EARLY EASTER

Since the Sanchez crew had to head back to Cali today, we decided to celebrate Easter a week early and get the kids together for their annual egg hunt and as many hours of play time as we could squeeze in before Manu and Leo hit the road. We got things rolling with group photos and the egg hunt, then came inside for our usual potluck lunch (ooh, so good... ham, spinach and feta croissants, two types of pasta salad, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, Captain Rodney dip, tomato and mozzarella bites, and cranberry sauce). The kids were so sweet helping each other find the (very) well hidden eggs and played as well together as ever, and it was really hard to say goodbye, especially knowing we won't likely see each other again for a year or more. Boo on that. (James came inside after everyone left and sat in the corner, saying "I'm sad. I miss Manu.") But we are very grateful that we were able to spend so much time with our buddies this week - thank you for spending your spring break with us here in the Deep South!!

 

Will was very sweetly showing Cora where the pink egg was so that she could get it :-)

Nothing more joyous than finding "TWO rock eggs!"

We took the requisite family portraits, of course.

Happy little hunters!

 Happy Easter guys, we love you!

A REAL, LIVE SOCCER GAME!

The weather held out this week and allowed us to have our second soccer game of the season! The kids were happy, played very well, and the cool temps were lovely for us spectating parents.

 She scored a goal today (and was of course extremely happy with her accomplishment)

 Emily, Cora, and Cari. All 4.5-years-old, all tough players!

 I was trying to take photos of little brothers (John and Aiden, the almost 3-year-old brothers of David and Jamie) out on the field at half time (both cried hard when the game restarted and they had to go back to their chairs - they'll be ready for fall soccer for sure!), but Cora kept jumping in front of the camera. That girl is too much sometimes...

 James' team was well matched for this game, but they still scored goals left and right around the other team... These U6 boys are just very skilled, and just aggressive enough to keep the ball in their play, while also showing off the skills they learn during practice the week before (today's game was about pull-backs and passing, and coach Jay was very pleased with all our players).

 Cora and Emma were running around and playing with "baby dolls" during their big brother's games, and when I asked them to pause for a photo Emma was cracking me up by continually positioning herself in front of Cora to block her from my lens. I finally had to take one from above to get Cora in the shot. Seriously though, Emma's smile and cheeks and curls. Am I right, or am I right? Melt.

 (We missed the ERDC Castle Club's Easter Egg Hunt for the first time this year due to soccer game overlap, but it was worth it, obviously. These kiddos were so happy to be out on the fields today!)

PIRATE SHIPS

Just as I was heading out the door for my run this morning, James woke up (and left the confines of the closed hallway door prior to the designated 7:30am), so I settled him in Cora's room with the lightbox and asked him to play quietly until at least 7:30am, and NOT to wake Cora up, no matter how late she slept (she's had a very busy week... well, a busy month, actually - we all have!) 

When I got back from my run, the kids were very anxious to show me the pirate ships that they made with the lightbox "Duplo" blocks. And they requested photographic evidence of their creativity.

GREAT START TO THE DAY

I haven't run with Ashley in months, even though she's training for a marathon (Big Sur next month!), and obviously haven't run with Sophie since the Mt. Ashland Hill Climb, so doing my first "long run" (in quotes because it was only 6.5 miles) back after my post-50K hiatus with these girls was especially good (even though I still have a couple lingering aches...)

So glad Sophie didn't wake up after our late night out and cancel on me!

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

Francine, Lee, Sophie, Yoly, Christina, me, and Amy
 

Dinner and drinks at KJs, a walk through the "Wings" art show downtown at the Attic Gallery, and cocktails at The Wine House. (Then another round of mojitos at The Hat...) It was a really fun night, it's been good to get out and enjoy so much girl talk this week, and I'm glad Sophie got to see so many friends while she was in town!


And before we went out, the kids came over to our house after school to play while Sophie completed her final CrossFit competition time trial (Legos, Popsicles, and the zipline - oh my!), then stayed with their dads at our house for a pizza party (and some Minecraft tutorials...) until bedtime.

 

THE GOOD GUYS

Battling monsters and keeping the backyard safe!

