Bluebonnets

One of the big springtime traditions for parents out here in Texas is to take pictures of their children in bluebonnet fields. We, of course, jumped right on the bandwagon! My sister helped us find a great, easy-to-access field, although she said that the bluebonnets weren't nearly as plentiful this year.

The three Texas Schleicher families ended up taking photos all together the same day as our 5K trail race. It worked out perfectly so we could take all the cousins together for a group shot AND so we could have lots of help getting decent smiles out of the kiddos. The time of day was a bit shadowy, but we were still pleased overall with how the pics turned out. These flower fields are just beautiful!

Here's a few of Jaden:

And our Cody:

And a few twin shots:

It was a bit harder taking pictures of six boys, but we surprisingly got several of them all looking at the camera (that alone is a win!). Here are the Schleicher cousins:

Nathan, Ian, Ryan, Isaiah, Jaden, Cody

And finally, some just-for-fun outtakes:

"Mommy, there's something pokey in my shoe!"

"Huh? Take the picture now??"

"This is getting soooo boring."

Kids falling over, people going for a stroll in the background, angelic Ryan in a halo of light.... a good photo is hard to come by!

We will enjoy adding more bluebonnet memories to our scrapbooks in the years to come!

One Fine Day

Our family kicked off the month of April with a day full of activity. Jason was trying to finish up some work on taxes at home, so the boys and I found a few out-of-the-house events to do that morning. First, we went on a tour of a nearby fire station with our Mothers of Multiples group. Cody and Jaden enjoyed getting an up close view of the fire truck.

Jaden and Cody were the oldest kids in attendance that morning, so the firemen directed all their questions our way! I think the boys enjoyed all the attention.

The highlight of the visit was getting to "drive" the truck! 

We took this picture at the suggestion of the fire chief. Cody purposely crossed his arms so he could look just like the chief! So cute! :)

Then, the boys got to climb in the back of this ambulance.

The paramedic showed Jaden and Cody all of his cool equipment and even took both boys' pulse.

The firemen found it remarkable that the boys' pulse was nearly identical.

The firemen and paramedics at this station were just wonderful! They gave individual attention to each one of the kids on the tour. This paramedic made each child a special "glove character" that he said he often made for patients to make them smile.

We loved our fire station tour!

Next, the boys and I visited a local Papa Murphy's restaurant that was having a Grand Opening party. (Thanks to my cousin Becky for finding out about this event for us!!) The first hundred customers in line received a free take n' bake pepperoni pizza. We arrived just in time and ended up being customer number 97. In addition to the pizza, the restaurant was also giving out free snow cones. Jaden and Cody were pretty stoked about this. See them dancing in line as they waited? :)

We also received a small pizza sample to enjoy with the snow cones. Yum!

After eating, the boys tried out the inflatable slides and bounce house. Everything was completely free! Jaden and Cody went on this slide over and over again.

It was definitely one of the steeper slides they've been on. The height didn't make them flinch one bit!

Later that same day, Kim, Chelsea and I participated in a 5K trail run together. The run was combined with a crawfish boil cookoff, so it was a hugely attended event! All of our family members came along to support us in the run.

Here we are at the starting line bottle neck.

The last stretch of the run was the only part on asphalt. I had never done a trail run before, so it was an interesting experience to be running on dirt most of the way. It wore me out!

It was very encouraging to have such a supportive cheering section as we approached the finish line! Even little Isaiah was clapping. :)

We didn't get any pictures, but Jaden and Cody got a chance to jump in a bouncy house after the run. They were just thrilled to have the chance to jump in "two bouncy houses in ONE day." What a treat! Since not everyone in the family is wild about crawfish, we all went out to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant called Zoe's Kitchen. It was quite tasty. The faces of all the 3-year-olds are perfectly hidden in the picture below, but everyone truly was there!

Fun times on a full day!

Grammy & Papa Time

On Easter Monday, Grammy and Papa came out for a visit. Actually, their journey to Texas was primarily to check out a home they were interested in. The trip was fruitful, as they officially ended up getting the home! We are so happy for them that this next step in their retirement-move is complete. We're excited to have them live only 10 minutes away from us in less than a month. Woo-hoo!

In between their housing to-do's, Grammy and Papa did a few activities with our family. Even though it was after Easter, we waited until Grammy and Papa's arrival to dye our Easter eggs. Cody and Jaden didn't seem to remember this process at all from last year. I'm including lots of pics (probably way too many, so feel free to scroll through them quickly!) just because I love the boys' intent expressions. They were fully into the dyeing! First, we poured vinegar into the cups...

...then added water.

Next we tried to guess which color tab was which and watched each one dissolve.

Then, it was on to the dyeing! Papa and Grammy showed Jaden and Cody how to use the metal egg holder sometimes and how to just use your hands at other times.

It was SO exciting to lift the eggs out of the dye and see what happened!

Finally, Papa and Grammy showed the boys how to draw secret messages or pictures on their eggs with crayon.

By the end of the process, Grammy and Papa didn't need to do much to help the boys anymore!

Our last step once the eggs were dry was to add some decorative stickers. We lost interest in this part fairly quickly. :)

Here are some of our completed eggs.

How fun! Thanks, Grammy and Papa, for teaching us how to dye eggs!

On another day of Grammy and Papa's visit, Mommy had a morning meeting at church, so Grammy and Papa entertained Jaden and Cody at home. They built a humongous block tower upstairs!

Then, they used some of our hard-boiled Easter eggs to make some egg salad for lunch. Grammy taught the boys how to crack and peel off the egg's shell.

Then, the boys chopped up the egg. Cody seemed a little more into this step than his brother.

Mixing the ingredients up in the bowl was a big hit (probably because their hands could stay clean this time!).

Even though the boys weren't fans of eating the egg salad, they sure enjoyed making it! When Mommy got home, she thought that her sandwich was just delicious. :)

Also during Grammy and Papa's brief visit, Cody and Jaden enjoyed reading books with Grammy,

and learning a new game from her. Grammy would leave the room and then change one item on her body (like rolling up her sleeve or taking off her watch). Jaden and Cody loved trying to figure out what was different about Grammy. It was hilarious to watch them try to repeat this game, as they'd hike up their shorts or just try to walk in a funny way. This became a popular game for several days in a row. 

Papa also helped with our typical before-naptime piggy back rides.

We LOVE spending time with Papa and Grammy and can't wait to do it more often in the near future!