Easter Egg Hunt

After dropping off our bake sale goodies, we went home to gather up the younger kids and Marcus and went back into town for an Easter egg hunt.  The St. Matthew mom's club (I am not a member, as you think I might be) puts on this sweet event every year.  The kids love it!  

James and Lukie waiting their turn

Bunny's last year  (but next year, she gets to be a helper)

Some of the baskets had little coupons that
the kids could redeem for prizes
(Gem and Mariposa with Sophie
 and friend Mary R.)

Altar Society Bake Sale

Every Holy Saturday our Altar Society holds a bake sale as a fundraiser for church supplies (like candles, wine, hosts, etc.).  Some years it's just so hard for me to make something, but other years...well it's either feast of famine, I think.  This year we made carrot cake cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, and homemade bread, and Bunny brought some eggs.  In all we made about $70 for the St. Matthew Altar Society!

kneading the cinnamon roll dough; the
carrot cake cupcakes in the background
waiting to be frosted

best recipe ever!  from the Oregonian

we made 4 pans of cinnamon rolls

3 of the 4 loaves of 5-grain bread

I don't think Mariposa was too keen on giving away
all these goodies....

We supported the bake sale more by buying goodies!
(the kids even used their own allowance money)

Tiptoeing Through the Tulips

Last October, when my parents came to visit, my dad planted tulips with the kids:

October 2012

Look how beautiful they turned out!  It has been fun to watch them grow and wonder about their color and timing.  These red, burgundy, pink, and yellow ones are "grandpa's" tulips: he picked a large bag of assorted colors.  We have picked a few of them to bring in the house, but it's just so hard to pick many because we love seeing them outside!

This orange one is James' choice.

Gemma's!

I'll have Bunny post her tulips on her own website.  ;o)  I didn't plant tulips, I think I did some sort of allium (I can't remember) and they are not up yet.  Sedric and Mariposa's tulips are not in bloom yet, either, but they're close.

Sedric wasn't "afraid" of the grass, but...
he didn't exactly want to crawl on it.  He kept
using the camera case as a buffer between his
right hand and the grass!

PS--you may've noticed that in almost all of these Sedric pics, he is sticking out his tongue.  That is his latest thing!  He does it all the time now.  I think it's because his teeth are coming in on the bottom, and he wants to feel his gums.  Whatever the reason, he is pretty funny-looking!   :o)

New Kitchen Deck

This week we put in a new "kitchen" deck.  Ok, WE didn't put it in...we hired it out.  Like we have time to put in our own deck!! ha ha ha  It was hard enough to pick up the phone and call someone.  And we only had the lumber for 2 years, sitting in our driveway.... Anyway, I am very happy that we finally got this project done.  It is part of the 5-year master plan for the backyard, and since it is a deck it is considered the "bones" of the overall project.  It is nice to have more of the framework in place so soon we can begin more of the landscape design and planting!

We wanted the deck one step off the dining room, with a few
steps down to the ground.

The kids LOVE the new deck because it is like a stage!
(the old plastic fence is tied to the new post because our
outdoor cat, Catnip, thinks the post is great for scratching)

Look at these hams!

This deck will be used for our gas grill in the summer, and probably as a base for food tables when we have outdoor parties.  I also want to put in some cabinets under the kitchen window, and a sink.  The kids are pushing for a drinking fountain so we'll see about that.  We'll likely put in some shrubbery there on the ground, something low.  Where the gravel is now, we would like to put in a patio with some planters in the corners, and maybe even a fireplace along the garden side.  Finally, I would love a long planter (for kitchen herbs?) along the original deck, with a long bench seat, perfect for all the kids!

Here Comes Trouble

Look who found the toilet paper...

 ...and the stairs...

 ...and look who likes to take a loop around the "track" and check if the laundry room door is open (dog water).

Last Day in Astoria

Sunday morning started with more boats....

 And a visit from Lenny the Leprechaun!  Lenny has made his annual visit every March 17th for a few years now, and he hides his gold for the kids to find.  We were all surprised to learn that Lenny had followed us to Astoria and hid his gold in the hotel room!

divvying up the goods

We packed up our suitcases (each kid had their own), checked out of the hotel, and drove to Sunday Mass at the local church.  Before we left town, though, we just HAD to cross that big big bridge!

I would NOT want to be one of the workers on the bridge!
(there is nothing below this guy!)

Lenny was right there with us on our journey home.

Bye bye, Astoria!

On our way home we stopped in Seaside to have lunch at Subway.  This was an important journey for us.  Last year we tried to get lunch there, and (our good fortune) Gemma was asleep.  Marcus and I warned the kids, "Be quiet!  Don't wake Gemma up!"  I was looking forward to staying in the car and reading a magazine while Marcus took the rest of the kids in to eat sandwiches.  Well, those of you who know James personally can really picture this:  when we pulled up to Subway (last year), James yelled, "Woo hoo!!!" and woke Gemma up!  We were so mad, we said "No Subway!" and just drove home.  What a punishment!!  Anyway, this year it was important to try again. I'm so glad we did....

And that was a great end to a great weekend getaway. 

Saturday in Astoria

Ok, let's get these Astoria posts going, so we can get to some Easter pics!

Saturday morning, after breakfast in the hotel, we made our way to Lewis & Clark National Park for a few hours of history lessons.  Always learning!  We watched one visitor-center movie together, then I went out with Gemma to do some schoolbook shopping while the rest of the clan watched another movie.  After sitting still for so long, it was time to take a walk around the Park:

If we were on L&C's expedition, this would
be where we would put Gemma. 

We hiked the whole loop and more (which actually isn't that
far, but it does ~sound~ impressive).

Lunch at a brewpub (Fort George I believe)

After lunch we made our way to the Astoria column.  By this time it was raining and windy, and on the hill the bad weather was amplified!  Mariposa claimed she is afraid of heights, and the metal stairs were a little slippery, so Mariposa, Sedric, and I stayed back.

Here's the crew at the start of their ascent
(Bunny was reminded of our climb to the top
of St. Peter's in Vatican City)

looking up (the little black dot is Marcus' head)

I made Mariposa pose for a quick pic before we retreated
to the car (do you see the bridge in the background?).

they made it!

Back at "home" safe and sound.  It was so cute to see
what the housekeepers did!!

For dinner we ordered pizza and picked up
some ice cream for root beer floats.

more boat watching

movie at bedtime (I think they watched Ponyo)

Marcus and Seddy doing their nighttime
routine (Marcus checking on the day's
news stories on his iPad)