Spring Break!

Since Nathan left for a recruiting trip on the Tuesday of Addy's Spring Break, I tried especially hard to do something fun each day with the kids. It was wonderful having all three of them home together and I realized just how much I miss seeing Addy while she's at school. Here are some snapshots of our week.

Helping daddy pack for his trip!

The first night after Nathan left, the girls used their gift cards from Ms. Sharon (a friend of Judy's in Paxton) to get McDonald's happy meals and we took them to Lynn Creek Park for a picnic. This is one of our favorite places to go for a picnic since it's right on Joe Pool Lake and has a huge playground.

For anyone who really knows me, they might be quite shocked that I would let my kids leave the house wearing the ensemble pictured above. Sometimes I wonder if these are even my kids. Since I'm pretty sure they are, I've concluded that they certainly didn't get their fashion sense from me:) I'm working really hard to allow them to be expressive and not to make the outward appearance the highest priority, so when appropriate, I allow them to pick out their own clothes. I cracked up at their choice for this night, and loved the fact that they both felt beautiful in their choices.

On Wednesday, our dear friend Abby (who just moved this year from KY to Ft Worth!) and her kids, Annie, Amelia and Evie came to Grand Prairie and we went back to Lynn Creek for another picnic. The kids LOVED the sand, especially Isaiah. He was eating it right and left - yuck!

Addy, Evie, Isaiah (hiding) and Annie. The water was REALLY cold still, even though the day was warm. They dipped their feet in, but that was all.

Jayden with Amelia - two peas in a pod . . . seriously, they even have the same hilarious accent!

On Thursday afternoon, I took the kids up to the mall to return a couple things and they got to have lunch in the food court (and HUGE treat!) and ride the carousel. The most exciting part of the outing was that Emily Stanford (one of Addy's best friends!) happened to be there with her grandparents and they got to ride the carousel together. Great fun! On the way home we stopped for a frosty.

The above pic is Isaiah watching the big boys in the neighborhood play basketball outside. This is one of his favorite spots. He especially likes to do this around the time daddy gets home from work so he can see his car coming down the road. On a side note, I got this shirt free and have decided it's going to be the only time my little guys wears this one . . . sleeveless tye-dye. Just not really my style:)

Daddy's HOME!

On Saturday, we spent a big chunk of the afternoon enjoying the neighborhood park as a family.

While we were at the park, Addy learned to ride her bike without training wheels. This is something we've been meaning to help her with for quite a while now, but since she wasn't really showing a lot of interest in it, it was easy to put off. She was really nervous about it, but with some great coaching and encouragement from her dad, she did quite well. With a little more practice, she will be cruising the neighborhood in no time.

Jayden was a good encourager and when we got home from the park, she decided she wanted to try riding her bike with training wheels instead of her big wheel. She did awesome! I haven't gotten a pic of her on it yet, but the one below with her big wheel was too cute not to post!

We also did home movie night this week and took a trip to the library. I was really sad to see Spring Break end - we had so much fun! It certainly made me look forward to summer when we can all be together during the week again!