Spring Break

Last week was spring break and, besides being sick, we managed to do some fun things. It is that time of the year that the tulips are in bloom up in the Skagit Valley. I took the girls up on Wednesday and it was entertainment for the whole family. While I enjoyed the flowers and colors, the girls really loved wading through the deep grooves of mud puddles.

On Thursday Julie, Jen, Stephanie and I took all our children to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. Besides being a change of scenery from the Woodlawn Park Zoo, it was quite interesting to herd 8 children of various ages through the exhibits. They have done a lot in remodeling and new attractions. the playground is great. Unfortunately it was pretty cold. The highpoint was the underwater viewpoint of the big walruses. After nearly 5 hours the girls were very worn out and slept the whole way home.

Easter

Last weekend was Easter and we had a great weekend. On Saturday we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at Meadowbrook. This year it was bigger and better than ever before. They had 4 areas for the different age groups. It was Amelia's introduction to competing for candy.

We started our Sunday with Easter bread fresh from the oven. Then Marlene and I went to church. After the long Palmsunday service, she was a little worried, but that evaporated when she got her little bell. At Bethany Lutheran Church all the children ( and young at heart) get to ring a little bell every time the word "(h)alleluja" comes up. That kept her on her toes.

While we were at church Jason saw the Easter bunny in our yard. So before lunch we got to collect eggs in our own yard. For dinner we met with friend at Jon and Jen's house. We had a great potluck. I made cream puffs for desert. I have seen swan puffs at buffets before and so I came up with a bunny desig. The girls got to search for more eggs. By this time Amelia really got the hang of it. She collected more than anyone else. She was all business. This girl did not even hesitate to "bump" into Zoey and grab the eggs that fell out of Zoey's basket.

Baseball

It was a long break and it is good to be back again. first the Blogger did not work. Oh, how I love "upgrades", they make everything better, so that it does not work any more. And then we got a new computer and it took us (Jay) a while to move everything over. So now I have to play a little catch-up.

Marlene started playing T-Ball this year. Last year she was not old enough. Her team's name is the "Orcas" and , off course, their uniforms are black and white. There are 3 girls on the team. Besides Marlene, there is her friend Grey and Katie, the daughter of the football coach at Nathan Hale. The weekend before Easter was their first game. Marlene did really good; she was nervous before the game. It was fun seeing all these kids running around the field "coached" at every base to what to do next. I guess this is learning by doing. For the next 10 weeks we are going to have practice every Wednesday and games twice a week. And this being Seattle, off course, there was a mobile Espresso stand at the field.