Kindergarten Visits the El Paso Zoo

On Tuesday, Cady had her last field trip as a Kindergartner. Their class and one other class visited the El Paso Zoo and I tagged along! Here is a picture of their class:Their teacher, Ms. Hallsted is on the right and Ms. Helen, their aide, is on the left. They were also Colton's teachers and we think the world of them!

There were enough parents that we each were assigned just 2 or 3 kids. I had Cady and Teddy. They were both well-behaved and a lot of fun!

Checking out the snakes:Playing on the tiger:
These wild horses from Mongolia are brand new to the El Paso Zoo:
They were in a playful mood when we saw them!

Waving to the llama:

The lions (still new to the zoo, as well) were being very lazy:

We met up with another mom who had Alyssa and Adriana and did a few things with them, too:

Most of the time, though, it was just Teddy, Cady and I:

Watching the sea lions:I snapped this one while we were waiting for everyone to meet back up to head for home:

From left to right it is Aiden, Cady, JP, Willie Joe and Teddy.

It was a fun day! I am so sad that she is done with field trips for this year, but even more sad that she is almost done with Kindergarten! Eighteen and a half days left, can you believe it??? Then we will have a 1st grader and a 4th grader!! Where does the time go?

Colton has a field trip next week, so there will be more pics to come.

Because He Lives...Celebrating the Resurrection!!

{The Bunny Loot}A new Fancy Nancy doll was the big gift for Cady. Her old one fell apart from being dragged around so much. This one was the Explorer doll and had a very neat (and different) outfit from her old one. She was so excited - the day the other one broke was a very sad day in our household, even for her Daddy and I! The Easter Bunny knew they had matching Easter dresses, though, so he took care of everything! ;-) Colton got a new Lego set that builds a log cabin, plus 2 other structures.She loved her little stuffed dog wearing bunny ears!Colton has wanted the movie, "Everyone's Hero" since we rented it when it first came out a few years ago. It was hard to find, though, but I should have known good ol' EB would find it! Cady got a Barbie mermaid movie.
They always get chocolate candy (white chocolate for Cady) and this year, Colton got a chocolate cross! Other items in their Easter baskets included swimming goggles, nail polish for Cady, a Hot Wheel and Silly Putty for Colton and candy-filled eggs in the shape of Hello Kitty (for Cady) and soccer balls (for Colton). They made out!

{The Hunt Part 1}

The Easter Bunny hid more plastic eggs around the living room, kitchen, dining room and entry way:


They also each found an egg with a dollar and some change in it. Glad to know some things never change - the Easter Bunny used to hide eggs with a little money in them for my brother and I, too! :-)

{Our Sunday Best}After breakfast and playing with all the new loot, it was time to get ready to go to church and worship our Great Redeemer on this important holiday. We got ready a bit early so we could do some pictures while we were all dressed up!
We always meet our friends the Hamricks and Giffings in front of church when the service was out and the kids like to run on the grass and play while we visit. I had my camera so I could snap a picture of the six kids in their Easter duds:

Then it was off to Grampa's and Grammy's to hang out, hide and hunt more eggs and eat Easter dinner:
{The Hunt Part 2}


{The Dessert}
Easter just wouldn't be Easter without Cady and I baking our special carrot cake! I have actually made it every year since the year I was pregnant with her and it is a family favorite. I should have taken a picture of Colin's ham, too! He smoked it and it was hands-down the best ham any of us had ever eaten!! Everything was wonderful, except we missed the rest of our families!

I did snap a quick pic of the kids with their grandparents before we left, though:

It was a wonderful way to celebrate such a special day!

Hallelujah! He Is Risen!

Resurrection Cookies - A New Easter Tradition

Last week, a friend of mine from church posted a recipe for Resurrection Cookies on facebook. They are cookies you make with your kids to tell the Easter story. I know it is always a challenge to keep the kids focused on the true meaning of Easter with all the baskets and bunnies, so I was excited to see this and made plans to do it with them this year.

On Easter Eve, after our eggs were finished and beautiful, we got to work on them. Before I go any further, you can find the directions and recipe here. All you need is some sugar, vinegar, pecans, salt, egg whites (forgot them in the picture), tape and a Bible:
Each step in making the cookies represents part of the story of the crucifixion and resurrection. For example, the kids broke the pecans into little pieces using a spoon: During this step, the kids learned that Jesus was beaten by the soldiers before being put on the cross. Each step had Bible verses to read and Colin joined in and read those for us:
The last step before leaving them in the oven overnight (the oven is turned off as soon as the cookies are put in), was to let the kids tape the oven doors closed, to help signify that Jesus was sealed in the tomb.
We then left them there until Easter morning, when we untaped the doors and pulled them out. The kids each took one and commented on how light they were and then got a real surprise when they bit into them:
They were hollow! Just like the tomb that held Jesus' body!!What an awesome way to help keep the focus on the true Reason for the Season!!

The cookies are yummy, too - especially if you like divinity candy. It just tastes like a crunchier version of that! ;-)

This is a tradition we plan on keeping in our family for quite a while! A special thanks to my friend, Vanessa, for sharing it!