We interrupt this move for a celebration

Noah turned eleven years old and we celebrated by moving into a new house, giving him a new bigger room with softer carpeting. He graciously accepted our feeble attempts to celebrate, and his holding Mamma to the promise of lasagna at a future date, since she could not find the all the necessary kitchen tools to whip it up. He had to settle for second most favorite meal, black bean soup, and sad to say the weather was well suited for soup as well, spring is not here yet.
The boys hurried home from Scouts, to finish up the evening with Noah's special cake, birthday gifts and cards. Despite us just moving, there were several cards and gifts delivered just in time :-)

Final meal

We spent the week packing boxes, loading cars, unloading cars and unpacking boxes. Slowly the one house became sparser and the new one began to look like home. To expedite the move, we put most other activities on hold, yet hunger could not be pushed aside. Noah scrambled for something to eat in the almost bare refrigerator and create cold stuffed mini peppers - a delicious and portable lunch - one that he enjoyed in the car on the way to the new house and more unpacking and unloading.  They probably would have tasted even better if we had given him a chance to heat them up.....

My favorite guys

Never too old

After a lovely Easter luncheon at friends house, we headed back home to enjoy the sunny weather. Shredding the Easter finery we headed to the park for some fun and play. Time together as a family is truly a gift.

Easter photo

We have a nice camera, it was a nice day, and everyone was in a good mood - the perfect set up for getting a good Easter picture; if only the tripod had not been packed already. Bob happily improvised and we used the dirty Pyrex pan to hold the camera while we posed in the local park.  We also made the boys pose on the front steps, and it is clear where Noah's head was - in the comics....
Since it was Easter we needed a serious photo, although the truth is quickly revealed when everyone is allowed to be him or herself ...

Unexpected win

Lukas has participate in a robotics team this spring, an activity that has offered many unexpected but valuable learning opportunities. This weekend the team had its qualifying competition. It was a welcome break from moving, a chance to let the body rest a bit, and allow the mind to do some working. Lukas fully expected this to be the end, only to come home with a first prize medal! Yes, his team is heading on to state competition in a few weeks. Life is full of surprises.

Baking

Thanks to kind friends who invited us over for Easter dinner, we did not have to celebrate another holiday among boxes. As we packed up our pantry, we found the ingredients for delicious spring cookies. It did not take much coaxing to get the boys to stop packing and start baking. Maybe  the potential for a  reward at the end spurred on their efforts...