We found something out sometime during this past year.
Katie liked deviled eggs.
I'm not sure how we found this out or where or when.
Maybe on vacation somewhere?
I have no idea.
But, she liked them.
So, this year, I decided that we would color eggs for Easter (as well as have plastic ones).
In the past, I was the only one who enjoyed hardboiled eggs.
I would make them into egg salad sandwiches that used way to much mayo to be anywhere near healthy.
Do you know how hard it is to find just a standard Paas dye kit?
They had marble dye kits, tie dye dye kits, NEON dye kits....
Ugh.
I finally found the regular kit with the basic 6 colors.
The kids got to work.
They turned out well.
We put these puppies in a Tupperware container and threw them in the fridge.
We had to use Tupperware 'cause they stunk to high heaven.
The next say was April 1st, which just happened to be Easter AND April Fool's.
This is what I found on my deck in the morning.
A LIME BIKE.
They're everywhere in our hometown.
I spent one early morning schlepping one out of our neighborhood.
The back wheels lock when not in use.
So, I had to drag it out while listening to it - yes, it talks - threaten to call the police on me.
Anyways, on my deck.
I'll give you one guess as to who put it there.
NO. Not Ralph.
The Egg Hunt was officially ON!
Search, search, search.
I can't remember how many eggs (plastic) the kids each got.
Maybe a dozen?
It took a while for Katie to find her last one, which was stashed up in a tree.
Mikey, as well, had a hard time finding his last egg.
It took him a while.....
After all the eggs were rounded up, it was time for the annual Easter Basket Search.
Following the clues, of course.
This years clues were quite...uh....cryptic.
And had just a tad bit of a pirate accent at times.
For example,
"When you look for this clue you gotta be bold.
Best ye search in a place that's cold."
After running around the house from clue to clue for a bit, they got to the last one and made their way upstairs.
Into our shower.
JACKPOT!
Now, to get down to business opening eggs and unpacking the baskets.
And, let's not forget, eat lots of candy.
The chocolate bunnies didn't stand a chance.
I believe that Katie finished hers in one sitting.
And then, for lunch, deviled eggs for Katie.
She was happy.
I had to eat the whites though as all she will eat is the yellow.
I forgot that part when she mentioned she liked deviled eggs.
Oh well.
The next day, it was back to school.
And, I had to get the Lime Bike outta my backyard.
I've seen other people ride bikes with dogs.
Heck, whenever Ralph is on his leash and Huzbend and the kids are on their bikes he basically begs me to let him run along side them.
I thought I would give it a shot.
He did okay.
The problem with Ralph is that he likes to sniff while he walks.
And, he's, like, 90 pounds.
SO, this means that whenever he catches a scent and decides to investigate, he pulls my hand on the handle bar.
He also doesn't like to run.
After a mostly successful ride, meaning without any crashes, we made it to the local park.
I left the bike there and continued with our walk.
Ralph was much happier without the bike.
The first week of April was a Spirit Week at Katie's school.
Each day the kids could dress up according to a theme.
This is Katie's outfit for "Throwback Thursday."
Mikey also had a Spirit Day that Friday.
Crazy Hair/Hat Day.
Kinda like Captain America themed hair.
With ponytails.
Annnnnd, Friday brought with it "Popcorn Friday" at the middle school.
$.50 a bag. We do brisk business. The PTSA works the store, but all the cash goes to the ASB (Student Gov't) for clubs and athletics and stuff.
The best part of "Popcorn Friday" is seeing and saying hi to the kids we know (especially our own) and making kids who beg for free popcorn embarrass themselves by singing or dancing in the cafeteria.
It never gets old.
I think this time around a dude sang us a rendition of "Let It Go."
The weather was getting nicer.
It must've been above 60 degrees in this picture.
When it's 60 in spring in the PNW, the pool and hose come out!
Spring Break was the second week of April this year.
It felt early. But, now that I think about it, it always is the second week of April.
Saturday had a lazy start.
But, then we rallied the troops and went to Open Skate at the local rink.
The kids had a good time last time we went and wanted to try it again.
And this time, they dragged Huzbend along.
He LOVES skating.
That was sarcastic.
The things we do for our kids......
Mikey has a technique for falling.
He always tries to fall forwards and slides along the ice.
It works.
Mostly.
Except the one time I took my eyes off him and he fell backward smacking his head on the ice.
He wasn't so happy after that.
This is NOT a picture of that.
Katie is fearless.
She's not the best skater, but she just gets out there and doesn't hold back.
No wall hugging for her.
