Family,Fun,Birthdays and Vacation!!

We had the best holiday vacation with our family in town this month.  I am posting a few pictures that hardly show all the fun and activities we packed into two weeks.  My mom (meme), Kristi (my sister) and her two children Gavin and Maggie came for two whole weeks and we had the time of our lives. We took a long road trip with all five kids down to the south coast and and stayed at a most lovely resort.  The kids stayed entertained between the beach, many pools, water slides, play ground, art and craft time, shows, tattoos, dance parties, endless ice cream and each other.  It was a joy to see my kids playing and enjoying their cousins and we were so thankful for such a kid-friendly place!!  We adults also enjoyed some fun entertainment, free refills, and the sun!!  Vacation is just plain awesome!!

While our family was in town we also spent several days touring our city and Istanbul.  We were all so impressed with how well the kids did considering we drug them all over the country.  We also squeezed my birthday and Jason's birthday party in the mix.  Needless to say there was never a dull moment between our traveling, five children, and busy schedule.  Thank y'all for coming and sharing such a sweet time with us.  We loved having you and please come again soon.

Mom got Noelle and Maggie the most adorable birthday shirts!!

    

Micah and Gavin got tattoos

Breakfest

Matching suits, how cute!!

The beach was beautiful.  The water was clear and the beach was long with clean sand.  At the edge of the water was about 20ft of small rocks.  The water was a little cold but it didn't keep us from swimming.

Gotta love trying to get a good picture of all three kids.  Look at Luka's face...haha!!

Lunch break

Noelle was not a big fan of rocks, sand, nor the grass.  Sweet face...

Everyday, the hotel offered to watch the kids and entertain them.  Micah loved craft time.

Meme bonded with Luka by going down the water slides together.  We all had a blast watching them.  Of course everyone was water-logged by the end of the week.  I don't think Micah or Gavin wanted their time on the watersides to end.

Face paint...Micah was a fairy princess and Gavin was Iron Man.

Noelle was most happy in her little chair in the shade with a bucket of toys.

Jason took such good care of all us women and children and he looked good doing it!!

The weather was perfect everyday and the pool temperature was just right.

Noelle and Maggie hangin' in the swings together

Matching

Micah and Gavin getting their "exercise on"

Love it

Maggie girl has such a sweet face!!

I would say we spend a good amount of time in the car...haha

First ride on the train together...

Jason sang at a concert in the park for the university and we had front row seats

Istanbul

The Princess Castle was the favored activity among the children

Gotta love those sweet faces

Luka up on Jasons shoulders with his little booty hanging out

Goodbyes are never fun...but it was sweet

Tulip Time

This time of year is beautiful around our city and we tried to get a few pictures along with the kids to capture the beauty of it all. Tulips are famous here and they are in bloom everywhere. There are in every color, on every curb, and at every park!

We had a picnic for our Easter celebration and the weather was just perfect! The park was so crowded we had to select a specific designated area for our easter egg hunt. Everybody thought we were crazy running around with eggs and easter baskets but the kids had a ball and got a sugar high. We are are so excited about the summer and look forward to long days outside at the park.

Micah invited a friend over to decorate eggs and it was the highlight of the day.

Luka wasn't very interested in decorating the egg but he loved stealing the eggs just to annoy Micah...haha. There is nothing like sibling love!

Micah and her sweet friend

Noelle showing some love to her buddy

One of Noelle's favorite times of the day is food time and this is what she looks like when she knows its coming.

I gave her the bowl and she got a little confused

Within seconds, she figured out how to solve her problem.

Spring is here!

Spring has finally arrived in our town and its been a long time coming. Here are a few photos of what we have been up to during the cold month of March. Micah loves to dress up and put make-up on. Luka of course will copy whatever Micah does.

Luka is the most loving little guy. He is always hugging on his little sister!

Micah with a few of her neighborhood friends

Our first day as a family out in the park this spring. Such beautiful weather!!

Luka fell from the top bunk bed and busted his lip open. Poor baby!