Easter

It was one of those rainy cold Easters this year. The Easter Bunny actually came through the chimney and hid the eggs inside. A wonder he did not collide with Santa, considering how early in the year it is. Since Friday was no school we started by taking down the St. Patricks Day decorations and colored some eggs. On Saturday while Marlene was in German school, I took Amelia to a "Spring Egg Hunt" and she saw the "Spring Bunny". When the sun came out that afternoon we were able to take some pictures in the yard in their new Easter dresses. In the evening the girls helped me make marzipan decorations for our Easter Cake. On Sunday we started with a special breakfast and Easter bread. Then Marlene and I went to church. The Easter Bunny was late this year, we did not find any eggs until the afternoon, but the girls had a lot of fun looking.

Amelias Birthday

Amelia had her 3rd birthday last week. A while ago she was very excited to be a big girl, she has changed her mind lately. She keeps telling me, that she wants to stay small. I think it has to do with sucking her thumb. We are not saying anything yet, but somehow she picked up, that big girls don't suck their thumb. And so she decided to stay a small girl. But the day arrived and she was very excited to have a birthday. For the afternoon we had invited some of her friends for cake. She had especially requested a pink cake with ballerinas in pink, blue, and purple and frogs on it. I think all the kids liked it and they not only ate their frosting and cake, but they asked for seconds.

A Day at the Beach

A few weeks ago Jason took the girls to the beach at Volunteer Park. I love having these nature reserves right in the city; without a long drive you can be away from everything. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday (and I was at work). We don't get that many glorious days like that, so you have to use them as they come. The girls hiked all the way from the upper part through the forest down to the water. At the beach they found a fort that someone had built. And they did some building of their own.

Midwinterbreak in California

We had the grand plan to escape the rain and go to the Bay Area for Midwinter break to enjoy some sunshine. Well, that blew up in our face. It was glorious here in Seattle, while it was raining the whole week in California, because the jet stream had dropped south. We still used the time to go on a few day excursions. One day we went to the mission of San Juan Bautista. We have been there many times before. I like it , because the buildings are all well preserved and there is lots to see. Behind the church you can look down and see the San Andreas fold line. The girls loved running around in the garden and the plaza in front of the mission.

We spent some time with all the cousins, which is always a lot of fun for the girls. We celebrated Sam's 9th birthday and I got to make a cake for him. There was a huge storm hitting the West Coast that weekend, which always results in big waves. On Sunday we drove out to Santa Cruz to see the 30 Foot high waves. No surfers out that day.

While in California we missed the "Seattle Home and Garden Show". Marlene's class had entered three garden designs for the show. There was a desert garden, a jungle and an Asian garden. They won a blue ribbon for best design. Marlene was very happy. She worked on the Asian Garden.