Matt, Anslin, Brooklyn, Benson, Nathan: Spring Break!

I know spring break doesn't mean much when you're oldest is only in preschool but we were extra blessed this spring break. Matt got the whole week off (until Easter Sunday) and my mom had the week off and came to see us!!!! ... !!!!!!

She made the kids a bus. :)

We went to the Desert Botanical Gardens (where I forgot my camera) and saw the butterfly exhibit. Brooklyn was so good at holding still. She wanted a butterfly to land on her so badly! One landed on Nathan right away and stayed for awhile despite a few wiggles. With some help and encouragement from Dad, one finally crawled from its orange slice feast to tickle her fingers a little. She was delighted! Ah, to be four!

We also got to see the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant. And it was great. We were snuggled with one chair and two blankets on the grass. Nathan fell asleep (thank heaven!). Benson charmed the angels afterward and Brooklyn got to pet the sheep. And we got awesome parking! Wow. I am becoming more and more impressed with this weekend. :) And most importantly to have faith in Christ strengthened by the testimony of others.

We also went to the Midwestern University Easter Fest. As you can see in this first picture it is crazy! See all those kids? See all those "hidden" eggs? How long do you think this hunt is going to last? Less than one minute. How long do we wait in line for it? Too long. Really though we had a fun time. And there was a good learning experience. I'm not sure if I presented it that way well enough to Brooklyn.

Isn't she cute? Such a little lady (when she wants to be).

And look at that technique! She really was doing well. She was in the 4-6 age group so she was on the younger end. But she would keep her eyes open and not bunch up with other kids. She'd gotten quite the booty and was just heading back when someone bumped into her and sent her eggs spilling back onto the grass. Of course, she hurried to pick them up ... but so did the surrounding kids. I estimate she ended up with half of what she originally had.

As I went out to meet her and she turned to find me, I could tell she was trying to be ok with it, but the disappointment got to her (she could probably see it reflected in my eyes - oops). Here's the part where I should put the great lesson she learned but I don't really have much. I think the thing I realized is that its not a big deal. She's forgotten about it and we had so much more fun with our own egg hunts. Maybe I can bring that up tomorrow. Remind her and draw to her attention that it really is ok.

He decorated the blue one and he's proud of it. :)
A little later, I was serving pie for my mom's birthday and he started throwing a fit. The "I'm reverting back to being a baby and am just going to whine at your feet and flail around a little." I played calm mom and persuaded him to ask nicely for some pie, after which he began whining again. I ignored it, finished dishing up then gave him his piece. And just like Nathan does when he begins nursing after an upset fit, Benson whined until the moment that plate of pie was in his hands. Then it went right to his face and in his mouth.