Etc.

This past weekend, Dave was able to go to Tampa for 4 days to spend some time with his grandparents, Nana and Papa! They spoiled him with daily grapefruit, plenty of cookies and Cuban food galore.





He also got to see his dad perform in a band in Tampa. Check out the rockstar!!





I stayed home and had quality time with the kids. :) One night, we were invited to go to Sea World with the Sadleirs. The kids had a blast and it was such a fun night for all of us!









This is the last week of school-- full of parties and read a thons and crazy hair day and backwards day and PJ day and absolutely no learning. Crazy hair day was my favorite so far. Alex's mohawk was a good 1 foot high!!






And, the most traumatic event took place tonight at 6pm, when Anamarie fell off the backward swing as she practiced her solo circus act (see the video in the previous post). She suffered a *laceration* on her calf. It was about 2" long and 2" deep. Stomach-churning blood and you could honestly see the insides of her leg. Gross. (And I have a pretty strong stomach) I applied pressure for about 5 minutes until Dave got home from work, then I took her to urgent care. There were plenty of tears, screams, and questions (what will the shots feel like? Can you show me again? How many stitches will I get? When you say a few, do you mean 3? Can you show me again what the shot will feel like? I WANT TO GO HOME!!!). But, 4 shots and 3 stitches later, Anamarie has a story to tell tomorrow at PJ day at school.

Time

I am amazed with how fast time flies-- the months, the school years, how quickly the kids grow up, ... There's so much that I don't want to ever forget. Sorry for the complete onslaught of tons of pictures and videos this time around, I'm trying to catch up the last 4 months or so. I promise these are all worth watching!!





In March we took our first annual LOCAL ski trip to Big Bear, in about 60 degree weather. The kids LOVED it, the 3 big kids all took ski lessons and did awesome. Here's a video of Alex!





Next was EBS Idol (the elementary school talent show). Dave accompanied Hayden and Anamarie on a complete show stopper number. Anamarie had a temperature of 103 just hours before the show, but ever the performer, she wasn't about to forfeit the limelight, so she pushed through. They were awesome!





We had Easter dinner at our house, and Anamarie and Alex and cousins Brooke and Clare were the entertainment. I love, love, love Carmen's enthusiasm and support for her sister. Brings happy tears to my eyes. :)





One Sunday morning, I was making breakfast and heard a muffled cry and whimper. After a few minutes of searching, I found where the noise was coming from.





Carmen absolutely LOVED having Mumu and Papa here while we were in Hawaii. She still asks, "Where my Mumu go?" Here she is, giving Mumu one last hug before they left for Georgia.





A typical day at our house includes tons of play in the backyard. The kids are growing out of riding bikes (we're putting in a trampoline soon for my sanity), so they're getting creative out there.





Poor little fourth child...






Some cute pics of Hayden and Dave from the Father-Daughter Activity Day hike at Torrey Pines State Beach in May







Anamarie has kept the tooth fairy busy lately, losing 3 teeth in 10 days. Here's a picture right after the 2nd one came out. Her left front tooth came out a day later (see the buck tooth?) Each tooth is utterly painful because this girl has more anxiety than any other 7 year old child. We tried to take a video of her attempting to tie a string around her tooth then slam the door to pull one out... didn't think you wanted to see her cry for 2 minutes.





I can't believe my little baby just turned 2! We had a small-scale Dora celebration, which she loved.
Happy 2nd Birthday, Carmen!! We LOVE you!