Spring Has Sprung!

These pictures might not be in chronological order, but you'll get the idea.

Basically, we've had 5 Easter Egg Hunts, 2 field trips, The Annual Easter Basket Scavenger Hunt, lots of outdoor water play and watermelon/Louisiana strawberry consumption over the past couple of weeks. Life is a whirlwind, and I'm trying my best to capture it all as it speeds by. This week the boys are on Easter Break, so we have less going on for a welcomed change.

Ian's Class Hunt. His teacher made the baskets out of milk jugs.

She invited all of the younger siblings, so Afton got to hunt too!

Ian said the sun was burning his eyes!

Ayden's class hunt. I had fun hiding every egg by myself!

Party at the Mangums! It was wild. What a bunch!

We hunted for and dyed some eggs.

This was our church Egg hunt. Ayden takes great pictures nowadays.

There's the three of them.

I've figured out that I succeed better taking their pictures with the

"divide and conquer" concept.

In other words: it's such a headache to get my kids to all pose for a picture together, especially when outdoors.

Lady Afton St. Claire (Mimi's nickname for her).

She is NOT camera shy anymore.

Easter Sunday after church in their Sunday best.

See what I mean by "divide and conquer"?

Sunday evening we had some friends over for Easter Dinner.

I helped the kids make a fort so they could enjoy themselves while the adults hung out.

Ayden was buzzing around looking for inventive ways to improve the fort (of course)!

Watermelon and swimming in our backyard.

A new local sprinkler park.

Ruffle butt!

Is that the end?

Happy Easter, everyone!

We love you all!!

The Projects In Depth (Previous Post Explains More)

Josh made this house and I helped Ayden make the roof and walls.

Ayden later added a rug and pictures on the walls. This house is now a home.

rear view

frontal view

The pirate ship with many more nails.

Ayden drew up plans for his next project.

He had it nailed to the picnic table so the wind wouldn't blow it away,

but daddy pulled back the reins on that idea.

I guess my backyard will sound like a construction site again in the near future.

Mr. Craftsman

We can't keep Ayden away from tools, so Josh decided to go ahead and coach him on how to use them. Here he is making his own pirate ship. Josh and I helped him a little with the details, but any nail you see was hammered by Ayden. He has added even more details since this picture was taken. I guess I should take another picture.

Josh bought him this apron, hammer and goggles.

Of course, Ian is right there with Ayden cheering him on.

Family Outings

Josh had to work at a kids' fair a couple of weeks ago that his place of employment put on called "Sapphires & Spurs". We had complimentary tickets, so we got to dress up like cowboys and gals and join in the fun. There was NO WAIT for the inflatables, pony rides, petting zoo, and the boys both got to ride a mechanical bull. I'm trying to get the videos to upload, so cross your fingers. It's pretty funny to watch. Oh, and there was so much food, one could easily burst out of their Wranglers.

This past weekend we went to a Kite Festival in Port Allen. Who knew that there was a national Kite Flying Association? Now you do. It was laid back, and fun watching the pros make their kites dance.

Ian decided to rest while eating.

Diva in the making...

The boys made their own kites!

Good times. The warm weather has brought us outdoors a lot more, which I am enjoying so much. I LOVE that first time each spring when I feel the sun's warmth on my skin. It gets me so excited for sprinklers, pools, and tan lines!! Bring on the heat, just keep it in the 80s until at least June, please.