Keeping Busy

Matthew has worked a lot the last week, so the boys and I have been trying to keep busy doing fun things.

Sam loves to paint -- so the paints came out and he painted new pictures for all our interior doors. Some might call it a hallway -- we like to call it our gallery.

Fun day with the boys!

Sam working on one of my favorites.

Zak focused on Play-Dough instead of paints -- he tries to
eat the Play-Dough -- so I don't know what he would do with paint!

Sam's car with the speed limit sign -- note the
correct colors for the road -- black for
the street with the yellow and white lines!

Sam was in charge of dinner that night -- so he made pizzas.

Zak is itching to be involved in this process!

Finally, Sam and Zak developed a new game
called "The Light Switch Game". They each stand
at a light switch and flip it on and off as
fast as they can.

It can occupy them for quite a while!

Zak takes a tumble. The Light Switch Game
can be a little rough!

Easter Sunday

It was a great Easter!

We headed to the early service at church and then came home to "watch" Poppy and Grammie's church service on-line. Then it was a yummy breakfast snack to tide us over until dinner.

After naps, the Easter egg hunt was on! The boys went in search of the Easter bunny while I hid eggs in the house. They are pretty sure they just missed seeing him! They had fun finding eggs -- and Zak really had fun once he realized there were jelly beans inside the eggs!

We spent our afternoon playing, reading, enjoying a yummy dinner and skyping with family.

The boys finished the night by opening up the last two "Resurection Eggs". We have really enjoyed using those all this week.

He is Risen!

The boys all ready for church.

Maybe not!

This was a rousing duet!

Watching Poppy and Grammie's church service.
The camera loved Poppy!

Hunting for eggs in Zak's room.

Sharing a few jelly beans.

Zak: Future Yoga Instructor

He strikes this pose all the time!

Sam & The Easter Eggs

Sam dyed Easter eggs last week, while Zak was down for his nap. We're not ready to let Zak get involved with colored dye!

We decided to wrap one egg with a rubber band so it
could have some cool stripes. That was a really great idea,
until the rubber band broke during the dye-ing process
and launched green dye everywhere!

Sam really likes to use all the colors --
like all the colors on just one egg.

See how pretty this green one is -- unfortunately, this

was just the beginning of his process.

So, there is no great picture of beautifully colored eggs for you to see -- because they all ended up kind of a weird purple/green color. That's what happens when you let your kid do it on their own. Maybe next year I'll dye some eggs too!

Styling Product Alternative

Just a handy tip -- if you ever run out of your favorite styling product -- a great substitute is as close as your fridge.


Zak decided to apply cottage cheese to his hair during breakfast -- and he ended up with a great "do" that had a lot of texture and volume!


The only down-side is you end up smelling like sour milk after a little while!

Our Rainy Day at Ikea

Sam has been on Spring Break, so we are always looking for fun things to do. It has also been raining non-stop - so we are also looking for indoor things to do!

I needed to run to Ikea, so we decided to make it a destination -- not just an errand! They have a great play area for kids Sam's age and there are lots of toys and things in the children's department. Apparently, everyone else in Portland had the same great idea that I did -- so it was pretty crowded.

The boys patiently waited in line for lunch and gobbled up their food so they could play in the little kitchen that was right next to our table. Then Zak and I dropped Sam off at the play area for a while and we walked around. Then we all went to the children's department to play with toys.

Ironically, we spent so much time playing, that we didn't have time to get what we came for -- but the boys spent three hours at Ikea having a great time!

No Swedish meatballs for these two -- just peanut butter and jelly!

Yum!

These boys want a play kitchen so bad!

Sam taking a break.

The Jensen Bunch

It was an unofficial family reunion a few weeks ago in Jacksonville!

All of Matthew's siblings, along with their families converged at his parents' house for a weekend of family fun.

Grandpa and Nana had a special surprise waiting for the kids in the backyard -- a brand new playhouse! They loved it and it kept them entertained -- and outside -- for hours.

We got to meet our newest nephew, Luke, who is three months old and perfect!

It was a fun, relaxing weekend -- can't wait to do it again!

Sam and Caleb playing with Uncle David in the playhouse.

The kids spent a lot of time scooping and dumping rocks.

Auntie Katie with Luke.

Sweet boys -- Caleb and Sam.

Joanna and Zak getting ready to ride scooters on the track.

Goofy cousins!

Great-Grandma Eleanor loved having all the kids around!

Squeezed together -- a common sight, since there were 19 of us!

Grandpa and Nana with all the grandkids!