After a few very long and busy work weeks, our much needed Spring Break arrived.
The first day of it was spent watching softball and being extra lazy around the house.
On Sunday we got a special delivery. Our neighbors went on vacation and asked us if we could watch their puppy, Sadie. The kids were SO excited to take care of her for the week.
Unlike Molly, Sadie is small enough to sit on your lap (or invite into bed). We all loved our Sadie snuggles.
Donovan and I took Molly and Sadie on long walks every morning. I enjoyed those early morning chats with my boy. Other than a few chewed up sandals and two tiny potty accidents, Sadie was easy peasy to take care of and we were quite sad to give her back at the end of the week.
Donovan and I planted a bunch of flower seeds last summer that never took. We had given up on them completely. Fast forward to a few weeks ago as the weather began to warm up, the tiny seeds finally gave way to a bunch of mystery seedlings. We had no idea what this little bud was going to turn into. And then, on Sunday, what would have been our Poppa's 80th birthday his favorite flower became the first bloom in the garden. An orange poppy for Poppa. It was such a sweet surprise.
Taylor and I took to baking a new recipe on Monday. A delicious key lime cheesecake!
I love how it turned out and it tasted as yummy as it looked. Here's the recipe if you want to try it yourself!
The weather over Spring Break was SO warm! It was perfect! We actually went to the beach on back to back days Tuesday and Wednesday. It was amazing! The kids were giddy playing in the sand. I loved playing catch with Emmerson and simply taking in the smells and sounds of the ocean that I have missed SO much over the last... who knows? I think it was summer last time I had even been by the water.
We dropped off Emmerson at the strawberry fields for a playdate with her bestie. Her mom sent me these adorable pictures of the girls living their best life.
Oma and Grampie invited the kiddos over for a grandparent sleepover. The kids love these special overnight trips where they get spoiled like crazy and get to spend time in Oma's magical garden. They dyed Easter eggs too!
Yummy breakfast in the garden.
They even made a special delivery to Oma Oma's house.
Garden chores in the morning.
And some water coloring with Oma, too! Isn't Emmerson's painting so cute? She always amazes me with her artistic talent.
On Thursday night we had a BBQ with our bestie neighbors to celebrate the Padres opening day. This is their back fence which looks down on our crazy hill below. Their view is 100.
They just completed this pool and we are SO excited to make summer memories here with them.
Our BBQ also coincided with April Fool's Day which the kids were way into this year. Emmerson started it by bringing "brownies" to their house for desert. Brown Es... get it?
Then as the grown ups ate outside, the kids came running out saying that water was spilling out of the bathroom. WE knew they were up to something but came in to oblige their excited pleas. We found water bottles stacked in a line all the way from the bathroom through the hallway.
And perhaps the cruelest joke was when they so sweetly asked us if we wanted one of the sugar cookies. They delivered them to the grownups outside. Yum! Until we bit into them and found that they had frosted them with toothpaste. Sneaky kiddos!
On Saturday, the kids got a surprise from our sweet mail lady. She dropped off special Easter bags for each kiddo. They were filled with candy and little toys. She is absolutely the best!
Saturday night Dustin and I went to.. wait for it.... a WEDDING! It was the first outing we have been to in SO long. My assistant principal and friend finally got the wedding ceremony she had been waiting for since their postponed ceremony last year.
It was a beautiful night celebrating with good friends!
Sunday morning came very early after the Saturday night wedding. Dustin and I laid in bed while the kids all sat at the top of the stairs going over a game plan for the Easter Bunny egg hunt. Their excited whispers were SO cute! Finally they coaxed me out of bed so that I could record the hunt. Taylor got a 3 egg head start and then there was a blur of running, squealing, and massive candy consumption.
We watched church together online and then got ourselves dressed and ready for a ride to our cousin's house.
We hadn't been to our cousin's house for over a year! It was so good to be back.
More egg hunts and lots and lots of candy!
It was a wonderful spring day celebrating with family!
Spring Break was more jam packed and full of activity than we have experienced for quite some time. It was a wonderful week of memory making together.
