Starting off spring!

Now that it's the end of April, we are happy to see some signs of spring weather!  Both boys have started spring baseball and Tyler and I celebrated the first day of warm sunshine (meaning - no coats!) by getting a giant box of new chalk and chalking the front steps.  What a fun afternoon with my littlest one.  Welcome, spring!

Gavin on the mound for his house league, Team Stringer

Tyler having some baseball fun

Lost another tooth!

Tyler LOVES penguins and requested that I please draw one named Tyler.

Easter 2018

We had a lovely Easter celebration while we were down in Florida for spring break.  But before we left, we had some Easter fun at home too.  We dyed Easter eggs, and we attended our street's annual Easter egg hunt that's put on by some fun neighbors.  One of the dads always dresses up like the Easter bunny so kids can take pictures...Tyler still isn't so sure about that bunny.
In Florida, we had a few more egg hunts...Grammy Brown sent me with some Easter goodies for the kids, so we had fun hiding those and watching the kids scramble around to find them!  Thanks Grammy!  Grandma and Grandpa Reder also did an egg hunt in their yard once the Burkholders arrived, so all the cousins went out for their hunt together.  It's all great fun.  Of course the Easter bunny came on Easter morning for all the kiddos, and we had a lovely morning at church with a delicious brunch to follow.  Happy Easter!

Our great Lawndale neighbor, keeping it festive!

Tyler and his buddy James found a bundle of eggs

Neighbors!

Tyler found the special egg that rewarded him with this big stuffed bunny!  He joined us on the plane ride down to Florida later that afternoon!

Easter egg hunt put on by The Villages

Dyeing eggs with cousins

Egg hunt in the yard!

Family photo, Easter morning 2018

Grandma and Grandpa Reder with 6 of their 8 grandkids - miss you, Hardings!

Turning 40! Captiva Island, FL

I turned 40 this past month!  My wonderful parents gave me the best birthday gift - taking care of the kiddos for a few days so Erik and I could take a little trip.  We are so grateful for that!  We headed down to Captiva Island, FL.  What a great place to relax and enjoy some beautiful warm sunshine.  We stayed at Tween Waters Inn and had a lovely view of the ocean.  We rented bikes during the day and rode all over the island, stopping at places that looked interesting and grabbing food at local spots.  We had some amazing dinners at the Old Captiva House, Doc Ford's, and a special birthday dinner at Sweet Melissa's Cafe.  We made time to watch the legendary crab races, where you grab a seat, choose a hermit crab to be "yours", give it a name (ours was Ditka, no surprise!) and cheer it on as it races its fellow hermit crabs to the edge of the big, round table.  Silly fun that makes for a memorable evening.  We also spent an afternoon at the Darling National Wildlife Refuge, which had long walking paths where you could view bird and reptile species (we saw lots of birds and a gator!). The sunsets over the water each night were gorgeous.  The beach was quiet and relaxing (with more pelicans than I've ever seen).  We'd definitely return!

Another fun part of turning 40 was feeling the LOVE from close friends!  My Wilmette crew treated me to a really fun night out together!  And my best college girlfriends sent me a special birthday package filled with things they knew I'd love.  We've been taking turns doing that for one another as we all turn 40 and it's been so fun to celebrate them all.  I am SO grateful for my lifelong friends, near and far!

Such a special birthday gift from lifelong friends - the lovely letter inside made my day

My friend Bridget sent me this framed e-photo to remember our fun night out

Spring Break in sunny FL

We had a great spring break trip down to Florida to visit my parents and enjoy some warm weather!  We took a a couple day trips - Universal Studios one day, Gator World (a gator refuge with over 400 gators, all saved from trappers who would otherwise have to euthanize them) another.  Beyond that, Erik and I enjoyed a few days solo on Captiva Island for my birthday, and we also celebrated Easter together with my parents and the Burkholder Family, who drove down from Lexington.  We spent the rest of the time enjoying the outdoors - swimming in the pool, looking for wildlife, taking walks and golf cart rides.  It's always a fun change of pace and we love spending time with family!

We took a walk through a new area of The Villages that has some great wildlife.

Turtles!

Glass fusion work with Grandma - making barrettes!

The kids found a snakeskin outside - eek.

Chicken Fights with the Burkholders!

A day at Universal Studios

We all got a good laugh right after I snapped this pic - a giant train selfie, friendly strangers included!

The Pteranadon Flyers -  a favorite ride!

Doing their best acting work

Gator World - a giant gator refuge center

We thought this one looked like a smiling sunbather.

Babies!  The kids got to feed them hot dog pieces from a fishing pole.

This goat took a liking to Gavin!

Peachwave - a favorite frozen yogurt spot in The Villages

Sunset in The Villages

Such a pretty evening to end our trip.