school last year.

But still.

 

I should also mention that he passed Kindergarten with flying colors.  The teacher in me (not the mom) thought he was behind.

 

This year, he is doing so well in 1st grade.  He is reading.  He is writing independently.  He gets certificates for math each quarter.  He works hard in class and I never hear anything negative. In fact, I have to ask for things to work on with him. 

 

He might not like to do his work.  But he does it. He adores his teacher.  I adore her too.  He made it 100 school days before missing a day because of sickness.  He was SO disappointed that he had to miss a day.  He loves going to school each day and always comes home saying his day was GREAT! 

 

Recently he earned his 20 point tag for AR.  That means he has read (and tested on) over 40 books this school year.  Go Caydin!

 

Today, he competed in the school competition called "Better than a Bird".  His grandpa helped him make a beak that he used to collect yarn (worms) out of a bucket of fish gravel.  He beat all the other 1st graders to competed and got a medal! 

 

I am so proud of you Caydin!