Calvin Spring Classic

Today was the Calvin Spring Classic and the whole family participated!  Casey and I ran the 5K while the kids hung out with Grandpa and Grandma K.  Casey knocked several minutes off his previous best 5K time, and I just about tied my best time, so we were happy with that.  It was a nice, sunny, cool morning for running and we saw lots of friends there which made it fun.

Casey approaching the finish line!

After the 5K we went inside so the kids could participate in the fun run!  Peter and Esther ran 4 laps around the indoor track, which was 1/2 mile total.  Miriam did 2 laps.  We were proud of how well they did!

It was a fun morning!  Special thanks to Casey's parents for coming to cheer us on with the kids while we ran.

Little League

Peter is playing baseball for the first time this spring.  He did play one season of t-ball a few years ago, but this is his first real baseball experience.  He is playing with Southern Little League, and so far it's been a good experience.  He has had a couple practices and played his first game yesterday.  He seems to be having fun, so hopefully it's a good season and a good experience for him.

He got a hit in his first at-bat!

They rotate positions, and he
even had a chance to try out
being catcher!

Easter

Yesterday we had our annual Easter egg hunt with our street and neighborhood families.  Our awesome neighbor Dore always goes all out with the hunt. She hides lots of eggs and has many special prizes and gifts.  The kids always have a great time!

In the afternoon we saw Junie B. Jones at Civic Theater.  They did a great job with the production and it was very cute and funny.  Many thanks to my parents for getting the tickets for us!

Today we went to Casey's parents' house for Easter after church.  We took a few pictures after church since it was a beautiful day!

We had a nice day with Casey's family.  Of course Grandma made fun cupcakes for her grand kids!

Charlton Park Field Trip

I was able to go with Esther on a field trip to Historic Charlton Park this week.  It was an unseasonably cold day (what else is new?), but it was sunny and we had fun.  Basically they have recreated a historic village with a bank, school, township hall, barber shop, and other buildings.  We were able to experience what school was like in the late 1800s, make butter and soup the old fashioned way, and also make candles.  It was a fun, interactive field trip and I learned a few new things myself!  The kids were encouraged to dress the part, so it was fun to see what they wore (even though they had to wear their coats over top!)

Making candles by dipping string into hot wax.

The kids walked in a circle, alternately dipping their string
into hot wax and then water.  This process kept adding
thin layers and the candles slowly grew larger.

Finished product!

Touring an old Inn

Chopping vegetables for soup.

Churning butter.

Well behaved boys in school.

Doing math problems on a slate.

I love this girl!!

Spring Break in Florida

Our reward for surviving the eternal winter was a spring break trip to Florida!  We drove down and stayed with my parents.  Karen and Juan were there too and we had lots of fun family time.  We swam in the pool, went to the beach, played board games, went for bike rides, ate ice cream, and went to Mote Aquarium in Sarasota.  It was a wonderful week and we're so thankful to my parents for having us!

Our first time eating at Chick-fil-A!
We stopped at one on the way home too.
Yum!!



My parents have been watching these sandhill crane
parents and their baby all winter.  They got to see the
baby grow up over the last few months!

Hooray for flowers and green things growing!



Peter had lots of fun with his rip stick

We spent a lot of time at the pool.
The weather was beautiful with only 1 day of rain!

Ice cream at Big Olaf's

Lunch at Myakka River Oyster Bar

Beach time!

We spent much of our beach time looking for shells and shark teeth...

and also some time digging and making sand castles!

Annual family picture!

We went to Mote Aquarium in Sarasota.
They had a lot of neat displays of a wide
variety of sea life.  This is a seahorse that
looks like a plant.

Waiting to watch the sharks get fed

Manatee

Sea turtle

We had fun watching this dolphin

SHARKS!!

Souvenirs from Grandpa and Grandma--stuffed shark and dolphins

One night my parents stayed with the kids so that we could go
out for dinner with Juan and Karen.  We went to Sharky's on the Pier.
It was a beautiful night so we walked on the pier and ate outside!

Peter lost a tooth while we were there!

These 9 square puzzles are so much harder than they look!

Grandma promised $5 to the first person to complete it.

Miriam won!

Triplets

Mexican dinner

More pool time!

Peter and Esther learned how to play Carcassonne.

The weather was perfect for bike riding.

Grandma's pancakes in the shape of the kids' initials.

Another day at the beach!

Dairy Queen on our last night before heading home.

Our awesome neighbors welcomed us home!

This happened a couple days after we got home.
Seriously?  On April 14?