Gimme a (Spring) Break!

This Spring Break did indeed fulfill all we were dreaming it would be in giving us a break from homework, youth group meetings, leading Bible Study, trips to school and early mornings.  Though we made "relaxation!" and "freedom from a schedule!" the goals, we still planned one little special thing for each day.  Since I did my research, I'm proud to brag about how everything we did was either free or some kind of great deal.  You've already read about the 5K, our Easter celebration and the big outing to Carmel.  Here are some other things we did during our week off:

We dyed the Easter eggs...with glitter this year!  I don't necessarily recommend this, unless you like your children and whole kitchen and egg salad sparkly.

We took the girls out on dates.  Ella and I went to Color Me Mine and painted mugs on their no-studio-fee Monday afternoon.  Dave and Delia went to visit the big fish at the Bass Pro Shop.  Dave and I both enjoyed our special one-on-one time with the girls and they came back home each bursting to tell the other all the details of their outing.

We tried real (not Wii) bowling with the girls for the first time.  Dave was having an off day, but Ella still only came in a few points behind him! (To be fair, the kids did have bumpers.)  Delia only lasted about 5 frames until the spinning chairs proved to be more exciting.  So, Ella took over for her and perfected her between-the-legs granny roll with this double turn.  Our bowling alley offers daytime dollar rentals and games, so our wallets fared well too.

We pulled out the ole' free mini-golf pass that we enjoy as ministry workers and spent a fun afternoon at Funworks.

One night we enjoyed a family date with the Wickers.  We met up at Baskin Robbins for $.31 scoop night.  This was a special promotion to honor firefighters, so Steamer, the firehouse Dalmatian, entertained our kids while Lloyd, Dave, Heidi and I had a nice long visit! :)

We had our share of productivity this week too.  I am finally tackling the 12 tubs of baby clothes that have been living in the attic.  I was reluctant to sell or donate them in hopes that we could share them with a family we love.  Alas, Miles ended up being a boy and Grace, Giada, Ellietta, Anja and Danielle were born in the opposite season of my girls.  So, after reminiscing, sorting, stain-removing and washing, it's off to Once Upon a Child and the crisis pregnancy center I go!

On our last day of Spring Break, we took advantage of one last free activity-- a big medical fair sponsored by our community ambulance group.  Since we live a ways away from a hospital, our small town privately funds, staffs and operates several of its own ambulances.  Today they thanked us supporters with this party.  We watched gurney races, hit the bouncy house, had a delicious BBQ lunch and climbed in and out of all the emergency vehicles.  The coolest was the Medi-Flight.  We've never been so close to a helicopter and were excited to actually sit inside and hear about the emergency procedures from the pilot and EMTs.

So you see, without going on any major vacations or even spending any major bucks, a pretty cool Spring Break can still be yours!

Spring in Carmel

Today we took our one big outing of Spring Break.  With all the sunshine, baby animals and blooming flowers we saw today, it couldn't have been a more seasonally appropriate day off.  We started the morning at a favorite oceanside park-- the massive Dennis the Menace park in Monterey.  I think all the natural smiles I captured from Delia show what a great hour and half of pure play this was for the girls.

Then we pulled over here to eat our picnic lunch.  Isn't it lovely?  It smelled nice too!

The park, the views, the flowers, the ocean waves crashing...all this is nice and what always makes a trip to the coast a treat, but what was INCREDIBLE today was to be there during seal pupping season!  Each cove (and there is one around every bend of the twisty coastal road) was refuge to whole communities of pregnant or birthing mamas and their pups.  We just couldn't get enough of watching the baby seals nursing, getting swimming lessons, flopping around and annoying the other moms or crying out their little bark when their moms were swimming without them.  Some helpful docents were wandering around answering our questions and pointing out which fuzzy pups were mere hours old.

The main destination today was our favorite coastal hike, Pt. Lobos in breathtaking Carmel.  The last time we went, Delia was just a baby and Ella still rode in the backpack.  It was fun to have bigger girls to hike with today.  They took great delight in finding lizards on the path and hermit crabs in the tide pools. 

With older kids we were also able to venture down the long flight of stairs to the beach for a game of tag with the lapping waves. 

The girls also made friends with this random seal lying right in the middle of our beach!  He kept tossing sand on himself, so Ella and Delia had to imitate him, of course.

We saw so many cool things today; God is a good creator.  We had much to thank him for in our bedtime prayers tonight!

An Easter Full of Kites and Cows

Hallelujah!  Christ is risen, conquering sin and death and hell!  What better reason could we have to celebrate than this?  Our Easter celebrations and traditons include gift giving, dressing up, praise singing, feasting and fellowship.  We love Easter every year, but this year's was an especially good one.

