A Very Good Friday

Kenny was off on Good Friday this year, so I quickly came up with a fun family plan for the day. We had a leisurely morning at home, during which Riley decided to make Jesus on the cross out of Legos. Take that how you will.

Then we headed to Lakeview to try out The Backyard for lunch. It’s a cute little place on Harrison Avenue near the 17th Street Canal that has a great outdoor patio space, including a small play structure for kids. And they serve beer. Best. Concept. Ever.

 

Kenny and I split two delicious sandwiches: the pulled pork and the softshell crab. Both were great. We also tried the muffaletta deviled eggs, which sounded better than they tasted. But the kids loved their hamburger, chicken bites, and French fries. Such a fun time.

Also, how is it that wherever we go these days we find big machines to watch??? Such is my life right now.

 

Since it was such a beautiful day out, we didn’t go home after lunch. Instead, we drove to Albany, LA and to Mrs. Heather’s strawberry farm. We’ve visited her pumpkin patch many, many times, but we had never been to pick strawberries before.

We were a little late in the day and early in the season, but we managed to pick about half a flat. Lots of the berries just weren’t ready yet, and many others were rotten, but I can imagine what the fields look like when they are in all of their red glory.

 

I figured that Rory would love picking his favorite fruit, but there was also a sand pile to play in, and that seems to trump all right now. And there were swings, slides, a jumping pillow, hay bales, and a tub full of corn. The boys had a blast.

 

 

We played for a while and then went to pick more strawberries before we left. There were lots of fields to choose from and we looked in most of them, but we were just too early in the year. But we did enjoy the heck out of the beautiful day.

Indeed, it was a Very Good Friday.

Easter Train and Easter Eggs

I intended to post yesterday, but I had good reason for not having time to get it done. Lizzie had the Brownies on Monday night: TWO GIRLS!!! Much more to come on that later, but everyone is doing very well.

Riley is in the middle of a week of no school for spring break. It’s kind of like a trial run at what summer will be like, so I’ve tried to come up with some fun things for us to do to occupy the days.

Holy Thursday was his first day off, and I decided to take the boys to ride the Easter train at the mall. In the pouring rain. However, we scored a spot in one of the garages, so we didn’t get too wet. We walked up to the display set up in the middle of the mall, and the boys immediately spotted the little yellow train and all of the Easter decorations around it.

We got in line and only had to wait a little bit. But when it came time to actually climb into one of the train cars, Rory freaked out. He wouldn’t even let me ride in the seat behind him, and the seats were too small for me to hold him on my lap. So we stood on the side and watched Riley take a spin.

After Riley’s ride was done, we walked around the back of the display to check out the gigantic Easter basket and eggs. So huge and colorful!

Later that afternoon, we met Aunt E, Kate, and Luke at Nola and Nopsi’s house to dye Easter eggs. I used gel food coloring for the first time, and it worked pretty well. Riley really got into dyeing eggs this year, Kate made great excited faces, Rory got a little too overzealous putting the eggs in the dye, and Luke hung out in Aunt E’s arms and the bumbo. Everyone had a great time, and we ended up with some really pretty eggs.

 

 

We cleaned up the eggs and the dye and then recreated a moment from almost exactly two years ago. Remember when I brought Riley and two-week-old Rory over to Nola and Nopsi’s to dye eggs in 2013? We took a cousins picture then, with Riley, Kate, and Rory. This year, we did an updated, 2016 version, with Riley, Kate, Rory, and Luke.

Check out the amazing comparison. I can’t believe how big the older three have gotten.

Just imagine what they’ll all look like in another two years.

Claire’s Birthday Party and Annual Easter Egg Hunt

In addition to Rory’s party, we had two other events the weekend before last. Claire’s birthday celebration was on Friday afternoon at Airline Skate Center, just like last year. Riley stated weeks before that he didn’t want to go because he didn’t want to skate, but I told him he didn’t have to skate if he didn’t want to.

However, after about a half hour Riley asked to put skates on. Kenny happily took him to get a pair and ended up getting him the real deal, on which he lasted for maybe five minutes. So Kenny got him a beginner pair and he skated for a bit longer. Then he was done. Not surprising. But at least he tried it!

Meanwhile, Rory just sat at the food table and ate blueberries and crackers. And then he ran around in the game area. Aunt E, Kate, and Luke were there too, and Kate tried skating for the first time. She did pretty good!

The party was “Frozen Fever” themed. After a good amount of skating, all of the kids sat down at a long table and everyone sang to Claire. Then they passed out pizza and cake.

And this is the only picture I got of Riley with the birthday girl. He was being less than cooperative. Typical.

Happy Birthday, Claire!

On Sunday we went to Ashley and Greg’s house for our annual Easter egg hunt. Like last year, Rory wanted nothing to do with finding eggs. All he was concerned with were Grant’s trucks. So I quickly snatched up a handful of eggs and threw them into his basket before the big kids could get to them. He needed a few at least!

Also like last year, Riley hunted with a sword stuck in his back pocket. Wonk potatoes.

Once all of the eggs had been found, the kids sat on the steps to take their annual post-hunt picture. Rory wasn’t having any of it, though; he wailed when Kenny sat him on a step, even though he was still holding Grant’s truck. This is totally the start of the terrible threes, and I am not excited about it.

After the picture, the kids (with the exception of Rory) sorted through their loot and then ran around the backyard for the rest of the afternoon, having a grand time.

Another fun egg hunt in the books. Thanks for having us, Ashley and Greg!