Out Like a Lamb

This spring has been quite mild, and we have been taking advantage of the nice weather!



There have been play dates galore:











For everybody...whether they like it or not!



But the best is when the sisters get to experience life together.







We've introduced Aspen to the park:







And the zoo:







And the Butterfly Pavilion:













Where Aspen found a caterpillar that she could climb on, and she LOVED it.





In other news, Sabine had to say goodbye to the very best group she's ever been with at farm. That was sad, but the farm lost their exemption status (long story, it's bureaucracy at its finest) and had their license revoked. They've managed to get a temporary license to get them through the summer, but were forced to take off April and May. It's too bad, because Sabine had only just moved into the Enrichment program with a fabulous teacher. It's slightly more structured than the SproutHouse program she had been in previously with the 3-5-year-olds. (Enrichment is for kids ages 5-8.) They did some sewing and planting, along with the regular collecting of worms, digging in the sandbox, and zip-lining. Sabine was flourishing, so it was tough to have to let that go.



We'll be back for the summer, but several of her good friends won't be, and it's unclear if Ms. Amy will be back.





But, the silver lining is that it has freed up our Thursdays, so I took Sabine swimming, and then we made an impromptu visit to Denver to see daddy for lunch. I missed getting a picture at lunch, we were all too busy eating pizza, but then we made our regular pilgrimage to Tattered Cover to introduce Aspen to the coolest bookstore around. She seemed properly impressed, especially with their stuffed Babar:


(She's making her elephant sound, "brrrrrr!" in the picture.)

We are staying busy, anyway!

Hoppy Easter

We kicked off the Easter season with a highly successful, impromptu visit with the Easter Bunny. We were at the mall, and Sabine saw the Easter Bunny and really wanted to go and sit with him. (For the first time ever. In past years, she's only been interested in waving from afar.) We went for it, not expecting much from Aspen.

Aspen surprised us all, though, and fell in love with the Bunny!



Both girls smiled for the picture, as you can see. Aspen continued to snuggle the bunny, then cry pitifully when we had to pry her out of his arms. She proceeded to sign "bunny" and then sadly blow bye-bye kisses for the next two days. We went ahead and got the pictures, and adores looking at the one we put on our mantle.

Then the season really kicked off. Sabine dyed some beautiful eggs, while Aspen watched on.





On Saturday, we did our annual egg hunt with our good friends. The big girls had a fabulous time looking for eggs.



And the parents and little ones had a great time watching. (And taking pictures.)











Then we hung around for a while while the girls divvied up the loot and played.





The Easter Bunny dutifully came to OUR house on Sunday, and we woke up to a bunch of hidden eggs, along with some stuffed Easter baskets.











The Easter Bunny brought Sabine a new Lego set



and Aspen got a big, soft bunny, in memory of her visit.



Both girls seemed pretty happy! The Easter Bunny brought a few other gifts, and of course, hid lots of eggs.









Grandmom and Grandpa came down after breakfast, and brought a couple of little gifts.



And then we were off to Aunt Diane and Uncle Nat's to see the rest of the family!

Cousin E was ready to join the landscaping crew.



We had a lovely lunch, and then got down to our third egg hunt of the season. Fortunately, it turned out to be a gorgeous day, the temperatures got into the 70s, so we all enjoyed getting a little extra vitamin D.















It was a wonderfully successful day. The unexpected highlight were the two dogs, Sabine had fun throwing a ball for Lucy, and Aspen just signed "Dog! Dog!" over and over, occasionally getting a quick pet in.