Egg Hunt, Passover and Resurrection Sunday!

First lets start with a few shots of Aaron's favorite Spring/Summer pastime; the Splash Pad! Lori was brilliant and brought the shade and chairs! Thank you Lord for Lori! She brings so much joy to our lives (and shade too).

Can you even find Aaron in this picture bellow?

Aaron got his first Easter card this year from Papa Steve, so he decided he would read it himself.

What a smart little guy. He was very interested in what Papa Steve had to say.

We went shopping for Passover at Publix with Aunt Rachel and Ari. There is a lot to get to prepare for a feast!

Just had to share a little picture of our new backyard haven from heat. We may not have a lot of grass, but we do have space and we're gonna use it!

Aaron's first Easter egg hunt was the Alachua Egg Drop. The plan was that eggs would be dropped from a hot air balloon, but it was too windy! We were a little disappointed, but we had a great time and Aaron didn't know any different!

Ms. Danielle and Mr. Dave brought their new bob stroller to the event and since Finley is still in the womb, Aaron hitched a ride with Cori.

Joe, a good friend of Joey's from work, has been joining us on Wednesday nights for dinner and Survivor. He brings along the most ADORABLE pup named Tombo. Aaron is smitten!

Celebrating Passover was a lot of fun! I re-read Exodus in preparation and we even had a mini-passover meal with our Microchurch (but sorry, I did not take pictures at that one). Here is Joey sporting a yamaka.

And Heather and Stephanie with their beautiful smiling faces!

Jim, Mr. Bernice, and Troy boy at our table.

And Megan and Jade (Troy's little sis) too.

Ari Paul wore his little yamaka and was fascinated with all the commotion.

Rachel's sisters, Hannah and Rebecca, made it there too!

And more friends enjoying the anticipation for the Passover celebration to begin.

Eric wore his tallit and yamaka and lead the Passover.

Aaron borrowed Daddy's yamaka for a photo, we will have to get him one fore next year!

Aaron prepared to partake of the cup

His was grapejuice and not Manischewitz of course!

After the feast Aaron was tuckered out. Troy carried our sleeping boy to the car and Aaron loves him enough to sleep on his shoulder!

On Resurrection Sunday we went to the Graves family farm to celebrate. Aaron got to see all kinds of baby animals in a little "petting zoo" but those pictures are on Daddy's phone, so we'll have to wait to post.

I love these boys so much!

We had a wonderful, blessed, joy-filled Easter weekend and we hope that you did as well. I am so thankful for family and friends that make seasons like this all the more enjoyable.

More than anything else though, I can't thank the Lord enough for the love He poured out for all mankind on the cross. I am so glad that You (Lord) came to die for my sin. That without You I would be a sinner unfit to stand in Your presence, but because You shed Your blameless blood for me I am washed clean and can stand blameless before Your throne and spend eternity with you. Hallelujah!!!

Santa Fe Zoo

This weekend we had planned to go to the Jacksonville zoo with our Microchurch (bible study one might say). But one by one the families all had things come up and no one was able to make the trip! Joey and I decided that we would rather wait to make that venture with our friends and so we decided to visit the local teaching zoo. Joey and Aaron had never been there, so it was adequately exciting for the two!

We got there just in time to catch the Otter training session! Those little guys are pretty smart. Apparently the session before us the otters refused to come over to the trainers, but when we went they were perfectly obedient!

Daddy and Aaron are in front of the Tree Kangaroo here, Aaron was so interested in all the animals, though I think he would prefer them all to be dogs!

At this one exibit there was a lepord looking cat. A lot of the children were afraid to go into the viewing box until Aaron walked right in... that gave them the confidence they needed. Our little guy isn't afraid of anything! Maybe it's because that is exactly what we pray for him each night: to fear nothing but the Lord.

They had two bald eagles. I don't know how they get them to stay... their nest is HUGE!

There were two big alligators too. The male was much larger.

We love these big ol' tortoises. Wish we could take one home for Aaron to ride on! (though we really do not need more pets).

This little monkey was sucking his thumb! Sweet little guy!

We saw a table where they taught about eggs. This is an ostrich egg! Massive!

Honey bees making honey: and we got a taste!

Hard to tell in this photo, but this monkey was swinging all around with it's little baby holding on tight!

We had a lovely day! Thank you Jesus for great weather, finances that allow for flexibility and fun, and a wonderful family!

