Alan and the kids made dessert together this afternoon.

Homemade banana bread!

Walked about 4 miles today with the kids. I'm so glad they are so old! It's so refreshing to be able to just walk with them and have them keep up. Gone are the days of strollers, slings or the ever so slow toddler pace. It was really nice. It made me really want them to get better at bike riding (though they are both doing well) so we can fulfill my dream of riding around town together.

We did so great today. We left around 11am and got home around 3pm. We went to our town's annual Butter & Eggs parade and had a very fun time. We've been going each year since Gabriel was just ten days old. We do it in a very round about way that works for us. We get there early and people watch, check out the stands and then, just as the parade begins, we take off for the kid section. Basically, we skip the parade. It's so long and so crowded and really, there are only a few things that are exciting to see. It's a lot more fun to have the kid area mostly to ourselves to really enjoy without a throng of sweaty children and their parents.

After about an hour, the parade ends and people start crowding in, which is our cue to take off and head down the emptying streets. We always manage to catch a few of the parade's straggling mini floats and animals. The kids were able to get up close to a baby crocodile and pet an alpaca. We wandered around a bit and then walked home, buying some ice cream on the way from the grocery store. I patted myself on the back for not spending an outrageous amount of money for any food there and was extremely pleased that we were able to walk there and back, no problem, totally skipping the nightmare of parking and closed off streets.

It was a very nice Saturday afternoon.

Isabel's class had a proper tea party this rainy afternoon. It was adorable. The children carefully made cucumber sandwiches and strawberry shortcake for their guests and served tea dressed in their Sunday best.

Isabel and her friends recited their group poem, titled "Moon-sprite"

Our coordinated outfits.

Isabel served tea while a parent played guitar.

Isabel read her poem, Little Garden.

She had a marvelous time!

We took a walk yesterday down to the river and came across this snow like tree fluff which delighted the kids. This is about as close to snow as it gets here in our town!

We cooled off by the river and escaped the heat under the shady trees.

Gabriel is such a little imp!

Too cute. They went exploring for a good hour and a half. (I got a lot of reading done!)

River action shot!

Just a couple of bed time photos I thought were too cute not to share!

We visited with my sister yesterday and our children had a blast playing with each other. We got to her home around 2pm and left at 8pm. We spent all day outside walking around. We walked to the park, then to the store for ice cream cones, then took a wandering walk around the neighborhood admiring all the different houses and gardens. The weather was beautiful, nice and sunny. We walked for miles and had a wonderful time. I am so grateful our children truly love each other and really enjoy spending time together. I am so thankful for that positive family connection both for myself and for my children. Cousins are fun, life long friends!

♥ Happy 6th Birthday to Gabriel! ♥

Gabriel will turn 6 years old on Tuesday! He is such a lovely little boy.

I'm just a bit sad too see 5 fade away. It was such a sweet age and I really enjoyed this past year with him. Isabel's age 5 was marred by the start of her leukemia treatment so I didn't get to fully enjoy the sweetness that is age five with her. I really reveled in this past year and was able to really focus on him the way I couldn't when Isabel was in treatment.

Gabriel is reading already and loves kindergarten. He says creation station and math tiles are his favorite parts. He couldn't care less about Legos or Star Wars or superheroes but adores Hot Wheel cars, racing tracks, anything marble related and learning new tricks on his scooter. Gabriel can spend an entire afternoon blowing bubbles in the backyard and creating new games with complicated rules drawn on the ground with chalk. He is hoping for a finger board ramp for his birthday and can't get enough of video games. Alan is happy that he enjoys watching sports with him and they read Sports Illustrated Kids together. I'm glad he likes books, puzzles and gymnastics. He may not want to kiss me in front of his buddies anymore, but he still snuggles up close at night and hugs me all day long. I'm making him a dinosaur cake for his birthday party. *sniff* Goodbye age 5!

Here are some photos of the past few weeks:

Isabel made an Easter salad.

Lots of creative egg dying, of course.

Climbing trees

Gabe's a limber little guy.

A very fun birthday party.

The kids were delighted to dog sit their cousins puggle for a few days.

A successful trip to the Exploratorium.

Well, I took a little unintentional blog break. Isabel and Gabriel have been on spring break for the past three weeks and we've been busy enjoying the beautiful weather. Lots of day trips, sleep overs, birthday parties and general good times.

This is the first month without a blood draw or check up for Isabel! She only goes to the oncologist every two months now that she is one full year off treatment. It's wonderful! I thought for sure I'd be a bit more worried about not having the reassurance of her perfect blood counts, but I'm not at all. She's so happy and we've been too busy to think about anything but the next thing on our social schedules. It's been very, very pleasant to say the least.