Ethan's Solar System Project!!

Ethan turned in his project on the Solar System today. We had to take a picture of it because it will be destroyed before the day is over. You see, the entire project is edible and the kids will be eating it! The planets are made of cake and colored icing, Saturn's rings are made from Twizzlers, and the Asteroid Belt is made from M&M's and Reese's Pieces.

It was kind of a pain to make, but in the end it was worth it. He is happy with it and I think it turned out pretty good.

Sock Hop!

The kids are at the Read Pattillo Sock Hop tonight - and having a blast I might add.  Not too many kids are dancing, but a ton are hula hooping!  Will came close to winning the contest!

Ice Cream Time!

One Year Older

I had a great birthday! I was able to sleep in until 8:00. After breakfast, Chris and I went on a run together. We have been trying to go every day. Usually the boys either bike, rollerblade, or scooter along with us. Some days they are eager to go and other days we literally have to drag them along the way! After running, I cooled off by the pool in my new chaise and read. Melissa and I then ran a few errands. Mike and Melissa hosted an awesome 80's party for my birthday. Sam, Melissa, and I got inspired when we went to see Hot Tub Time Machine and decided to go with a theme. It was both fun and funny! Sam came prepared with lots of Minute To Win It games. We also had 80's movie quotes and general 80's trivia.

Here Melissa prepares to play a Minute to Win It game.
Sam and Stephen race to create their cereal box puzzles. Point goes to the ladies!

Chris and I race through books. Again, point goes to the ladies!

Liz looking fabulously 80's!

Donna and Sam with their Minute to Win It game. Again, ladies get the point!

Chris in his double popped collar! He had his pants cuffed and Vans on to complete the look. I definitely don't think that phone existed in the 80's!

The Return to School

Despite being totally depressed about returning to school today, there were a few perks about the day. First, there was a shuttle launch at 6:21 this morning that totally made it worth it to get out of bed! It was gorgeous in the near dark of the morning. Second, today is the start of the LAST nine weeks before summer break!!!! And, I printed out the boys report cards to see all straight A's. All in all, it made today somewhat easier. After school there was a PTA board meeting. Noah was thrilled to find out that we are planning a sock hop for school. It will be their first school dance.

We had a great Easter Day. Melissa and I did our fair share of exercise so we could enjoy a guilt-free brunch! We went for a bike ride in the morning and then jogged in the afternoon after the beach. I'll have to step up the exercise plan this week. We are having dinner out with Nancy and Carol tomorrow evening. We are meeting at Flip Flops. We always have a great time when we meet up with them. The boys want to take me out for a Birthday Eve dinner on Friday night. I told them they could pick the place because of their grades. (Trying to cover two events in one evening out.) So far I have heard Pizza Hut, Applebee's, Clancy's, Big World Pizza, and Red Robin. I may have to place a vote!!! Saturday is grilled pizza night for my birthday party. I think I just gained a couple pounds thinking about it!

My mom arrives on April 19th. The boys are beyond excited to have Grandma here for two weeks. We are also planning on meeting up with a fair share of the Schrader Crew at Disney the week of April 25th. A day at Animal Kingdom is what is on the agenda.

Let the 9 week countdown begin!

Easter beach fun!

Well, we had brunch and have moved on to the beach.  It's perfect weather, but much more crowded than usual.  Oh well, it will be back to normal after Spring Break is over, so no big deal.  Gotta go play now!

Happy Easter!

We are over at the Eagney's for brunch, and I'm going to make this short because I'm starved.  Happy Easter!

Facebook Almost Killed Our Blog!

It's no mystery that Jen is much better about posting on our blog than I am. With the popularity of Facebook though (who isn't on there, right?!?), the blog has been an afterthought. I don't do much of either, but Jen loves how easy and interactive Facebook is. There are still people out there that actually read this that aren't on Facebook though, so we needed to do something.

Fear not, Facebook haters. There is a new breath of life in our blog in the form of mobile posts. Today, I set up our phones to be able to upload directly through text messages and e-mails. In fact, this and the previous two posts were done through e-mails to Blogger. I know, we are a little late to the game. Better late than never though, right? It is much easier to just send a text message or e-mail and have it post a comment to our blog automatically.

Look for more frequent posts from the both of us from here on out. Now hopefully they will be as interesting as they are frequent, LOL!

Easter egg dying fun!

Sandball fight!?!