SCHOOL, SWIM, SOCCER

The kids (James, especially) are having a tough time at school this week. We got a note home yesterday from Ms. Tina that she's had a lot of trouble getting him to focus, and then stay focused. We're not surprised (and we kinda feel the same way about work) because when you have friends and family in town, you just want to spend all your time with them. Between school and soccer today, we took a couple hours to meet the Sanchez crew at their hotel and drink coffee (well, Sophie and I did, not the kids, obviously) while the kids played Minecraft (apparently one session at our house and Manu was hooked, asking for the app for his iPad), then go for a swim. Follow that up with 2 hours on the soccer field (in sharply dropping temperatures and wind chill), and the kids were beat. Totally worth it though. All of it. Sunday's goodbyes are going to be very hard on James...

 This would have been a cute group photo if the camera had clicked before the kids started moving...

 I was trying to take a jumping photo of Cora and Leo swam right in front of me all adorable and said "Cheeeeese!"

JUST KEEP SWIMMING

This little girl is growing like a weed lately! She's outgrown all her swimsuits except one, so we're seeking out deals and replenishing her stock (we spend about 6 months in the pool and creeks around here, so we need lots of swimsuits!) James, on the other hand, while gaining inches nearly as fast as his sister, still fits best in size 4T and 5T trunks (so if he hadn't worn out the back side of a couple of them, he wouldn't have even needed any this year!)

BBQ PLAYDATE

Since California and Mississippi spring breaks don't overlap in the least, the kids are distractedly slogging through their school days just to get back to seeing their buddies. They wish they could be with each other all day and all night (Manu has already invited them over to the hotel for a sleepover - no idea why Sopie and Alex vetoed that one...), but Sophie and Alex are actually here for work (both are still ERDC employees, they just work remotely), so the timing is working out just fine. Besides, they have a lot of friends to catch up with while they're in town, not just Team Lindsay (much to James' dismay). We have lots of plans for the week though, and this afternoon's BBQ was a great way for the kids to play while the adults hung out and had their own fun.

Teaching Manu all about Minecraft. For about 20 minutes.

Lauren is big enough to zip solo now!

Manu, James, Will, Cora, and Lauren in line to zip

Cora and Will spent a good chunk of time decorating the carport for us...

...with Lauren's help

Leo has gotten so tall and is speaking so much more (and his hair is every bit as soft as it looks!)

The kid table is getting wild these days...

Laser lights to end the night...

THE MADNESS CONTINUES!

October/November and March/April are by far the best months to visit the Deep South. Seriously. Come now, or wait until next fall (or suffer the extended summer heat and humidity with us...) This month we've had a record number of visitors and we feel very lucky to be seeing so many wonderful friends and family (first Robyn, then Jean, then Kelly and Val, and now the Sanchez crew)!

Sophie and her family got into town late last night, so as soon as our kids got out of school today, they rushed home to meet up with Manu and Leo. Big hugs all around! The kids busied themselves with dirt and worms and the usual outdoor play at our house while Jay, Sophie, and Christina busied themselves catching up (yes, Jay rubbed it in that he got to see Sophie before me - I was on the late shift at work so that Jay can attend an LDP function later this week).

Superheroes are here to make your day brighter :-)

I got all these photos from Christina, so I wasn't there to see who authorized double riders ;-)

 After work and spin class (side note: the first time back on a spin bike after a 5-month hiatus hurts in all the worst places...), Jay headed out with the kids (they had met me at the gym so I could get hugs and kisses, and so Jay could enjoy the return to spin class too - it's probably been over a year for him), and I hurried over to The Hat for a late dinner of nachos and mojitos with Sophie and Christina. We closed the place down, but didn't take any photos. No worries, they'll be here all week!

WORLD TRAVELERS IN THE DEEP SOUTH

My graduate school labmate and fieldwork partner in crime came through Vicksburg this weekend. He and his girlfriend have been traveling across the US (and Canada, and Puerto Rico, and soon Ecuador) for the past 6 months, and stayed with us a couple nights in the Deep South to eat some catfish and fried green tomatoes, hike around the military park in the rain, and share some delicious beers (both theirs, from their travels, and ours, to show off some Mississippi brews and Jay's current homebrews). We had a great visit and are so glad Kelly and Valine were able to put Vicksburg on their route - hopefully we'll do it again someday (here or there or wherever they end up) and it won't be 5 years down the road (we last saw Kelly on a Christmas trip to California, when we went down to Monterrey Bay Aquarium for the day, where Kelly was working at the time).

We had intended to take them down to Mint Springs Bayou, but the trail was closed :-(

Jumping out of the dense horsetail to scare Valine :-)

It rained (sprinkled, really) throughout our hike and the creek was cold, but that didn't stop the kids from jumping in and getting themselves (and us) soaked. It's cool, we had towels and changes of clothes in the car.