happy easter!

Instead of doing homework last night, I sat around with my favourite guy and ate chocolate, drank wine and hid Easter eggs and jelly bean bags around the house. After a sub-par sleep (the usual), I woke up on Alana's floor with news of nibbled carrot nubs downstairs - the EASTER bunny had been here! I trailed after the kids with eyes half closed, but the excitement was just too infectious to keep them that way; coffee + chocolate + happy kids brought me back to life. So here we are 12 hours later and the sugar is still coursing through their veins - they're playing tennis downstairs, whatever that means! And the snow that was all around us this morning is gone (thankfully), along with 1/3 of the Easter basket haul (might explain the late-night tennis). We had a great day of food, swimming (the YMCA was open - !), exercise (me), visits (with neighbours) and treats; the only thing missing was family. And warm weather. (All in good time, right?)

I'm going to try to use the camera a bit more (instead of the phone) for pics, so I'll actually have to keep track of it - and take it with me. It didn't get left behind on a recent trip to a sugar shack - where, on one of the first moderately balmy days (I think it got up to 5), the kids were LOVING being outside; the pancakes and jugs of syrup were a distant second to the swings and tree houses and wood chip piles found out back. Combined with Friday morning's trip to the local park that makes TWO park visits in the past week, and we are all getting excited about spring (and summer). 

Quick updates:

since i couldn't find a recent one, i picked an oldie. age = ??

Me

I stayed up way too late last night finishing Alexander McCall Smith's The Forever Girl - an impulse pick-up on a library run (for kid's books). It was good, as most of his books that I've read are (I couldn't get into the Professor von whatever series, but everything else I've read has been fabulous). School is winding down and only a few assignments loom before the summer semester starts; I'll be doing one self-directed study and will hopefully have it wrapped up by the end of June, leaving me with a few months of coaching, cottage and... Greece! Can't wait. Semi-finals and finals of the women's vb league happens tomorrow night, as does Easter dinner (not sure what we're eating) followed by raspberry cake (yum).

Steve

A new project is on the go - a table, for somewhere. He's signed himself up for a spring hockey league, is contemplating playing in Nationals in Calgary, and is staying busy with the kids. I'm sure there's more, but I'd have to ask him and he's currently building lego houses with Alana (8:44pm), who is showing no signs of slowing down. 

music

Hendrik

Hendrik wrote his first piece of music tonight, titled Where is the penguins (I think); see picture. He's reading up a storm (we gave the kids an Octonauts book and they LOVE it), and - yes, Octonauts; they play or watch or read or colour Octonauts things for most of the day. Today swimming was a huge hit, jelly beans and Cadbury mini eggs (he called them Robin's eggs) were also big, and hockey and lego rounded out the activities du jour. Favourite foods... hm: toast with butter for breakfast (or waffles), PB&J for lunch, pasta for dinner (tonight he ate a huge burg, all of it) or beef and rice. He's all day at school except for Wednesday, and seems to like it - and he's signed up for baseball (starting next month) and swimming lessons, and that's it!

Alana

This girl could really work on her sleeping habits - as you've heard. She had her first gymnastics class last Monday and loved it! She was definitely shy with the other kids and adults but was all over the trampolines and mats and climbing equipment; it was her first organized class - swimming (parent and tot) starts at the end of the month (at the Y) - but not the last. Octonauts is also a big part of her life, as is anything that Hendrik does. Mostly she's nice to him (he's much nicer with her these days), but she definitely presses his buttons - and knows she's doing so (scallywag). She loves grapes, cheese, yogurt and crackers; icing and chocolate round out her favourite food groups. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting important things - like the fact that I'm starting to really love the Octonauts - but this is a sizeable post for this time of the day and with kids running wild. Hoping everyone had a fabulous Easter weekend!

one of my favourite all time books, for so many reasons.