Easter Sunday

We really lucked out and had a beautiful sunny Easter. The people in Western Washington where we live had rain...which made being in Spokane even better! We woke up Easter morning and went to church which starts at 9:00. Afterwards, we went back to Sue and Richards and took some pictures before the kids went on their Easter hunt. I tried so hard to get some good pictures of the kids but they were not cooperating. Kaiya is super sensitive to the sun...but only when I am trying to get pictures...so it resulted in tears. I know...I am a mean mom!!! ha ha. One day they will thank me. Hopefully.

Baby boy's 1st Easter

And here are some of the ones with tears involved. There are many MANY more of these than good ones.

Even Jett wanted it to be over with!

We went inside and the kids got their Easter baskets. When I grew up the Easter bunny didn't come to my house. My parents thought it was silly that a bunny bounced around and hid eggs. Which I think is funny since we had a Santa who had flying reindeer. HA! My dad would hide eggs for us sometime on Sunday. I have tried to do the whole traditional Easter basket/East bunny thing but its hard for me. I do it about every other year. The weird thing is Kaiya hasn't ever asked why...she just goes with the flow!

After Easter baskets the kids got to go outside and hunt for eggs. There was plenty of eggs so Auntie Em also joined in on the fun!

We then got ready for Easter dinner. It seems like my blogs are always centered around food while we are in Spokane but we seriously have the best food I have had! Cirdan and the girls helped Grandpa with his very delicious rolls. They helped roll some.

Grandpa and Grandma with their aprons we made for them for Christmas.

A family friend who came to eat with us.

Kate and Ella...

Yummmmm

Kim made these cupcakes for dessert

We celebrated Kaiya, Ella, Cirdan and Sue's birthday. We knew that we would be celebrating Sue's birthday a couple weeks later at a surprise party in her honor so we wanted to throw her off.

The kids had fun playing outside all weekend.

The Babysitter

Kaiya was watching Jett for me last night for a few minutes. After she was done she brought him to me and this is what was said...

Me - Oh hi Jett!! (kisses and hugs) Was Kaiya a good babysitter? Or was she a bad babysitter? Huh? Oh...she was a bad babysitter?? (teasing Kaiya)

Kaiya - What?!?!? Jett!! And I even let you use the phone to call your girlfriends!!!

Ha ha ha she made me laugh.

Student of the Month

Kaiya was just recognized at school for being the student of the month for March! The teacher that nominated her was her music teacher. She wrote a brief rationale on why she chose Kaiya:

Kaiya is a joy to have in class! She is always on task and ready to do what is asked of her. She participates fully and has a positive attitude that rubs off on those around her. When we are practicing our songs or learning a new instrument parts, I can always count on kaiya to lead by example the best music room behavior.

Good job Kaiya!!!!

Co-Dance

Kaiya went to a dance convention with the rest of the Auburn Xtreme dance team and other dancers around Washington. It took place at the Westin hotel in downtown Seattle on Saturday/Sunday earlier this month. They brought in talented professionals who work with the stars to work with the kids. The schedule was packed with classes...I attached a copy of the program rather than try and type all the classes. Kaiya was part of the Juniors class.

We left Ella with my mom and sister being that it was an all day thing. I didn't know how it would be with Jett but he did great and I was able to sit and watch Kaiya dance most of the day. Sunday I wasn't able to go so Cirdan took Kaiya.

The instructors were...

Gregg Russell - Tap - he has worked with stars like Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Kenny Ortega. He also was the runner up on "Live to Dance"

Barry Youngblood - Hip Hop - has worked with Jennifer Lopez, P. Diddy, Pink and many more. He has also performed for the Queen of England!

Judy Rice - Ballet - She is the Associated Professor at University of Michigan

Gina Starbuck - Contemporary - Has worked with Prince, Gene Simmons, Adam Lambert etc...

Chris Jones - Jazz - He is best known for his role as Wade in You Got Served. He has worked with Dream, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Destiny's Child etc...

They have pretty much all been involved with TV shows like The Ellen Show and Days of our Lives (personal favorites ha ha). It's crazy to read their bio's online. VERY talented people.

Kaiya's favorite instructor was Gregg Russell. She thought he was really funny.

Meema and Papa gave Kaiya a large gummy snake which Kaiya took with her to the competition. She ate some of it and brought it home to share with Ella.

Time Out Casey!

When Ella woke up this morning and came out to the kitchen where I was, she sat on the stool next to me and said..."Last night I put Casey in time out". She had a big grin on her face.

She dreamed she put Casey in time out!! Silly girl.

I Love My Kids

We dog-sat my parents 2 dogs while they were on a cruise last month. Cheeto loves to snuggle up with you when you are sleeping. One evening while Jett was taking a nap Cheeto crawled up and laid with him. It was so cute!!! Cheeto isn't very trusting with many people...especially little ones. She did like Jett though and even let him pet her.

Kaiya has always had this thing for wrapping up people's legs and arms. Not sure why...but I think she should consider being a doctor when she grows up. She was playing with Jett and when I went to check on them I found her wrapping up his leg (bottom picture...gold wrap). It made me laugh...! This was a picture taken from my blog in 2008 when she wrapped up Cirdan.

Ella likes to push the boundaries. She sees Kaiya carrying Jett around she thinks she should be able to also. A couple times recently I have caught her lifting up Jett. The first time I tried to not freak out so that she wouldn't drop him so I calmly asked..."Ella, can you please just stay still with Jett? Don't set him down please." I was all the way across the room and wanted to get over to her before she dropped him. Despite my calmness she lowered him down quickly to put him back on the floor but still dropped him a little less than a foot above ground. This happened one other time...that time I got there a little quicker and stopped the fall.

This picture I took when they were playing together and I was in the kitchen cleaning. I came out to find Ella had rolled him onto her belly. They were both having fun but it still makes me nervous!