What April?

Figured I'd start with picturesque scenery in an attempt to calm you because I haven't updated the blog in, like, a month......did it work?

I TOTALLY forgot to tell you that I made my own hollow chocolate bunnies for Easter!

Yep.  Bought some nut-safe chocolate melts.  Found me some bunny molds and WENT TO TOWN!

Can you tell that I'm just a little proud of myself?

In the midst of preschool stuff, various meetings and a few birthday parties, there was a school break in the middle of April.

Granma C. came to visit!

I swear that all were healthy when she called to give me her flight info the day before her arrival.

By the time she got here, everyone in the family was sick with the unexpected exception of me.

Sigh.

I made the joke that she was going to go back home with more than just memories.....

On top of all the boogies, it was cold and rainy the whole week.

We did manage to find a non-rainy morning and decided to Ride the Ducks of Seattle.

I was a little leery of having the kids sit in a vehicle for 90 minutes for an edutainment tour of Seattle....

But, they LOVED it.

I did mention that it was cold?  And rainy?  You'll see why I asked that when you come to the end of this little video.

A good time was had by all.

You COULD even say, it was TOO good..... 

Have I mentioned that Mikey talks A LOT?

No.  I mean A LOT times infinity.

Granma now knows what I mean.

Here's a few pics of her trying to eat lunch while Mikey discourses on a variety of subjects.

We attempted to get a nice picture of Granma and the two grandkids.

This is the best we got out of about eight trys.

Sick of the constant disobedience and general chaos of our house, Granma decided to show us how it was done and laid down the law.

It was time for a little arm wrestling.

And then, it was time for Granma to go back home.

Saying good bye just never gets any easier.

School started back up again and so did "activities!"

Katie had a "parent observation day" at her ballet class.

Mikey was not impressed.

Mikey got new pajamas.

He wore them to the family fun run we did the next day.

There was A LOT of whining because not only did we have to get up early, but it was cloudy, windy and not so warm.

But, as soon as we started moving, it was all okay.

And then it was time to begin....

MAY

Jam packed with school AND preschool events, meetings of all shapes and sizes, and just normal life type stuff; May is by far the craziest month of the year.  Really.  It even beats out back-to-school month AND holiday time.

These are good May-type pictures....

May started off with the Washington State PTA Conference.

Yes.  I went to a PTA conference.  I even stayed overnight.

Go ahead.  Say it.

NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!!!!!!!!!!

Mikey had a preschool field trip to the zoo.

YEEEE-HAWWWW!!

Mikey pretty much ran through the whole zoo.

Very independent, this little man is.

He was always off by himself, having run from the last exhibit to the next.....

At one point, he wanted to pull the wagon.

It was good....as long as it wasn't a down hill...

"Really?!?!  Eating lunch is picture worthy?!?!"

One of the most exciting parts of the day may have been the trips to the bathroom.

The hand dryer was TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!

Hey, remember this guy?

Fantastic impression, eh?

In case you were wondering, having three birds on your arm gets a tiny bit tiring.....

......but it's all for the kids!

After a quick stop at the playground to let the kids adults get the sillies out....

......it was time to pack it up and head home.

Zoo officially CONQUERED!!!

This past week, Mikey learned a valuable lesson about what happens when you

throw a rock and it accidentally lands on a glass patio table....

Meet Glitter Chicken.

A Mikey original.

 Phew.  That brings me all the way to Mid-May.

One whole half a month left to go!

Fish, Jehovah, Chaos and Eggs!

First some updates.....

We still have fish.

It's been almost a month and the fish are still here.

An interesting dynamic has formed within the tank.

Our fish are schooling fish, but there are only two.

The big fish is now the alpha fish.  He chases the little fish away from the food and constantly swims around the tank establishing his dominance.

The little fish gets maybe one or two bites of food and hides in the corner of the tank in a little plastic tree forest I created for him.  I'm guessing he does this to conserve energy and avoid being attacked.

I believe that I have driven these fish insane.

Also, they got sick.  Well, really, they got ICK.

A fish parasite.

I had to give them medicine.

Medicine.  For fish.

Okay.  Next up.

Jehovah's Witnesses LOVE us.

No really, they do.

They have visited us, um, let's see.....about four times now.

And they might come back AGAIN!  Whooopeee.

They've given us a copy of their bible, a book with kids bible stories, 

a copy of their "informational" handouts The Watchtower and Awake!, a pamphlet about The Origins of Life, and last but not least a booklet about what the bible teaches.

It's love, I tell you.

I opened the door one Saturday and decided to be nice to the two at my door.

Now, they just keep coming back.  Especially, since they got to talk to Huzbend.

Oh man.  Some serious discussions going on at our front door.

Back and forth, back and forth.

I told Huzbend that if they keep asking him to read all their crazy stuff, that he should compile a reading list for them saying they aren't allowed to come back until they've "studied up".

Next.  Chaos Theory.

Ever heard of that?  If you've read or watched Jurassic Park you have.

Or, I guess, if you watch the Science Channel.

In between the stoopid shows about aliens showing the Egyptians how to build pyramids.

Don't get me started.....

We have an example of Chaos theory right in our yard.

This tree is actually TWO trees grafted together.

The trunk portion of our tree has branches that have grown up through the branches of the other.

And this is what happened....

"....the kind of control you're attempting simply is...it's not possible.  If there is one thing the history of evolution has taught us it's that life will not be contained.  Life breaks free.  It expands to new territories and crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously, but, uh....well, there it is."

Thank you, Dr. Malcolm.

We have pink and white blossoms on one tree.

Frankentree.

Katie has decided to add "Fashion Designer" to her ever expanding resume.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the

United States of Corn.

The day before Easter we finally got that Spring weather we were wishing for.

It was sunny and close to 70.  Nice stuff.

Katie started an outdoor market.

Then the kids decided they wanted to ride bikes and guess what?????

Yeah.

It was awesome.

She was so proud of herself and we were proud of her.

Mikey's head has now grown too large for his helmet and now he's wearing mine.

And then, the next day it was EASTER!!!!

It was another beautiful day.

First up was the egg hunt.  Outside this time.

Katie and Mikey had their own eggs, so there was no confusion.

Katie = ladybugs and butterflies.

Mikey = bumblebees and caterpillars.

It actually took a good amount of time for them to find their eggs this year.

I think it was because they were hidden outside.

After the great Easter Basket Hunt, it was time to inventory the loot.

And to build the Lego sets.

Then we went to a neighbors house for a Neighborhood Easter Celebration including yummy brunch and an Easter egg hunt.

The neighborhood kids + some cousins

(minus two that had the pukies)

CHEEEEEESE!

And then after the neighborhood event, the kids came home and 

SWAM.

Yep.

Not just Mikey.  Katie did too.

As soon as it hits 60 around here, the pool comes out.