Horseback Riding in Hatteras and Easter

We spent the last week in the Outer Banks.  The weather was great!  It was mostly mid 60s to 70s and sunny.  There were only 2 days that it was cloudy and in the 50s, but no biggie.  We just shopped and went to the aquarium on those days.

We drove out to Hatteras to go horseback riding.  We went through a trail in the woods down to the beach.  It was Kent's first time horseback riding.  His horse was named Poppy.  He kept the guides very entertained with all his questions and enthusiasm. He was especially excited when he got to run on the beach and whenever his horse pooped.  

Meredith and Gismo.

Here I am on Ranger.  Ranger was fine for the first part of the walk.  Then once we got to the beach he got so wild that the guide switched horses with me.  

It was Tim's first time riding too.

Ben with Tonka, who was a wonderful horse.  Though a bit of a wanderer sometimes.  

Pa Bob had a nice old horse. 

Me and horse number 2, Finn.  Finn was a wonderful horse.  

Lukey and Anna when we first got to the house.  They were great in the car both ways.   Lukey got a little car sick on the way there when driving through the mountains and we managed to catch his pukes in plastic bags twice without any mess.   We made it in 12 hours 15 minutes on the way there and 12 hours 45 minutes on the way back (longer because we stopped for lunch).  They were so excited to be at the beach.  

This is the closest we get to going to church on Easter.

The pizza making kit Anna got for her birthday was a big hit.  We didn't even need to take any other toys to the beach.  

Luke did some interesting dancing and rolling around in the sand.  He was again fearless with the water.  Anna stayed away from the water because it was too cold.

Beach soccer.

Kent played this recorder constantly.  

We stopped at this lighthouse on the way home from horseback riding because Lukey needed to use the bathroom. They played for a few minutes on this platform thing.

The weather was so nice for most of the week that we didn't usually take the kids back to the house for naps.  By evening time, they were exhausted and fell asleep shortly after we'd turn on a movie for the night. 

Carrie, Sloane and Maeve.

Star Wars Origami-not very easy to do.

Easter Eggs and the Easter Bunny comes to town

The Easter Bunny came early this year because he knew we were going to be in North Carolina on Easter.  Luke and Anna were very excited for an egg hunt.  They were not very competitive about it.  Lukey gave all the purple and pink eggs he found to Anna and Anna gave Lukey all the green and blue eggs.  It was very sweet.  

Luke giving Anna a purple egg.

We went over to Grammy and Gramps to dye Easter eggs.  The kids stayed in their pajamas until they were done dying eggs.

Anna took egg dying very seriously.  She made some pretty cool looking eggs.

Happy Birthday (proper) to Anna!

Lukey and Anna in their super hero pajamas.  Lukey was really excited for Anna to wear her new Wonder Woman pajamas.

A birthday portrait of Anna wearing a new dress and necklace that she picked out to wear for her big day.

This necklace that she got from her birthday is so perfect for Anna (thanks Ben and Meredith!).  She says it is sooo pretty.  It is very classy and a great way to introduce her to the concept of birthstones.  (hers is aquamarine) So far, this is the only piece of jewelry that has a place in the bottom area of her jewelry box so that she doesn't play with it too much and break it. 

Anna picked out this cookie from Kroger to eat tonight to celebrate her birthday.  We're planning on going out to dinner, eating this cookie, then watching a movie of Anna's choice (currently Sleeping Beauty).  It's a special day!

Happy Birthday to Anna!

Yesterday, Anna had a party for her 3rd birthday.  She has been looking forward to this for weeks.  The theme was "Hello Kitty Stuck in the Mud".   Anna had a great time and got a lot of wonderful presents.  She said her favorite part was opening gifts and eating cake.  

Anna put the finishing touch on the Stuck in the Mud cake.

She was quite happy with her cake.  

Anna saw this dress and fell in love with it, so I got it for her to wear at the party.  She was so excited.  It was very motivational for potty training too.  She's been doing great with that.

Anna was dancing like a ballerina and Lukey was posing like a super hero. 

These pictures showed up better in sepia.  Maeve and Anna played princess very nicely together.

I didn't catch much of this game other than Maeve offering things to Anna.  It kind of looked like she was on the throne and Maeve was presenting her with various things like crowns, kitties, etc.

The kids all cheered with their Hello Kitty juice bottles.  They played nicely together.

Anna has been looking forward to and has been practicing singing that she was 3 years old for a few weeks now.  She did a great job!  I do not know what happened with our singing to her.  It was a total mess and people seemed to all be singing different things.  It was kind of funny.  I knew Anna was excited for her solo and she was starting to look a little worried with all the chaos, so sorry to anyone that I shushed, but this was a big moment for Anna.

This picture was edited.  Sorry, I couldn't resist...I'll change it back if requested. :)

Anna loves her baby cousin, Jacob.  He was very good at the party.  

I didn't really take pictures of Anna opening presents.  She got a lot of great ones though!

Mum Sisters.  Anna decided that we are the "Mum Sisters".  I don't know where she came up with this name but I think it is really nice.  It is a very exclusive club of just the two of us.  We have a secret handshake too.  It's especially nice when she knows it is a time when she has to be quiet and she whispers "We're Mum Sisters."  Yes, we are.

After everyone left and we were cleaning up, Anna stood here and played with her jewelry box until it was time to go to bed.  She was very happy about it.  This also made me realize that any nice jewelry will have to go in the bottom part so it doesn't get destroyed.

It was too cold to wear her new nightgown alone, but she really really wanted to wear it.  So, she wore it on top of her Hello Kitty pajamas.  Thanks to everyone who made her birthday so special.  Looking back at last years post about her birthday, she still likes the same things-macaroni and cheese, chocolate milk, kitties, etc.  She also really likes to dress up.  She pretty much knows all her letters, can count to about 20 when she tries, and is very good at talking and smiling.  She will be going to 3 year old preschool this fall and before then probably some classes like gymnastics and swimming.  For now, she's just having fun being Anna.