Easter and Two Beautiful Grandmothers!

 We got to spend Easter weekend in Cleveland this year!  We had a great time full of family get togethers and egg hunts and relaxation at Grandma and Grandpas!  The kids joy to go to Cleveland never fades! 

The kids are so lucky to still have two beautiful Great Grandmothers in their lives! love how sweet this picture is with GG!

On Good Friday before we left town, I took the kids to the outside stations of the cross at Xavier University.  We had a very memorable time on a warm sunny day walking the stations and doing them together!  I would like to take them to do this every year!  I loved the way Bellarmine Chapel took each station and related it to a social justice issue - it provided great conversations and so many good, insightful questions from the kids - it warmed my heart!

And of course we always make time for the steps in the very early morning hours - the best tradition! This year Oliver and Elisabeth joined in 

Right before Easter we visited with Great Oma for her Birthday! The kids were so excited to celebrate her and she just lights up when they all come visit her!

Another beautiful picture with another great - Great Oma!

The weekend before Easter we got to have the Meyer boys over for a sleepover and we filled it with Easter egg dying, crafts, and smores on the indoor fire!  It was a blast!  For Christmas us and the Meyer family swapped date nights/overnights with the kids so the adults could enjoy a night alone! It will become a repeat gift! The kids had to make eggs with "Amelia" written on it since they so missed their 8th cousin to  join in the fun!

Father Daughter Dance

 Joe and Elisabeth got to attend their first Nativity Father Daughter Dance!  Elisabeth was soo excited! I took her a few weeks to Once Upon a Child and let her try on some dresses and she was so excited about the one she picked!  She hid it so Joe wouldn't see it and did a big reveal on the night of the dance! They started out with a fancy dinner at the neighborhood country club and then headed to Nativity to dance the night away!

blurry pic but that captures the level of excitement had by them both in that moment!  She made him close his eyes and turn around and she tapped him on the shoulder to look!  She got so into the whole night!

Early Signs of Spring and Track

 After winter it is always that long awaited time when you start to see glimpses of the weather turning and the buds on the trees starting to form.  We get an itch to be outside as much as possible! Both the kids decided to run track this year at their spring sport.  It is off to a fun start, and I am enjoying being a spectator at the meets rather than a coach! Really fun to see them get into my sport and love it almost as much as me!

School is going really well this year and Jack and Elisabeth are both maturing so much this school year.  They don't complain at all about school and Elisabeth typically cries on off days because she enjoys school so much!  We still walk to and from each day and that continues to be a favorite tradition.  Elisabeth said to me the other day on the walk to school - "I don't understand why there are all these cars on the road!  Why wouldn't people just walk!"  I get it girl - so much good comes from our commute!  I am really proud of how hard both kids are working at school.  Josie and Charlotte are still home with me on my off days and on my workdays, they go to Vickie's house with a few other kids to be babysat.  They really like going and don't complain about it so that feels easy to leave them!  I have enjoyed how close they are getting now that Charlotte is just a little older and can play lots of make-believe games with Josie.

Josie has been really into makeup these days!

Jack had pine wood derby for boyscouts and we had a fun time  watching!

Jack and I went to mother son bowling with Nativity!  I had such a fun time spending the afternoon with him and some of his friends!

Track is off to a great start!  The weather is warming up and we are getting so excited for Spring!  The kids keep us super busy these days, and sometimes I feel like I can't come up for air, BUT those tough days are so worth all the love and cuteness the kids provide