Preparing for Easter

We had a fun start to Easter this weekend with some of our best friends, the Andersons ... Heather, Lance, Tatum, and Carter joined us late in the afternoon and we all went up to an Easter service at church to kick-off the holiday. We charged through the rainy weather, cooler temperatures, and enjoyed an amazing church service together. On our way home we ordered a few pizzas and after enjoying a few slices of "pie" we set out to color eggs for our respective hunts the following morning.
I fondly remember coloring eggs with my cousins, filling up plastic eggs with my family close by and then setting out the following morning to hunt them down in our backyard at home with my siblings and cousins and extended family in toe ... because the boys don't have cousins to share this tradition with, I am ever so grateful we have developed such close relationships here with our friends, that they truly do feel like part of our family. Heather and I have been friends for years - I can't imagine my life without her - and, it's amazing that our friendship brought together our husbands, who have become such great friends too, as well our children.

The older kids took to coloring the eggs immediately, knew what colors they wanted and how to place the eggs gently in the dye, but as you can imagine, our little Noah was a different story. He had fun grabbing an egg, dropping it in a mug, grabbing another egg, dropping it in, etc. etc. ... but, with only one egg tragedy, we managed to get two dozen eggs colored successfully and had a lot of fun watching and coloring a few of our own! Here are a few pictures from our "egg-stra" special afternoon together.

Grandma's Easter Treat

An Easter package arrived in the mail with wrapped treats for the boys as they each had their own to open, which included a card (and money that they both get so excited over) as well as new outfits with matching Crocs. Noah's Crocs are "Wall-E" themed and an adorable bright blue ... here is the little man modeling his new shoes from Grandma - check out his upside down sunglasses. Isn't he just the cutest??

Our Pedaling Monkey

So you've seen big brother ride his bike and now it's little brother's turn in the spotlight. Up until a few weeks ago, Noah never showed any interest in riding any of the bikes the boys have. While he got a new one for his birthday in November, he's much to small for it still and so the toddler bike that was Hayden's is just his size, and his legs can reach the pedals. He has enjoyed us pushing him in the past, but recently began showing interest in actually pedaling for himself. At first, he had himself riding backwards, which as I recall Hayden also did. Finally, within the last week, he's figured out how to continually push his feet in the forward direction to get himself moving - now that he's got it, he's a pedaling fool. He rode all around the front of the house, up the street and down the street and is now starting to figure out how to steer himself and turn around without help. With his little legs pedaling, here is our little monkey riding his bike.

A Zoo Trip

Today we planned an impromptu visit to the Phoenix Zoo - we haven't been in several years, Noah has never been, so we decided to get out of the house and go do something. We invited Grammy to come along with us too and while enjoying the beautiful spring weather, we walked around the zoo and saw all the boys' favorites, including elephants which the wildlife zoo by us does not have. The orangutans were especially cute, with the little one all wrapped up in a t-shirt while playing with her mama. While posing for the picture on the "ibex," Noah was concerned and told us "it not working" - I think he thought we were putting him on a real animal and because it wasn't moving, he just figured it wasn't working. We all had a good laugh after that and truly enjoyed the walk around the zoo and the time spent together.

Having Fun

I have been having so much fun this past week taking pictures with a borrowed "fancy" camera that my friend Lori, who teaches at my school, so graciously let me take home to try out over spring break. For a while now, I have been thinking about getting a really nice camera, especially when I think about all the money I have paid other people to take pictures of my kids and I've often thought to myself "if only I had my own fancy camera" ... so this past week, I kind of did. Lori and I've talked a lot about her digital Canon Rebel, and she's shared with me how much she loves it and a few different times offered to let me try it out. Finally, I was able to do just that and boy, am I hooked! My mom has a 35 mm Canon Rebel that I've always loved (and that she still uses!) - the picture quality is beyond compare, and when Lori told me hers was a Rebel also, I started looking into them a bit more. Especially now that I am in need of a new camera, I have been thinking more and more about investing in one that yes, will be a bit more costly, but knowing the way I take pictures, I know I'd get my money's worth. After Hayden's soccer game today, when I was able to capture some true action shots, I became officially hooked. I don't even care that it's a bit cumbersome to haul around either as I just love the ease of snapping pictures and the quality. Anyway, here are some shots I've taken in the past week with the "fancy camera" ... mostly just random shots of the boys, and a few from the backyard. Enjoy ... I certainly have!

Out for a Hike

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and get outdoors for a hike today. Wanting to try something new, we went up to Thunderbird Mountain Preserve, close by where we've been going to church and hiked around the mountain for a bit this morning. We let both boys walk at first, giving Noah a chance to try the hike out before it got a bit too steep for his little legs - at that point, we packed him in the backpack and Chris carried him up to the top. Hayden, on the other hand, was a little trooper, trotting ahead and forging his way to the top of the mountain. Here are just a few pictures taken from our hike, where we stopped to rest at the top, with snacks of course!

Our Soccer Star

Move over David Beckham ... here comes Hayden Robb! Our little boy was a star on the soccer field today. He woke up this morning, hair sticking up all over, and winking at me said, "It's soccer time!" Ah, it makes me smile just thinking about his excitement and how ready he felt to play his game this morning. He even tried to look up at the clock to figure out what time it was in order to make sure we didn't miss his 9:00 game. To say that he has been obsessed with starting soccer is an understatement; since before Christmas, he has been talking about soccer, and talking about it, and talking about it and finally, today was the official kick-off of his season, no pun intended.

He looked so good out there, chasing after the ball, dribbling it as perfectly as any five year old can, and even scored two goals! I never thought I would be one of those moms that would get so into her child's sport, but seeing my baby run down the field, kick his ball into the goal and score, and then turn around and go give his daddy a high five brings tears to my eyes. I just can't believe how fast he's growing up - and what a year makes as I think back to the struggles he had last year with overcoming his shyness and hesitation to get out there and play with his team. Not to say that he didn't participate last year, because he certainly did as we all became more relaxed about it, but today was different - he just went right on out there without any fear at all. And not only did he play well, he was a good sportsman as he took time out to give his other teammates time to play as well. We are filled with pride for our little boy and know we will have a blast watching him play over the course of the next few weeks. What's better is Chris being able to share it with him, acting as the "unofficial" assistant coach! So for those of you who won't be able to join us at a game, here are some pictures to start you off on what should be a very fun soccer season with Hayden!