Easter Madness!

The Easter Bunny visited Rowen Friday night, so that he had an Easter basket Saturday morning (yes, I know he has no idea what an Easter basket is, or that a large rabbit delivers it to him). After rifling through the basket and trying to eat everything in it, we took off to grandma and grandpa's house.
We went to the lodge that is part of their retirement community where the Easter festivities were in full swing. We started off at the petting zoo (I seem to find myself around goats quite often lately). Then, it was on the egg hunt, where Row found only one egg, but got a kick out of tasting it, opening it, and tasting it again. Then, he found the toy inside, tasted it, and had a great time pulling it in and out of his basket.
Next, it was on to the Easter Bunny. I was a bit worried about this, but Rowen handled it like and old pro. He LOVED the Easter Bunny and was fascinated by the whiskers and the rabbit clothes of that manlike bunny. I could tell that Row wanted a good long time to really explore the strange rabbit creature, but it was time for the bunny to move onto the next kid, and time for all of us to eat lunch.
(sidenote) Our visit to the Easter Bunny got me thinking about the tradition itself. Why does a huge rabbit deliver eggs to the children of the world on Easter? Why isn't it a chicken? Why does an animal deliver baskets to children in the first place on Easter? It's all very strange, isn't it? I guess I could google these questions, but I'd rather ponder the mystery a little longer.
Row finally fell asleep near the end of lunch, so we headed back to grandma's where Row finished his nap and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the backyard, picking flowers and eating dirt.

A fabulous day and a fantastic memory :-) Happy Easter!!

Need I say more?

A truly perfect Disney day.

After being chained to our computers for the last six weeks, we finally took the day off and went to Disneyland on Thursday. Grandma and Grandpa were able to come too, so there were four of us available to help wrangle Row. The weather was absolutely beautiful. It was the kind of day that you always imagine on your way to Disneyland, before your dreams are shattered by the crowds, the heat, and the outrageous prices. We visited "Toon Town", an area of Disneyland that I had almost forgotten even existed, and Rowie was granted an audience with Mickey Mouse. Has anyone else waited in line at Mickey's house to meet the Mouse? It's actually a very cool experience. Everyone gets their special moment with Mickey (without all of the kids and parents jockeying for his attention) and the Disney workers are there to take pictures of the moment. Row LOVED Mickey... and of course Row tried to eat Mickey's nose.

Bridge to Terabithia

When I was a kid, I loved to read "Bridge to Terabithia", (see a previous post). Anyway, one of the great parts about being a teacher is that I get to remain connected to some of these books that I would have probably forgotten long ago. This weekend one of my students invited me to see her in the stage version of this book. This book was recently made into a movie, but I had no idea that it was made not only into a play, but a MUSICAL. ANYWAY, I took my dad to the show, since I knew he had also read the book and enjoyed the movie, and we were both expecting to see a rather amateuristic (is that a word?) show. How pleasantly surprised we were to arrive at a great little performing arts center and see an amazingly well-done musical by a children's theater company.
I have some experience with middle-schoolers and musicals, and I really have never heard a 13-year-old, pubescent boy sing remotely in tune or with rhythm, so it was with awe that I watched the the leads in this play sing like little American Idols. They were really, really fantastic.
I'm so glad I went; and so disappointed in myself for crying in a play where I was fully aware of the ending. That "Terabithia" gets me everytime!

Maybe a little attention detail is necessary....

So, for the past few months I have been receiving Real Simple magazine. I love this magazine and thought that somehow I had subscribed to it and didn't know it. Then, one day, as I flipped through the new issue, I noticed that Steph had actually sent this magazine to me as a gift! I feel like such an idiot; I can't believe I didn't notice this a little sooner. THANK YOU, STEPH!!!!