FUN TIMES! Longgg post!

Here are some pictures of the things we have been up to lately:

Drs Appointment at Aaron's new pediatrician, Dr. Benton, with his good friend Cori Belle.

It was like having twins...

and everyone who saw us assumed they were twins ;0)

They were very cute together.

And patiently explored the waiting room before we went in.

We also celebrated Quinn's first birthday with our beloved MicroChurch last month

The amazing cake that Krystle made!

Quinn's monkey smash cake (which Krystle also made) is here. If you are interested in buying a cake from Krystle, here is a link to her facebook page: Krystle Rose Seidel

Yummy!

Joey and Sydney

Aaron loves him some vanilla rice milk

Happy Birthday to you Quinn!

My little "Nephew" was dedicated to the Lord at First Assembly of God too last month!

Love this family :0)

Sweet boy fast asleep

Our boy loves his daddy

Enjoying my new Sweet Potato Muffin recipe

This is why I rarely work on new recipes...

Crazy mess, but good results! These are the yummy Mini Muffins.

Aaron is a big help around the house lately. He loves to use the swiffer and since it picks up dog hair it is a genuine help!

Getting ready for Easter I could not resist putting some bunny ears on my boy as we walked through Target the other day.

Aaron is a boy after his father's heart. He loves to play outside and in the photo bellow he is in the play tower in our yard.

I needed to get a few things for summer and got some great deals! This is the new stuff I bought from Children's Place, but the best deal I found was on ebay. 13 shirts used by only one child in a family with no pets and no smoking all from Children's Place, some new with tags, for $13 including shipping! We are all ready for summer now!

Another fun event was our friend Mr. Caleb's 30th Birthday at a lake house! It was a lot of fun!

Aaron and Claire Bear are having a great time trying to get bean bags into the Cornhole game!

My two favorite boys. The most handsome guys around!

We enjoyed a family nap one Sunday afternoon. Pictures like this, well, times like this... I can't believe how good the Lord is to us. Thank you Jesus for this family, for this life you have given us. Thank you that you sent your Son so that we could truly LIVE!

This outfit is from Papa Steve and it makes Aaron look like an old fashioned life guard, but man is he a handsome boy either way! Cracks me up to see him in this.

The Alachua County Splash Pad is a VERY fun and totally free place to cool off on a hot day! Aaron loves the water.

Our play date last week was a pool trip! So much fun! I don't have pictures from the pool yet, but here are the kids ridding in Ms. Julie's awesome wagon!

We ran a 5k last weekend to help raise money to bring awareness to and fight human trafficking and the sex slave trade. You would not believe how big this problem is today. It was a lot of fun and for a worthy cause. The organization has a facebook page, here is the link: FIGHT.

Camden was dedicated to the Lord at First Assembly of God too last month! He is such a little cutie! Love that boy.

Then we celebrated Camden's big brother's birthday at the park! Aaron thoroughly enjoyed the pizza!

He also got a turn with the piñata! Somehow he knew exactly what to do.

And then we collected the goodies!

My friend Sarah started this garden and Rachel and I have been plotting (no pun intended) our own gardens too...

So I went shopping...

And planted a tomato plant and a blueberry bush in a pot...

And put together a 4X4 raised bed...

And planted seeds in little pots: artichoke, leeks, and spinach. I'm so excited for them to sprout!

Rachel and I got a joint Sam's Club membership the other day and couldn't help but snap a picture of the boys hanging out in the cart.

Aaron's new passion is tents! He loves to play Peek-A-Boo and loves to hide in the curtains or anything he can find, so one afternoon we built a tent in the living room with a large sheet.

Another day we just used the kitchen table and a table cloth.

My little man loves his cool shades now

What a stud!

In addition to my mini-muffin-making, gardening, cloth diapering, etc. I got a bread machine to boot! I bought it for $12 at a thrift shop and it is GREAT! I found a Rosemary Bread recipe online and threw in the ingredients. I set the digital display to "light" [crust] and hit start! That's ALL I did and in 2 hours and 40 minutes when I got home from running errands there was delicious home made bread waiting for us!

Aaron was a big fan! As was daddy, but I only snapped a shot of Aaron enjoying the results!

Had to add in one last shot--- this is what Aaron and I did while the bread cooked... obviously a bread maker is the way to go! Doesn't that look like heaven? Love this boy!