Birthday Babies

What a whirlwind month! My babies turned 8 and 6…which is crazy. Cordelia had a fantastic day. Per her request, I picked her up from school early, and we went to Panera and the secondhand bookstore...

… where I gave her a new tote bag and told her to fill it up. (The books are $1.00 - $1.50 apiece!)

She chose…26.

And then couldn't wait to start!

Cody gave her the first Harry Potter, now that she's six. I gave her The Wizard of Oz, because her big present is that we are going to see the show in DC in a couple of weeks!

Then we went out for dinner at Not Your Average Joe's, where she informed the staff they have "the most amazing chicken tenders in the world."

The day before Cody's birthday, we surprised the kids at school at lunchtime. They grabbed their lunch boxes and we hopped in the van for a trip to the beach! It was COLD. But really fun.

Cordelia gave Cody Harry Potter #4, since he had just finished #3 and lives in an HP world in his mind.

Later that morning, JVL ran the 5K that I ran last year, with a great time!

We had planned to hang out on the beach, but the wind was wild and it was chilly, so we went to the bookstore, where everyone got a special present, and then to the movies! It was Cody's second time at the movies (Star Wars was his first, this past December) and the girls' first movie. We saw Zootopia, and they loved it.

Then, dessert from Ben & Jerry's.

The next day was still chilly, but no wind — so we got a little beach time!

All in all, a good weekend. Next up: First Communion! What a year this is.

Easter, Eggcetera

We've had a incredibly busy couple of weeks, and are preparing for the Season of Birthdays! This year, at the Easter Vigil, JVL and I were honored to sponsor Monika & Sean as they were received into the Church. It was so fantastic. 

Sarah, bless her forever, stayed with the kids all evening and slept over with her boys, so we had a wonderful, relaxing Easter morning, too. 

 

Then, yesterday we celebrated the consolidation of Monika & Sean's marriage at St. Mary's — another beautiful occasion. I've never seen Cordelia so excited. She kept gripping my hand and beaming, whispering, "THIS IS IT! THIS IS THE BEST!"

 Monika, ever a genius, had packed goody bags for each of the kids for when our own supply ran out, somewhere in the middle of brunch. Cordelia sprawled on the floor with a library book (no surprise), Cody built Legos and didn't talk for a whole half hour, and Emma kept herself pretty much entertained. She kept all of us entertained, too. :)

 Then we capped off the day with a lovely walk through Old Town. All the Last ladies fell fast asleep on the ride home. :)