Easter Egg Hunt

We missed the neighborhood egg hunt because of t-ball, so instead we invited some of our sweet neighbors over for a good ole backyard Easter egg hunt!  (L to R - Austin, Brandon, Ben, Alex (pouting for the picture because he couldn't wait to go hunt), Alexandra, Presley, Rowan, Maddie, and Michael)

Time to go!

They were serious!   The kids covered every inch of the backyard....

...and the 300 eggs we threw out were collected in about 2.5 minutes.

Checking out the loot...

 The kids were all really sweet, sharing and trading things with one another.

Then it was time for a big group jump.  We're thankful for such fun neighbors!

This just made my evening one night after bedtime!  Especially because it was to "Mom Kirkham", so we wouldn't get confused with any other moms in this house :)  Ben told me the next day he was using editing between the first line and the second.  I don't see what needed work, especially because the backwards Y is in both lines, but that makes it all the more charming.

T-ball

Our lives are lived these days according to the t-ball schedules.  The past week was much more fun, though, because both kids played their first games.  Ben was looking sharp in his Cardinals uniform!  He was an old pro at the t-ball routine and didn't get too worked up over his first game of the season.

His team played a good game but came up one point short.  I loved this shot of Ben and Coach Matt in the dugout.

 

Alex's first game was the next night and, unlike big brother, this guy was beside himself with excitement!  He was bouncing around the dugout (as were many other little guys) and thrilled when it was his turn to bat.

Alex and Aaron make some cute little Rockies!

Alex got to play catcher one inning and his coach had to physically hold him back from running after every ball.  It was hilarious.  Actually, the entire game was pretty entertaining just watching a bunch of 4-year olds learn to play baseball yet still tackle their own teammates for the ball.

Saturday was the real opening day with pictures and carnival games and Grandma and Grandpa got to join us.  We spent most of the day at the ballpark because of two picture times and two games and it was a lot of fun.

The kids' favorite part?  The dirt.  Again.  There is another cute set of brothers on the same teams and they all enjoyed a nice dig in the dirt together.  AFTER picture time, thank goodness.   

Even though it's really busy and it's hard to find time to have dinner together every night (and not from a drive-thru), I'm really loving this baseball season.  It's fun to do together as a family and I love watching the boys learn to work hard and be part of a team.  Plus, I love watching baseball.  I hope one or both of the boys continue to enjoy it and keep playing as they get older!

Spring Break

We had a wonderful spring break!  Matt was traveling for most of it but the boys and I found plenty to do to stay entertained.  We kicked off the week with a trip to their favorite restaurant, Benihana.  Ben loves the hibachi cooking but Alex can't stand when they use fire, so this is the perfect flame-free location for them both.

Next stop was the Houston Children's Museum for some intellectual fun.  It was Ben's first trip and he spent almost an hour creating and modifying this water maze.  It was love at first sight.

The other outdoor water areas were lots of fun.

Plenty to do inside, too.  Alex was ringing up Ben's groceries at the little store.

Alex manned the wheel of the ambulance while Ben did his medical work in the back.

We spent several days in Dallas playing with cousin Reid.  The first afternoon we took the kids to this awesome playground....

...but when Stacey and I looked up, the little guys had started their own hike.  We forgot the playground and spent the rest of the afternoon on the trails.

It was super muddy but it didn't slow these guys down at all.  Alex did walk for half an hour holding his pants up, though!

The next day found us enjoying the carousel at Grapevine Mills.

Good times!

And a little lunch at Cici's afterward.  Reid wasn't impressed.

My kids were a little more excited, but not about taking more pictures.

That afternoon we visited another park to feed the ducks.  Alex was really into his throwing form!

Ben had some nice throws, too.

We did a little paddleboating, but I realized it's much more fun with another pair of legs to help with the paddling.  Kids have it easy on this ride. 

We went back to the original hiking park on the next day to have more time to wander through the trails and enjoy the gorgeous weather.

