Happy Easter from Us to You!

We hope you had a very 

Happy Easter!

Here is some of what we were up to on this glorious Sunday: 

Woke up way too early. 

Had a healthy breakfast. 

(Oatmeal and fruit.)

Read a book about the life of Christ. 

Went outside to find Easter baskets. 

(One small Lego set, one Lindt chocolate bunny, one Lindt chocolate carrot.)

Played Lego. 

Ate (part of) the chocolate bunny. 

Played more Lego. 

Had a healthy snack. 

(Apples and natural peanut butter.)

Biked 30 minutes to church. 

Celebrated Easter at church. 

Biked back home. 

Went off-road and hit some jumps. 

(Well, the boys did, I was in a skirt and have no skills.) 

Possibly my favorite part of the day. 

Ate a very late lunch. 

(Salads for Max, Karl, and I. Sandwich for Noah.)

Prepared 20 eggs for our little Easter egg hunt. 

(Half had a few coins, half had 2 jelly beans each.)

Let the kids lose. 

 

It wasn't much but they were happy! 

Played (even) more Lego. 

Ate dinner. Not your typical Easter dinner. 

(Roasted broccoli, quinoa, chick peas and tomatoes in ginger sauce.)

So far so good. 

Not as fun as spending Easter with family but we had a great day!

Then we tried to have family night and that's when 

(as usual) 

things (especially Max) started to fall apart. 

So we cut it short. 

Maybe too much sugar although we tried hard

to keep a healthy balance?

Not the best ending to Easter Sunday 

but we do know that 

He is Risen! 

PS: Can you tell that I am slightly obsessed with how handsome Max looks in this white shirt and blue sweater with his wild blond hair that's finally growing out again after Noah cut it off back in September? Love that crazy kid! 

St. Patrick's Day - Lapping the Leprechaun

On St. Patrick's Day afternoon, we dressed up in about as much green as we could find in our closets, hopped on our bikes, and rode up to Buffalo Park for the Lap the Leprechaun run. Don't ask me too many details about it. Getting dressed in green and hopping on our bikes took a lot longer than expected, so eventually Karl and Noah took off taking the short-cut while I had to tow Max on the trail-a-bike and our double Chariot with his bike in it down and then back up the hill. Needless to say: Max and I got there late. 

I was hoping to take the fast way so we could catch up with everyone but Max insisted on doing the entire loop, stopping at every exercise station, and getting in the best workout possible. I wasn't about to convince him otherwise, although it was Sunday after all...

Noah and Karl were making good time until Noah got a side ache and needed to slow down. They eventually came back looking for us and we finished the loop together. At which point the 'festivities' were over but we had had a great Sunday afternoon and enjoyed cruising back down the hill toward home. 

I didn't quite lap the Leprechaun but we did pass him at one point. Of course, Max wanted nothing to do with him but I stopped to get a picture. 

Thank you, NATRA and Neil Weintraub, for this fun St. Patrick's Day tradition! 

We will be back next time and hopefully a little earlier... 

Reindeer Buttons

This handsome kid is ready to start Kindergarten* in the fall! 

He is all registered and excited to be a big kid. 

So many fun adventures ahead! 

I think both Max and Noah are at such a fun age right now 

that I wouldn't mind if time slowed down a bit 

or even stood still for a while. 

Believe me, I have not felt like that in the last 7 years ever! 

But they are growing up and getting more independent

and we are all having a lot of fun together! 

Max recently rediscovered this awesome sweater 

my aunt made for him 

and (although slightly too small by now) 

loves wearing it to church. 

Especially after we told him that the buttons 

are made out of reindeer antlers. 

True story! 

I am in love with the kid and am so glad he's mine! 

(Not every minute of every day, of course, 

but more often than when he was 2. Or 3.)

He has recently gotten into dinosaurs 

and loves to draw dinosaur worlds. 

Here he is getting his art work ready 

to send off to Oma and Opa:

I will miss spending so many hours every day with Max. 

But I am also looking forward to (even) more freedom!

And, let's face it, I might be ready for a nice long break 

after summer break is over! 

But first up is spring break and we are about to head down to Tucson

for some camping and family time! 

Life is good!

* My dear German friends: When Americans use our word Kindergarten, they don't actually mean Kindergarten. They took our word and then turned it into something completely different. Kindergarten in the US means: The grade in school that comes before 1st grade. That's where you go when you are 5 years old. Before that you go to preschool. I know. It doesn't make any sense but whatever... 

While I was biking...

... the kids were having fun

 hiking and playing in Sedona.

It's great to know that Karl takes care of them very well 

and knows what they like. 

It's great to escape to Sedona and enjoy some warmth. 

Running barefoot on green grass. 

Warm sun on arms and legs. 

Red sand and rocks. 

A little piece of heaven. 

After I got back from this ride, 

we went back to the park and the boys found

a few friends to play soccer with

while Karl was mountain biking.

Score!

Whenever Max was content playing soccer with the big boys, 

I enjoyed lying in the sun and watching them. 

Doesn't get much better than that.

While I was biking and running in St. George, 

Karl and the boys went to another one of Noah's 

soccer tournament down in the Valley. 

I was sad to have to miss it but there are more to come... 

Noah #15

Noah was in soccer heaven, as usual, and the team played very well. 

He had the chance to play goalie quite a bit and 

doesn't seem to be quite as sensitive as I thought he was. 

Getting ready to defend the goal: 

These boys didn't have it easy. 

3 out of 4 games they had no sub and didn't get a break. 

But they hung tough and made it to the 

Championship Game

which ended with a shoot-out! 

Talk about excitement! 

This was Noah's dream come true! 

In the end they lost 

but we are very proud of all of them! 

What a great U7 team!

A big thank you to Coach Ken and Coach Brandon!

In case you are concerned: 

Karl gets to have fun here and there as well! 

While he was running on our way back from the Valley one weekend,

the boys and I got to play in Red Tank Draw. 

Mud, mud, mud!  

Noah's creation: 

Life is Good!