St. Patrick's Day fun

I never really give much thought to St. Patrick's Day, so I kind of forgot about it last week until I heard the kids talking about it a few days before.  They were so excited!  Oliver and Rachel were especially sure that it was going to be the best holiday ever - I think Ollie had hyped it up quite a bit to Rachel.  I overheard him telling her that "It is just SO awesome!" and "Dad doesn't even have to go to work!!"  They were both a little sad when I told them this wasn't true.  Good thing it was Spring Break last week - I think Ollie would have been devastated to find out that there was still school on such an important holiday.

Anyway, the kids were spending all day making elaborate St. Patrick's day decorations and cards and pictures, and Rachel kept trying to find out more details about the big day - "Like, Mom - so what do we actually get to DO on St. Patrick's Day?", so I decided I should at least make it a little fun for them. 

Luckily, even with such high expectations, they were pretty easy to please - I bought some Apple Jacks, limeade, green apples, and green jello to eat that day and they thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Then Daniel called around lunchtime and asked if we all wanted to go to lunch with him, so I told the kids we were going to go on a really special St. Patrick's Day outing with Dad (as if it was part of the plan, of course).

Then after lunch we let the kids play around on a playground right by the restaurant, which they thought was an extra fun holiday activity. 

Here they all are in their various green outfits that they had picked out to wear:

Later that afternoon I printed up a bunch of little papers with rainbows and a pot of gold on them, and I wrote little treasure hunt clues on the back and then hid them all over the house.  The kids loved figuring out all the clues and running all over the place in search of the treasure, which turned out to be a pot of gold (butterscotch candies) hidden in Lizza's bed.

Here they are at the end of the hunt.  I don't know what Rachel is doing in this picture.

Henry loved the treats, but he thinks each individual candy is called a pot of gold, so he has been asking me for "more pot of golds!" all week. 

January and February pictures

JANUARY

Major lego battle on New Years Day (major = it involved moving the whole kitchen table out of the kitchen):

Fancy Rachel.  I bought this wig from the Halloween clearance stuff at Wal-Mart for 50 cents, and Rachel wore it straight for one week until it started shedding hair everywhere and I threw it away.  It was a sad day.  She was so proud of her long blond hair:

Henry's favorite spot in the kitchen.  He will sit there forever just looking out the window at our neighbor's dog.  Free entertainment!  Neighbors, please let your dog outside more often.

Tristan helping Rachel practice her kung-fu moves.  I guess that is a kung-fu outfit?

Henry at the park:

Chef Lizza.  She and Rachel are always whipping up gourmet treats for me.

Henry has recently decided he is one of the big kids.  He wants to do everything with them now.

I love my little readers:

FEBRUARY

Proof that Henry has older sisters:

Proof that Henry has older brothers:

Proof that Henry's older sisters also have older brothers:

Rachel pretending she is a grown-up who is "really rich" because she has a horse and two cars.  She said the horse is for her husband to ride to work (lucky him!), one car is for her to drive to the store "and stuff", and the other car is for her teenagers to drive to college.  Dream on, Rachel.

 

Rachel and Lizza in some sort of elaborate cave/hide-out/sunbathing dwelling they created (They said the part they're sitting on now is for resting in the sun).  And Rachel is pretending to put stitches in her leg for some reason. Seriously, every time she went and sat in that spot, she would say, "Look, Mom, this little stool is perfect for me to rest my feet on while I stitch up my leg", and she would stitch away.  Where did she get that idea?  I can't figure it out.  I love the look of concern on Lizza's face. 

A friendly princess and a Snow Queen.  Can you guess which one is which?

All the kids at Maudie's on our 10th anniversary.  We didn't have a babysitter, so the kids got to celebrate with us. 

Riding horses.  Henry got this little rocking horse for Christmas, and Rachel has claimed it as her own.  No rocking in place for her, though - she gallops this thing all over the house. 

At least she gives rides, though:

And Lizza makes do with a rocker with a stick horse stuck in it.  She's a good sport.  And surprisingly fast on it.

Henry broke the bottom out of Rachel's toy cradle, climbed in, and tucked himself in with a little doll blanket.  He was very proud of himself.  I love his feet sticking out the end. 

Playing princesses.  It was so funny to watch these two play together.  Lizza was talking in a nice princess voice and having her princesses dance and kiss and find good spots in the castle to take naps.  Henry was growling and throwing the princesses from the top of the castle and then he'd dramatically fall to the floor and act like he'd been shot or something and then he'd repeat the whole thing. 

At the park: