Spring Break 2013!: Rest of Our Week in Richmond

After Easter weekend as you can see from the pictures of the rest of our week in Richmond, despite the cooler temperatures, we spent much of our time outside. Clara and Jack took advantage of the climbing tree often.

Front yard dance party. Everybody is gettin' down.

Meghan really liked this little tucked away nook in the back yard.

Working her stretches? Step yoga? Your guess is as good as mine.

Cooler weather meant using sand in the "Sand and Water Table". The kids really enjoyed it.

Can you tell Meghan's used to a sand box at home?

Ah, the inevitable perfect photo op with nary a picture of all three looking simultaneously to be found. I give you a fraction of the snapshots I took.

Of course now she's all about smiling cute for the camera. The girl loves her accessories.

Even though she has her own crib at Nay-nay & Pop-pop's and has been sleeping in it on and off since her first month of life, nap time away from home was a bit of a trial somedays. What a stinker.

Snug as a bug!

While we were away, Clara went with Nay-nay to have her haircut. She was so excited by the way it was fixed with the curls.

Last but certainly not least, we were able to squeeze in one more visit with the Schaeffer family on Thursday afternoon. Meghan and Baby Hal were able to spend some time getting to know one another playing with the Sesame Street playhouse.

Spring Break 2013!: Easter Weekend

Wake county schools and Jack's new preschool were on spring break from the Thursday before Easter through the entire next week after Easter. So what do we do when the Nay-nay is out of school at the same time we are? Pack up and head to Richmond! We were there before she was even home from school on Thursday. :) The next several days were filled with lots of fun adventures.

Friday we had a nice afternoon playdate and dinner at the Schaeffers. 5 out of 6 kids mesmerized by a little after dinner Caillou, with the sixth one already in bed. That's what you call a win-win-win.

Saturday morning after running some errands, we stopped at the park before returning home. All three kids piled at the top of the slide naturally brought out the camera. You can see my mixed bag of results.

Meghan and Jack take the trip down the slide

Later on Saturday after Meghan's nap, we headed over to  Gramby & Su-su's for dinner and an Easter egg hunt! Quite unsurprising as it totally fits her personality, once Meghan saw what the hunt was all about, she was on a mission to find herself some eggs. 

Success!

And they're filled with candy to boot!

Post Easter egg hunt ball play.

Next up, Easter morning!

Examining their spoils.

 Nerdropes!

Meghan enjoys some too.

Crashing from the sugar high.

Meghan finds the energy to play with the fan.

 Though the weather was a far cry from the summer-like day we experienced last year, the rain cleared and we took to the streets for the Easter parade! After riding a bit, even Meghan joined the promenaders.

Checking out the petting zoo. Though not my favorite picture of me, I sacrificed because of what a great one it is of Memo!

Clara loves this series of pictures. She says, "I'm silly, Luke's silly, I'm silly."

Keeping it real as we head across the "finish line".

On our way out we passed the band playing at the base of the JEB Stuart monument. The days preceding the parade Clara had been talking about how she couldn't wait to dance with Luke like they did last year, and as we approached the band, she grabbed Luke and said, "Come on, Luke. Looks like this is our last chance to dance."

Happy Easter!

Dress Up / Adventures with Daddy

After a brief hiatus over spring break, we're back and ready to catch up on a few things before we discuss our vacation adventures...

First things first, Meghan has always enjoyed dressing up, but lately she's taken it up a notch from mere headdresses to full-blown costume regalia. She found an outfit just her size at our friend's house.

Knowing how much she was starting to enjoy this activity, the next time the dress up chest was cracked open at our house, I retrieved this gem from Aunt Betts for her to adorn. 

It's original owner, circa December 2009!

The weekend before Easter during Meghan's nap time, Daddy took the big kids on a Saturday adventure to the library, Whole Foods, and the Hayes Barton Cafe for an extra special treat.

In line looking at all the tasty desserts.

At the counter anxiously awaiting the cake delivery.

Enjoying the chocolate chip cookie dough cake and the peanut butter chocolate mousse cakes. Luckily the pieces were so huge they brought some home for me!

Later on at Whole Foods spreading the love.

This is how Daddy rolls.

On Sunday after being trapped inside all day because of the rain, we braved Marbles for its last hour of operation then headed over a few blocks to Chuck's for a tasty dinner of burgers, shakes, and fries.