Spring Break, Easter, Other Stuff...

So...another large blog post to catch up!

The boys were on spring break earlier this month.  According to Seth and Noah, we were the ONLY people that did not go to Florida.  They were pretty unhappy with us about that.  We aren't the worst parents in the world, though.  Chris and I each took off a day to spend with the boys.  The other days of spring break they were thoroughly entertained at the all day care that they went to.  They had pajama day, movie and popcorn day, went to the bounce house and one day the balloon man came and made the most amazing creations out of balloons.  Seth came home with a balloon beach ball!

On our special day, the boys and I went to the Grand Rapids Public Museum.  We were able to check out both the Dinosaurs Unearthed exhibit and the Dream It, Build It Legos exhibit. 

Before we went, I was a little concerned that the dinosaurs would scare Seth and Noah because they are big and they move.  Luckily, the boys loved it and weren't concerned at all.

Seth left, Noah right.

At the Legos exhibit, each creation displayed the number of hours it took to design and build each one.  The boys went from exhibit to exhibit to see how long it took for each one to be created.

This was one of their favorites.  They liked saying that they had been in the top of the arch.

We all rode the carousel together!  When I told them I wanted to ride with them, they told me I was too big.  The attendant assured them I wouldn't break the horse.  Once on the carousel, I had to convince them to choose horses close together.  Seth wanted us as far apart as possible, which defeated the purpose of me riding the carousel.  I eventually won!

Noah

Seth

Old Grand Rapids is still my favorite part of the museum.

Random, yet funny photo op.

Seth as Elliot

Noah

After the museum, we went to the library to pick out a few books.  Both of the boys are amazing readers.  I am so proud of them!  They love checking books out from the library at school.  I'd like to help them continue their love of reading by taking them to the library this summer.  Our 'dry run' was over spring break.  They were so good, I wondered whose kids they were.  Visiting the library will definitely be a regular part of our summer.

Noah

Seth

After a quick lunch with Daddy, we came home and the boys started excavating.   I bought each of the boys a dinosaur egg with a tiny dinosaur inside.  They had to use a small chisel and brush to chip away at the egg to reveal the dinosaur.  Noah said 'This is HARD work, but it's really really fun'.  It was also very messy, but 100% worth it.

Noah

Seth

Honestly, I don't know when in this rambling timeline these pictures were taken, but as a sign that we were coming out of hibernation, we went for a hike!  My boys were all smart and wore boots.  I didn't realize how shaded the trails were and wore tennis shoes.  So much of it was snow covered, so my shoes were clearly a bad choice.  Since the stairs were slippery, Chris told the boys to help me.  They very sweetly took my hand and proceeded to yank me up or down the stairs.  Because of the assistance they had to give me on that one occasion, they now think I am unable to maneuver stairs on my own.  Any set of stairs.  They now offer their hand and say 'I'll help you Mommy' any time they see me start up or down a flight of stairs.  They can be sweet.

Noah left, Seth right

Weekend before last, I ran a half-marathon with my friends Elizabeth, Jen and Shelly.  Packet pickup was the day before at the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids (if you haven't checked it out...you should!).  We don't often go downtown as a family, so when we saw the Bring the Green event at a park near the market, we decided to stay a while and check it out.  The boys played Quidditch with some very nice students from Grand Valley.  They LOVED playing with the 'big kids' and didn't want to stop.  They also played hopscotch, jumped rope and climbed into a firetruck.  It was a really fun, impromptu activity.  The kids working the event could not have been nicer.

Around mile 10 of my race, I was thrilled to see these guys.  Chris let the boys decide what they wanted their signs to say.  For weeks, Noah said he wanted to give out free high fives and Seth simply wanted to say good job.  Seth told Chris that he should hold a sign that said 'I love you racers'.  He didn't understand why Chris thought that would be awkward.  Noah said he gave out 4,000 high fives that day.  He was mad at me because he said I didn't give him one.  He was right.  I actually missed his hand and ended up just patting him on the head.  I will never be forgiven.

On Tuesday, I came downstairs and found the boys watching TV like this.  It rarely happens, so I had to document it.  Noah is on the inside, Seth is on the edge.

We had a GREAT Easter weekend.  For starters, Grandma and Grandpa were in town!  We were also blessed with beautiful weather.  The festivities started Saturday morning with the Hudsonville Easter egg hunt.

Noah is the hug-ee.  Seth is the hugger.

Grandpa is just as silly as they are.  That face on Noah...he does it all the time.

 Grandpa isn't the only one who likes to mess with them.

 The Easter eggs were colored Saturday afternoon.  Noah left, Seth right.

Easter morning, the search for the baskets began EARLY, or so I've been told.  We told the boys they couldn't start looking until 7:30 a.m., but Grandma thought she heard little feet in the 5:00 hour.  The Easter Bunny hid them pretty good, because they weren't found until after 8:00....in the washer and dryer.  Good job, Easter Bunny.

Seth left, Noah right.

Noah

Seth

They received hand tattoos in their baskets.  Super fun...in theory.  They were difficult to apply and didn't stay long on sweaty palms, but the boys loved them.

Noah in blue as Spiderman, Seth in orange as Ironman.

Noah wanted to show me his web-shooting hand.

After a yummy meal (on the deck!) and some play time, we all enjoyed the Easter egg hunt outside in the beautiful sunshine.

We spent the entire day outside.  Brody had a cute doggie smile on his face the whole time.

We could not have ordered a better Easter.

Today was Take Our Children to Work Day, so...I took my children to work!  I was worried that they might be a little young for it.  They did pretty good, but I think my instincts were right.  They got antsy and it was tough to keep them occupied, but they said they had a great time and that was the most important thing.  Overall, they did well.  I didn't take many pictures because we kept ourselves so busy, but I snapped this one while I was on a conference call.  I let them entertain themselves with their leap pads.  Don't they look thrilled to be at work with me?

These were taken about 15 minutes after we left my office for the day.  Who knew office work was soooo tiring?  I can't remember the last time these two fell asleep in the car.  I was also super jealous of their snooze.

Seth

Noah

One quick Sethism because this one is worth noting!  Seth earned 1 million kid points the other night.  Recently when I tell Seth I love him, he counters with 'I love you more'.  This goes back and forth a while about who loves who more and how much.  There's a lot of  'I love you infinity plus infinity', etc.  The other night were going back and forth and I thought I had it won with 'I love YOU more because I grew you in my tummy'.  Nope, he came back with 'I love YOU more because I grew you in my HEART'.  Well played, little man.  Made my day (week, month,year). 

We're going on an adventure this weekend.  The goal is to blog about it early next week!

-Shelby