Picnic lunch at the top!  I was amazed that this reserve is tucked into the massive metroplex because it had beautiful hills and a clear stream running through the middle.

All the boys were happy to take a break at the stream and throw rocks.

We always have to get a bathtub picture of the cousins together (as long as they can fit in the same tub, anyway) and this was the best of the night.

My favorite outtake...

And then back to business...

Aunt Stacey had some awesome mustaches but I could only convince two of the three to try them on.  It went perfectly with Ben's darth vader 'stache t-shirt.

After a little more fun together, it was time to head home and welcome Daddy home and finish out the break.

We enjoyed a fantastic crawfish boil with some of our great neighbors and Ben and Austin watched the little guys before they went into the big pot.  Yum.

Saturday morning was Alex's first scrimmage and first day to wear a real t-ball uniform.  Look at our handsome guy!

Ben loves to "coach" his little brother.  Alex was getting some tips in the dugout.

It was a wonderful break!  So nice to throw the routine aside, play, and enjoy some family time.  Now we're into t-ball games and the home stretch of the school year.

School Events

It seems like I've been to one or both of the boys' schools for something every day this week!  Lots of fun things going on in the 4 to 6-year old crowds.

Ben's school had a first grade "reading restaurant", which was very cute and I was so proud of all the work Ben had done.

The classroom was decorated as a restaurant and each kid had written out a custom menu of all the things he would read.  Ben read me three books and then one he'd written and illustrated himself.  He's worked hard on his reading this year and I love seeing how much progress he's made!

The next day was Alex's rodeo day.  It was in the youth building of the church this year so the lighting was a bit interesting and the parents had to take pictures of the rodeo activities and races from upstairs.

 

Alex's class with Miss Heather.  Love the huge hole in Alex's jeans that exploded that day so his entire knee is hanging out in this picture.

The following day it was back to Ben's school twice, first to read to the class (one of my favorite activities!) and then a few hours later for his school fun run.  I had my doubts about this one but they had a DJ out there playing music and getting the kids to run, skip, race and tag, so it was actually really fun.  Plus, it was a gorgeous sunny day so I was (almost) inspired to run with him.

Ben was fired up before the run kicked off.

The track was 1/16th of a mile and the kids kept track of how many laps they had run by tick marks on the back of their t-shirts.

He started off really strong but a few dozen laps later, this guy was worn out!

I was proud of this guy for his 23 laps.  More than I could have run :)

A few older pictures off my phone...

Ben lost a filling last week and had to go to the dentist.  He was then referred to a pediatric dentist who recommended two crowns due to the shape and position of his fillings so we wouldn't keep having the same problem.  He was pretty upset, so what better way to cheer a kid up than a huge slab of cookie cake?  (and later he asked me "what's a crown?"  He just knew he didn't want it)

At the third appointment of the week, this time at 7am, both kids were pretty thrilled to play on the train in the waiting room.  Ben had to be sedated for his dental work and he drank his solution then played till he was about to fall over.  Right when he was slowing down, they took him back, fixed him up, and he was a new guy once he woke up.  I was relieved that he was never in pain after it was over and the experience was as easy as possible.  (and in a slightly ironic note - just a few days later, we discovered his first adult tooth coming in BEHIND his baby tooth, which isn't the slightest bit loose.  Looks like we'll be back at the dentist again soon!)

Alex was proud of his baseball cap and asked for this cute picture one day.  Love this guy!

Alex has a take-home reader and homework worksheet each week.  He's usually pretty happy to read and do the work, but last week he was in no mood for it.  Lucky for him, Ben was home and willing to be talked into doing his brother's homework.  I probably should have stepped in but I was happy that Ben was being so helpful and that Alex had such good negotiation skills!

Honesty

Alex and I were headed into a restaurant for lunch.

Me:  Will you be on your best behavior while we're in there?

Alex:  Yes ma'am!  I'll be good.

Me:  Thank you.

Alex:  But I'll be even better if you let me play on your phone.