After the head bump, Mikey took a time out.
I cajoled him to get back on the ice and try again.
I told him that I'd make sure he didn't fall hard.
After a lap or two, he had a smile back on his face.
Guess what?
Katie let me HOLD HER HAND while we took a lap around the ice.
Sigh. It was really nice.
I attempted to keep the kids semi-busy over Spring Break.
One day, we went for a hike down to a beach.
It takes us a long time to hike because they kids love to deviate from the trail and explore.
They also like me to take pictures of them doing, "Silly Things in the Nature".
Trademark.
We finally made it to the beach.
After a quick stop at the porta-potty…..
….it was time to hit the water.
You could say the water was a tad bit cold.
But, that didn't stop the kids, or Ralph, from playing in it.
Any excuse to lay down in the water....
I swear, we own the only Lab that loves water but can't swim to save his life.
We spent a good amount of time at the beach.
The kids kept themselves busy doing who knows what.
I just let them do their thing.
Finally, they decided it was time to go.
I seriously doubt they were cold or anything.
Most likely hungry.
They told me their feet were wet.
I guess the waves went over top of their boots.
I didn't quite understand HOW wet...….
They walked back to the car with puddles IN their rain boots.
It's not a very short hike and it's mostly uphill.
But, there were no complaints.
Unbelievable.
We did stop for a few more "Silly Pictures in Nature".
Trademark.
There's a lot of remnants of Old Growth forest on this hike.
The corpses of huge trees that were hundreds of years old are scattered everywhere.
Another day during Break, we spent at the PACSCI Center.
First up, an IMAX 3D movie about Pandas.
There was lots of "awwwww" and "OHMYGODITSSOCUTE!"
The wind machine is always a hit.
Of course, we had to visit the butterfly house.
We found out when visiting the Science Center with Mikey's class that the butterflies LOVE Mikey's ever-present Flash Hat.
They once again enjoyed themselves by prancing upon his head.
I think they might creep him out a bit.
Alas, Katie had no luck having a butterfly land on her.
She got all emo.
"The butterflies NEVER land on me and they NEVER will."
Ugh.
Anyways, she perked up when offered the chance to hold a hissing cockroach.
Cockroaches make everything better.
At least for grumpy butterfly hating tweens.
Since we had no time limit, we decided to give the butterfly house one more try.
This time Katie wore Mikey's magical butterfly attracting Flash hat.
The butterflies were insane this time around.
They kept dive bombing us.
Here's a picture of one who flew right at my face as I was taking a picture.
It's that black blob.
FINALLY!
Finally, a cute little butterfly flitted onto the Flash hat.
Katie now could never again say that butterflies don't like her and NEVER land on her.
Success.
We STILL had a lot of cardboard boxes stashed downstairs from Xmas.
The kids and Huzbend decided to create castles and have a battle in the living room.
For some reason, this required castle helmets.
The face off.
We had learned a while back that Soy had dropped off of Katie's allergy list.
She's down to just Peanuts and some tree nuts now.
She's been asking for a while to try some Asian cuisine.
We decided to give it a shot.
Huzbend cooked her up some GF beef with broccoli.
She LOVED it and now asks for it all the time.
Because of allergies, Ralph began licking and chewing on his paws.
Sometimes, they get so raw that he limps around.
Happens every year.
This year was so bad that we had to put The Cone of Shame on him.
That did nothing to deter him from sitting in his favorite spot at dinner time.
Two inches from Katie's chair.
He knows the best crumbs fall from Katie.
Had another IV infusion mid-April and continued the tradition of having Remi-Cake afterwards.
Katie decorated this one with an IV.
Not the most appetizing choice...but, still, it was creative.
Crazy colors this time around.
Purple and green cake.
Blue and yellow frosting.
Four tons of sprinkles.
This is how bad the pollen was this year.
It was everywhere and on everything.
Now you know why Ralph began to dine on his paws.
Speaking of Ralph, he turned 4 at the end of the month.
His present this year was getting to chew on a paper towel tube.
The end of the month brought with it the start of YMCA Outdoor Spring Soccer.
Mikey once again decided to play and I was again coaching.
One of Mikey's friends was able to join our team.
They called themselves the Golden Warriors.
They voted for Golden Warriors over such greats as: The Thunder, The Zombie Unicorns, The Black Panthers (WAKANDA FOREVER!), and Meh.
Yes, Meh.
That was my favorite.
One more thing before April skedaddled out....
Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 came out.
YAY for superhero movies.
Especially ones in the MCU.
