Matt took the Patent Bar on April 27th (and PASSED!), and since he hadn't had any time to study up to that point, the kids and I evacuated our apartment to let him hunker down with his MPEP (Manual of Patent Examining Procedure). Where to go for a week and a half? Grandma's, of course! We got to spend a few days in San Antonio with Matt's family. Grandma took us to visit some beautiful botanical gardens, and the kids had fun helping out in Grandma's own backyard garden.
When the kids woke up from naps Friday afternoon, Aunt Rachel surprised them with Easter baskets! And the Easter Bunny made an early visit to the backyard. The kids were so excited! Michael knew just what to do, and it didn't take Sadie long to figure it out. (Sorry, I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures! :(
Saturday morning, we headed back to my folk's place for our family's annual Easter reunion and egg hunt. We had a ton of people there and LOTS of kids for the egg hunt this year. My brother Jeremy even came down with his family for an extended vacation, so we got to spend lots of time with them.
The kids took their egg hunting very seriously.
Ever since, when Michael says his prayers, he includes the phrase "Thank you for the Easter hunt."
Fun Stuff:
Michael enjoyed the chocolate fountain a little too much . . .
and Sadie enjoyed her broccoli a little too much.
Egg dying, of course.
Feeding the horses became a daily ritual.
Popie trapped an armadillo in the garden. --The day after, there was an article in the newspaper about how they spread leprosy. Yikes!
We took the kids on their first real train ride. We missed the first train we wanted, so we got to play around the station while we waited for the next one.
Big Kids
Little Kids
I think this one's funny because you can see me taking the picture in the door's reflection.
The conductor was really nice and let each of the boys blow the horn.
The train took us all the way downtown. As we walked to a park to eat our picnic lunch, we passed a fire station. One of the fire fighters called us over and asked if the boys would like to see the inside of the fire engine. Yes!!! What a fun, impromptu tour! She even flashed the lights and blew the horn for us.
When we finally came home, Jeremy and Megan followed us down to Houston, and we got to spend a few days playing with them here. We went to Herman Park,
(The boys loved the "bamboo forest" in the Japanese Garden,
and of course the play area was a hit.)
took a boat tour of the Houston Channel,
(This was so cool! We sailed past HUGE tankers and cargo ships from all over the world being loaded and unloaded. --And it was free! The Houston Channel Authority gives free tours twice a day for tourists.)
and went to Galveston beach. It was a gray, windy day, and the beach was covered in seaweed, but it didn't phase the kids one bit.
I am so glad my kids have cousins their ages to play with! What a blessing it is to have such a wonderful, loving family!
In mid-April, Matt and I got to attend the Houston Law Review's formal banquett. The week before, I had won a make-over at our ward's Young Women's Girl's Camp auction, so I spent all day at my friend Emily's house getting all primped up for the evening. It was the first time I've ever gotten an up-do, and she also gave me a hair cut, manicure, pedicure, and did my makeup. It made for a long, but fun day.
This is sooo cute! To get the kids ready for Easter --and focused on the true meaning rather than the egg hunt and candy --we reviewed a simplified version of the Easter story before bed each night. By the end of the week, they both had it memorized. Sadie especially loved rolling the stone away, and now whenever she sees something round (e.g. a dinner plate), she rolls it back and forth saying "Jesus resurrected!