Shortly after waking up, the girls dove into their Easter baskets.  Here they show off their favorites: matching nightgowns for them and their best stuffed animals and butterfly wings. 

Then we got ready for church.  We are blessed every year to have hand-me-down dresses from a church friend with two older daughters.  We have several sizes of these fancy princess dresses lined up in the back of our closet.  You can't wear such a fancy dress without fancy hair, though!  We girls monopolized the bathroom with a hot roller party yesterday morning.

In the afternoon, we headed to the California VM Easter Party, an annual tradition we look so forward to.  Once again, hundreds of Easter eggs were hidden and spread across the lawn and the kids had a ball collecting them.

Delia didn't even have the self-control to finish the hunt.  She just declared herself done, so she could plop down and check out her loot.  Besides candy, the kids came away with lots of little toys and about $3 in quarters. 

Our hostess has been collecting kites for a year.  After the egg hunt, she delighted everyone when she handed out a kite to each of the 20 kids.  Our day was just breezy enough to make it perfect kite-flying weather.

When I wasn't tossing Buzz Lightyear and Elmo back into the air or unwrapping Delia from her kite string, I loved stepping back to look at all the kites in the sky and all the kids and parents in the yard having a great time together.

When our lines started crossing, as 20 kite lines are prone to do, we spread out into the hay field.  I just love this view too: kids, kites, cows and mountains.

Since our hosts own a dairy, we had to stop and visit the cows.  Then, a giant potluck dinner, with tons of salads, fruits and, of course, ham buns, ended a great Easter together. 

Happy Easter 2011!

From Dave's Good Friday sermon: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." 

Isaiah 53:5

Blessings as you celebrate our RISEN SAVIOR!

A Fun Run

I love that Ella tells people, "I'm a runner, like my daddy."  Dave keeps encouraging her to do these little races with him and it is shaping her identity as an athlete!  This year Delia wanted to run too, so I watched my whole family stretching and pinning number bibs on themselves at this morning's race.

This was the same Easter race Dave did last year.  It's a 5K around a pretty lake and sponsored by a big church.  When we shared the info with good friends, Sara and Arend, who've also been bit by the race-running bug, they signed up too.  It was fun to share this experience with them and cheer them on.  Everyone beat their goals and loved today's race.

Dave's goal for this race was to just enjoy it.  He loaded a bunch of Easter songs on the Ipod and made efforts to not watch his clock.  And he succeeded in his goal!  The weather was gorgeous and the track around the lake is so lovely.  Surprisingly, this relaxed mentality had Dave run his fastest 3 miles ever and best last year's race time by 30 seconds.

The girls ran the quarter mile race with a whole crowd of other under-10 year olds.  While Dave was racing, two little girls ran up and almost knocked Ella down with a hug.  What a surprise to find some church and Awanas friends also participating in this race!  Lily's dad, Mark, was too funny leading the kids in stretching and pep talks.  He's a running friend of Dave's and a pretty serious racer, but he still couldn't catch Dave.  His wife teased, "Pastor Dave smoked you!"

The girls both did great in their race! They stayed on course, ran the whole time and felt extremely proud when they crossed the finish line and received ribbons.  This was a great morning and we look forward to continuing this Easter Fun Run tradition next year!

Grandparents Day

As I write this, Ella is out for lunch with Pastor Bruce.  Today was Grandparents Day at her school and she invited Pastor Bruce to be her special friend, since her Grandpa and Grandma live so far away.  We know one day Grandpa and Grandma will make it out for the girls on Grandparents Day, but for this year, we'll use the magic of the internet to fill them in on all the details.

Ella created this collage of pictures for a special bulletin board in her classroom.  The grandparents and special friends were invited to visit the classrooms and see all the exciting things their kids have been learning.  A book Ella made for the day titled "My Grandparents are Special!" is headed your way, Grandma and Grandpa! :)

The morning started off with an outstanding chapel.  Our high school gymnasium was packed with all the students and their visitors.  Each grade took a turn presenting something special.  The kindergarten recited a poem about Grandma's Glasses and then sang this song "Let's Go See Our Grandparents."  A neat part of the assembly was a game they played where clues were read about particular visitors in the audience.  Ella was one of the students interviewed by the principal earlier, so her clues about Pastor Bruce ("He gives me M&Ms after church.  He teaches me about the Bible. And he is kind because he is a friend of God") were read and made all of us smile and say, "Aww."

We always miss our far-away family and especially on special occasions, like this one.  However, we feel so blessed to be a part of our church family.  Pastor Bruce gave up a whole morning to shower Ella with attention and a few other church Grandmas and Grandpas swung into her class to visit also.