Lego Mario

Joey is just like his dad and LOVES Legos. Also like his dad, he has a fascination with Super Mario Brothers. Sometimes two things you love combine!Joey made that all by himself. I was so impressed.

The Three

Occasionally when the kids are getting along and looking extra cute I think it's a perfect "Kodak moment" and I get out the camera to try and get a photo of the three of them together. This is what I get. When Joey and Kristin smile nicely, Simon is usually crying. When Simon is in a picture-taking mood, Joey and Kristin make faces. I've got to hand it to them - they always keep me on my toes.

Sweet Pea Day

One of my favorite places in San Diego is Summers Past Farms. It's such a beautiful place. So many gorgeous flowers and plants! Last year was the first time we went to their annual Sweet Pea Day as a family, and we had such a good time we decided to go again this year. Sweet Pea Day is basically just an excuse to get out and enjoy the lovely Spring weather - with extra emphasis on the sweet peas growing in the garden! The owners of the farm have a little maze made all out of blooming sweet peas: And, as part of Sweet Pea Day, you can wander through the maze and cut your own bouquet. I just adore sweet peas. They're so delicate and fluttery, and they smell divine.
Of course, there are a ton of people who come to the farm on Sweet Pea Day. So many, in fact, that we decided to skip waiting in line for the sweet pea maze and instead just spent the morning walking around the gardens.Here are Joey and Kristin on the footbridge that spans the small stream in the middle of the farm.
We also took some time to shop in their nursery. They sell scented geraniums there. They have geraniums that smell like roses, like chocolate mint, like lemon, or (my favorite) like green apples. I also got a few herbs to plant in my garden. I was also tempted to buy some of these cosmos:I've plented several cosmos in our yard, but so far we only have greenery - no blossoms yet. So I really loved the idea of putting these blooming cosmos into the garden. But I resisted. I can wait for my own flowers to bloom!

After a couple hours of wandering, we were all pretty tired (Simon was out like a light!)and ready to head home. But we'll definitely be going back again soon. If you live in the San Diego area, I can't recommend Summers Past Farms enough! Go check it out!

Easter

Happy Easter, everyone! As I often say, Easter is one of my favorite holidays because we can remember the loving sacrifice of our Savior while also stuffing our faces with chocolate - both of which are good for the soul! This Easter, we gathered at my mom's house for the big family dinner. Before we ate, we had a little Easter egg hunt for the kids. Simon caught on right away, and started filling his basket. Korinne, of course, is only about 8 months old and too young to really hunt for eggs. But she was an expert on sitting in the grass and looking cute in her bunny ears:We had asked Joey and Kristin to wait until Simon had collected his eggs before they started their egg hunt. (Simon's was very simple and easy and located in the front yard, whereas Joey & Kristin's hunt was more difficult and in the back yard). Kristin was very impatient, and tried to sneak off to the back yard to start finding eggs. When we scolded her, she started to cry and suddenly didn't want to find eggs at all. She refused to participate, even after Joey had started finding eggs and filling his basket. I pulled her to the side and said that I knew she was excited before, and we didn't mean to upset her by telling her to wait. Then I told her that by not looking for eggs at all, she was really missing out. She was only hurting herself by not enjoying the fun. She remained sulky. That is, until Joey ran out of room in his basket. While Kristin was pouting, he'd been going around the yard finding eggs. His basket was full, but there were still eggs to be found. So he decided to dump out the eggs he had so far on the seat of the porch swing. Once he walked away in search of other eggs, Kristin jumped up, ran over and started filling her basket with the eggs Joey had left. She is SUCH A STINKER!Oh, look at that. Kristin has a FULL basket, even though she's only been "looking for eggs" for about 30 seconds. STINKER!Meanwhile, Joey kept looking for hidden eggs. And Simon spent most of his time thinking, "Now, how do I open these darn things?"We tried to get a group photo, but Simon was tired and we were all hungry. Also, Joey was a little bitter after Kristin's egg-stealing incident. So we headed upstairs for the big feast after snapping this shot:The meal was terrific, as always. Mom made both a ham and a turkey. There was mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, crescent rolls, and lots of deviled eggs. Delish! For dessert, I made a lemon blueberry bundt cake. I also made these delicious and mildly addictive chocolate peanut butter bars. What's a holiday if you don't have two desserts?

After eating, we played some board games and then took a few family photos. Here I am with Tandy and Alicia:Here's Mom with Korinne. Here's a shot of Sean and Wendy.And here is a shot of the Sparks Family - Kory, Korinne and Tandy. Kory has had some pretty serious health issues lately, and was in and out of the hospital last month. He's hopefully going to get his kidney transplant sometime in the next couple months. We're glad he was able to join us!Hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I love that it's Springtime. You know what that means! Gardening, gardening, gardening! Expect more updates soon!