Coolest park ever!!

There is this really awesome park in San Anselmo, just a short drive from here. It has the most amazing playground for kids. There are so many little areas to play in and it is designed very well. There is only one entrance/exit so kids cannot run out and away from parents. That is key in my book. Another important thing to me is that there is a lot of seating in the shade for parents. This park has a train playground, a castle playground, a dinosaur to climb on, a rock climbing wall, two sand lots with cars and sand toys, plenty of swings and slides and it is very scenic. I didn't really get a good shot of just how beautiful the surroundings are, especially since the trees are in bloom. We love it!
Here is a shot of the long neck dinosaur. Brendan loved to climb on it.
Favorite part of the park is, of course, the train playset.
Boys love the dirt!
Here is what Eva thought of the whole thing. :)

Easter Break begins

We went to my parents' house after church on Easter Sunday. It was a lot of fun. Brendan loves the new toys to play with and has developed a relationship with his Aunt Tina, whom he calls "Cheeny". My parents are foster parents and adopted Tina last summer. She is four years old and so they will play together. He loves to run around my parents' yard and thought that sleeping in the motor home was cool. We went to a local park on Monday and fed the ducks. Well, the other kids fed the ducks - Brendan weighed the options and decided that he would eat the bread.

Finals

Jason here. This last week has been interesting. On Monday we had a final, Tuesday was off, and then from Wednesday through Friday we had three finals (all comprehensive) a day. Some of my classmates pulled all nighters and looked like zombies. I managed to get about six hours of sleep a night and did ok. Pretty much it was studying and testing for a week straight. I didn't see the family much.

I really feel for the folks in my class that aspire to specialize. They gotta make the grades to get into their programs because it is really competitive. Personally, I really don't care so much about grades anymore. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be a slacker or underachiever, but as Dirty Harry once wisely stated, "A man's gotta know his limitations." I am not going to be the top dude in the class, so why stress about it? I study what I need to, I pass my tests, and try hard to get the clinical stuff down. It has made life much less stressful and my family time much better. Glad I figured this out early on.

Mustache March

As a part of finals week, Jason's class decided to have a mustache contest. I guess its a way to take some stress off and be silly. These are the "gnarly handlebars" that Jason is sporting. I think he looks like a trucker or a WWF wrestler. Please note how red his beard is. It is a totally different color than the hair on his head. Maybe we'll have a redhead someday. We've already got a blonde and a brunette.

St. Patrick's Day

Here are my two leprechauns in green!


Eva has started to smile and twice it was at her brother. She likes to watch him. He thinks it is great. A captive audience!! So he has decided she's not so bad.



She really does look like a leprechaun in that last one. Well, maybe more like a gnome. :)

An apple for the teacher

Here are pictures of my princess in her apple dress. I think it is SOOOO cute! There are even matching bloomers. Too bad she has almost outgrown it. Little one is over 11 lbs right now.

Stickers

I gave Brendan a small set of stickers to play with. He immediately put them on his head and face. Silly kid! Next he stuck them to the kitchen floor. I pulled out the camera. At first he didn't know what to think. Then he was so pleased.

Sickness

Last week or so, Jason came home from school feeling really sick. He went right to bed and pretty much was there or was half-comatose at school for about four days. The day after he brought this illness home, Brendan came down with a high fever and all the symptoms Dad had. It was hard to have two down. But I was secretly glad that it was just the male part of the family. Yes, guys are whinier when sick but having a baby or a mom sick is so much worse. Well, it had been a few days since they got better and I thought we were all safe. Then I came down with it. That stinks the worst. Moms cannot just crawl into bed and recuperate. Anyway, I am on the tail end of it now. I pray that Eva won't get sick now. At least this all happened before finals and Spring Break. :)

The girls

I have to kiss her chubby cheeks!

Yes, my skirt hem is flipped up. No, I have not suddenly taken to wearing mini-skirts.

Eva in her first church dress courtesy of Kelti Palmer, my visiting teaching companion.

I wonder what color her eyes will really be?

Baby and the boys

Brendan loves on his sister. Actually I think he really loves to be on camera.
Kisses for the baby sister
This pink is her color!!
Daddy Jason uses the football hold. I guess it is the Heisman?? Whatever, as long as she stops crying.
More kisses for the baby girl.
Peeking over Daddy's shoulder

It happened - not so much

Well, my feeling of elation in the last post was short lived. Yesterday, as I sat down to nurse Eva, my pre-pregnancy pants ripped through the knee. I was so sad!! No more "skinny" jeans for me to wear right now. At least they ripped in the knee and not in the rear. That would have been a blow to my ego. :)

It happened!

This morning while trying to find something to wear, it happened. I fit into a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans!!!! Granted they are larger pre-pregnancy jeans but hey, I'll take it. I am still working on fitting into my cute jeans and I am miles away from fitting into my cute shirts (may just give up on that - nursing has done me in). But I am feeling pretty good right now. :)

My new love

Oh how I love my new double stroller. To be able to contain Brendan and carry Eva is FABULOUS. We go on a walk now most days. I was able to go out to lunch with friends last week too! Brendan thinks he's hot stuff in the front seat and Eva can ride in her carrier. I got a Graco Quattro Tour Duo. I meant to get a picture of it today on our errand run but once you get the kids in, you gotta get moving!

What kind of ice cream are you?

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?