Wade had mulch delivered Friday. Then it rained yesterday morning. Finally today was gorgeous and there were no major plans. Wade recruited all the kids and the mulch pile was gone in no time.
I woke up this morning to pumpkin chocolate chip bread. Alex made it last night and had it waiting for me when I woke up this morning. Things worked out even better when the weather meant Ben’s soccer was cancelled and we could have a leisurely morning.
Ben had a friend over for a playdate and they were so cute together. They played wonderfully and required minimal oversight.
After Ben’s friend had gone home and Kaitlyn’s soccer game was over, we went to Dairy Queen. For months, Ben had been telling me he was going to take me to DQ for my birthday. He had won a gift card during bingo at Gram’s house and had saved it to treat me to ice cream. He asked me several times if there would be enough on it for the entire family. I assured him we would make sure everyone got ice cream. I was impressed when most people tried something new. Alex tried a cherry dipped cone. Ben saw a picture of a banana split and fell in love. Wade agreed to split it with him.
My pick for dinner was Cheesecake Factory. We had a wonderful dinner and then fabulous desserts. Then we went back home for presents. Kaitlyn made me the sweetest bag with an IOU for a lunch date, a handmade bracelet, and an adorable stuffed puppy. Teague gave me two boxes of my favorite chocolates. I was so impressed that all of my kids made such an effort this year.
One of the few practices still meeting this week is Kaitlyn’s soccer. She got ready early and Teague joined her outside for a little pre-practice.
With all of our spring cleaning, we have found quite a few items in places they shouldn’t be. While cleaning Ben’s room, we found a Lego Duplo fish. I asked Ben to take it downstairs and put it in the duplo basket. I then promptly forgot all about it – until today when I was walking through the kitchen. Teague’s bike helmet was sitting on the kitchen counter and something silver caught my eye. I backed up and looked closer. I pulled it out and realized the Duplo fish and not been placed one room further in the lego basket, but had instead been hidden in the bike helmet. Story of my life…
One of Kaitlyn’s requests this week was a sleepover. Thankfully we found a night that worked for everyone and last night her friend came over after soccer practice and we got back from our hike. They made brownies (a raddish recipe), played a favorite game, and watched a movie. Then this morning, I woke up to the girls already watching a movie. Kaitlyn made waffles for everyone and then they built a fort to watch another movie.
I had warned my kids that we were doing some serious Spring Cleaning this week. We spent most of the day sorting and cleaning – mostly Ben’s and Kaitlyn’s rooms. Everyone was worn out by dinner so we decided a change of scenery was in order.
Teague had mountain biking and I was pretty sure there were some hiking trails at the same location so we went with high hopes. Everything worked out perfectly. The hike we chose took exactly 1.5 hours, which was exactly the amount of time that Teague was with his group.
Kaitlyn was a little grumpy initially, but quickly found a pretty white rock. She picked up every single one she found until her jacket pockets couldn’t hold any more. Then Ben decided to be a sweet brother and started picking up the white rocks for her and putting them in his pockets. He picked up so many that his pants were falling down.
The weather is supposed to be fantastic this week so we decided to start the week with hiking. The top vote was for Purgatory so we headed there first. I couldn’t believe how many people were out today. It was almost impossible to find parking, but we had a great hike!
Today was busy! Alex and Wade were ringing bells at church so we all got there on the early side. Then Alex shocked us all and joined the littles for the Children’s message. (The picture of random objects shows what Ben brings to church to entertain himself. I’m always amused by what he packs in his bag, but he is always content and mostly quiet.)
I was reading downstairs when I got a text from Wade telling him to come with my camera. Evidently he had promised to play with Ben and the game of choice was pirates.
Then Wade flew out to Seattle for a few days and the rest of us began spring cleaning. We started with the toys downstairs. The kids decided they were ready to put most of the duplos in the attic so we bagged up the sets, which meant building them first. Even Alex got in on the fun.
Ben and Kaitlyn both returned to soccer today. Ben has the same coaches as last fall, but this time one of his school friends is on his team so I’m sure he’ll have even more fun. When practice time was over and it was time for the game, everyone realized one of the teams didn’t show up. The green team was the largest and split, but that left them a few players short to play. Ben and one other player agreed to be a green player just for the day. (I think Ben agreed just because he had his green pullover.)
Kaitlyn would normally have had at least one practice before her first game, but practice was rained out this week. She showed up for her first game today. She knew most of the girls on her team from her many years in soccer – some from last year and some from other years. Quite a few girls on last year’s team (including Kaitlyn) were moved up from D3 to D2. The girls played a good game, but they lost today. It was still fun to watch them play and I imagine they will only improve with a little practice.
Alex got the chicken egg this year at the Easter Egg Hunt. Inside was an IOU for a night of ice cream. He has asked if we can go several evenings, but it hasn’t worked out for several reasons. Tonight everything aligned we had nice weather and no activities.
Kaitlyn really wanted a sundae, but their’s are quite large and she has trouble finishing two scoops of ice cream. Teague finally agreed to split one with her. Ben was his normal adventurous self and got blueberry ice cream with gummy bears. (I don’t think he ever gets the same flavor twice.)