April started off with a fun Easter holiday. My parents met us over at my in-laws where we had a great dinner, some quality visit time, an Easter egg hunt and even a special visit from the Easter Bunny. It was a great time. Sidney cruised through the big yard collecting eggs so fast I couldn't even catch her in a picture. Chase was easier to capture since I can still move faster than him...so far. They both got quite the heap of candy, coins and even cash filled eggs. Of course, the Easter Bunny and grandparents brought them a load of gifts too, seemed more like Christmas almost...geesh!

Sidney is still playing volleyball three days a week, going to school and getting outdoors whenever she is able to. She's a busy body and keeps me busy too. We were lucky to get a few days of beautiful weather in April, where Chase and I were able to take a walk to a nearby park during the day and play. He loved it!

Eli had to get a gnarly surgery on his mouth. He didn't get his wisdom teeth out when he was younger, so he finally decided to get it done after being told it needed to happen by two different dentists. Unfortunately, since he waited so long, it ended up being a much more complicated surgery. It wasn't fun...but he made it through and has finally healed up for the most part. Had to take a week off work, so I got to play nurse...

That pretty much wraps up our month of April.

As for the rest of March, we had some more fun activities other than Sidney's birthday.

At Sidney's school, they held a fundraiser in which students were able to earn special rewards, including a carnival type function after school. Sidney was able to earn this and it was great fun. They had a giant hamster ball they got to run in. There was an air filled obstacle course and a giant air filled slide. They also had a big video game truck there with Mario Kart, Rockband and other fun video games for the kids. The principle even allowed the kids to throw pies at him, what a brave man! Chase enjoyed watching Sidney, especially at the video game truck since there was a big Mario on the side of the truck.

Sidney began her volleyball season. This is her 5th season and she has really become a great player. She gets that from her Momma! Sidney has had a volleyball in her hands since she was just a baby. I have some great photos of that, as well as her bumping the ball. She was a natural. Maybe because she played with me in my belly until I was about 5 months pregnant with her. Or maybe it has something to do with her watching Mommy play since she was just 2 weeks old...I don't know, but Sidney sure has got it and I love being a volleyball Mom!

Chase, Sidney and I have also enjoyed some quality visits down at my parent's house. It's a long drive, but great to spend time with them since we don't get to see them as much as we'd like.

That just about wraps up March. It was a fun month!

I know I'm behind, so let's catch up. Sidney turned 11 on March 4th. She had many celebrations. First, on the day of, we celebrated by bringing in huge snickerdoodle cookies to her classroom at school. That evening, at home in Lake Stevens, we had some friends over and I made Sidney one of her favorite dinners...lasagne. We had cupcakes, per Sidney's request and she was spoiled with many gifts. The following Sunday, we had a Birthday party for her in Olympia in order to celebrate with friends and family in that area. Again, a dinner request from Sidney was made and we had cupcakes for dessert. Then, a showering of gifts. If you can believe it, a third celebration occurred the following weekend at the local Movie Theater with a group of her girlfriends. They were all given tokens to play video games in the lobby area, a tour of the projection room and reserved special seating for the movie, with personally served popcorn, soda and treats. Sidney got to start the movie herself up in the projection room. It was a neat and fun experience. They watched Alice in Wonderland in 3-D. We had a great time!