I am so happy to be a mother and to have three wonderful little kids. I feel blessed everyday to have them in my life. They truly are my world. And today they happily allowed me to take a few pictures of them. Which is a present in itself :)
I've felt really bad about not starting the kids in swimming lessons earlier, so this year, before summer actually started the girls took their first lessons. Jena has always been a fish. We could put a floaty on her and she would spend every minute in the water. After two weeks of an hour lesson every day... she is great little swimmer without any assistance. She thinks it is great to swim down and touch the bottom of the pool (in the shallow end at least) and she loves to jump off the side and splash into the water. Taylor had a rough first day. She was crying and didn't want anything to do with having her face in the water. Luckily her teacher wasn't having any of that. She let her hang on her back when it wasn't her turn (mostly to keep her from trying to climb out of the pool) and when it was her turn, explained what they were going to do and then pushed her head under the water and got her to swim to the side. After the first day, Taylor realized she might as well like it, because swimming was what she was going to do. It was really amazing to watch her progress and now we just have to keep working on it.
Spring is such a fun time of year. Especially anxiously awaiting the arrival of Easter. To pass the time we made decorations and many special treats together. These chick nests were one of the kids favorites. I gave the kids each a blob of Rice Krispies and let them create their own nest for their chick and eggs. Jena loved it and dove right in, Taylor didn't really like getting sticky so she recruited my help and Cody just wanted to eat instead of create, but that's okay because mommy really wanted to make most of them anyway :)
The morning of Easter brought pillow pets and lots of candy. Jena has been begging for a unicorn pillow pet for quite a while and was absolutely thrilled... Cody was thrilled about the chocolate. Then we set off for church to remember the true purpose of Easter, celebrating Jesus Christ.
When we returned home the kids were a little confused. They had enjoyed church and their baskets and treats, but wasn't there suppose to be an egg hunt too. We sent them looking all over the house for the eggs and then they realized they were hidden in the backyard. Dozens of eggs later, they were very satisfied. 
Ever since I was a little kid, this has been on my to-do-list when I had my own kids... We ordered caterpillars and lady bug larva and watched them transform into butterflies and lady bugs. For the kids there were some slow parts in the middle, but they were really excited when the insects came, when they started forming the chrysalides and of course, when they started emerging. After all that time and waiting, we finally released the little guys into the world. We will definitely do this again.
The other night I took all the kids to the annual school open house. Taylor loved showing me the different stations set up and all the art projects she had made. She and Jena colored pictures, read books with friends, swung on the swings and ran around as crazily as they could, because hey, that's what everyone else was doing too :) Taylor was also excited to see a picture slide show and pointed out the picture where she was holding a snake. Taylor loves going to school and can't wait until she goes everyday like Jena. I'm so grateful for her wonderful teachers that made her first year truly memorable!
Jena was mostly excited to see all her friends twice in the same day. She couldn't wait for us to see how well she does on the monkey bars. She is very serious about them and often comes home with blisters on her hands, but even blisters only keep her away for a few days. Jena loves doing creative projects. Her favorite thing is getting glue, crayons & paper and creating whatever comes to her mind. That's why her favorite time at school is "choice time" where she can choose her own project. Jena loves going to school and learning new things, but even more than that she loves her teacher and all her friends!
We figured we needed to get out and do something just for the kids. We haven't been to the Santa Barbara Zoo since Cody was born and Ryan figured it would be the perfect place to go. We told them we had a surprise, but it would take a little time to get there. At one point Jena said she thought we were going to the beach, but changed her mind once she saw the "Zoo" sign. That little smartie!
This is such a great little zoo. The kids love being able to walk around and only jump into the stroller when they need a little rest. Jena liked seeing the snow leopard, wild cat and the lions (yes, she is my daughter!) Taylor liked feeding the giraffe and watching the elephant grab food out of the container high above his head and then eat it. She thought it was really funny. Cody liked running around and eating a churro. He also liked making animal noises when he saw certain animals... like roar and bock.
But as exciting as the animals are... everyone needs a little break at the kids play ground.
and slid down the hill... Jena surfed/snowboarded down...
and played in the rope web!
What a perfect break from our regular life and a GREAT way to spend the day! We love the ZOO!!!
