Rock, Paper, Scissors

The kids have been excited lately about playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Today, Calvin gathered all of the supplies and asked Autumn to play a literal version with him. It didn't work as well as he had hoped, but it was fun to watch.
 

(the rocks are a bit camouflaged by the carpet.)

New Haircuts

 Calvin in the silver airplane

 Autumn in the pink car

 Looking cute with their balloons, suckers, and new looks from Cookie Cutters.

Update: I forgot to mention the best part of the day. Cookie Cutters is about 30 minutes from our house, and it's right next to a Texas Roadhouse, so we usually wait until Andy's in town and then make a trip of it and eat after haircuts. Today when we finished eating and went back to the car, Andy and I both opened the back doors at the same time to put the kids in. It was really windy outside, and the wind tunnel we created sucked the balloons right out. I grabbed one of them right away, but the other one took off. I ran after it, but Andy is faster, and he told me to go back to the car and he would get it. I watched him chase this crazy, erratic balloon all over the parking lot (it had a weight on the bottom, thank goodness!). People were watching and laughing. I was laughing. Andy was leaping and lunging and sprinting after this stupid balloon as the wind kept whipping it all over the place. I didn't think he would ever catch it, but he did. It was so funny to watch, but I was super in love with him afterward. He always goes to great lengths to make sure the kids are happy. I adore that about him.

Easter Package

Today we received a fun package in the mail from our Pennsylvania grandparents. The kids were so excited!

 

Inside were cute boxes

 filled with all kinds of delicious popcorn and candies.

 I made them wait to eat any of it until we took a picture, but after this, they dove right in and devoured the goodies.

And they couldn't have been happier.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Nelson! The packages were such a fun surprise!

Cemeteries and Zombies

I've mentioned before that my kids have a weird obsession with zombies. They talk about them all the time. I don't really understand their level of interest in zombies because they haven't been exposed to them THAT much. They've played Plants vs. Zombies, seen ParaNorman, and watched a few zombie songs on YouTube. Maybe that's too much for kids their age, but it's not like they're watching The Walking Dead or Zombieland or any of the gory, crazy, hardcore stuff.

We've had a lot of deep conversations because of zombies. Calvin wants to know what happens after you die, and why people die, and if Jesus is a zombie since he died and came to life again. When we were in Pennsylvania in the fall visiting his grandparents, he saw tons of old cemeteries. He called the tombstones "Zombie Signs." We thought it was funny.

Lately he's been asking about graveyards and if all dead people turn into zombies. We talk about them being pretend and that graveyards are just a resting place for people who have died. People who have not, do not, and never will turn into zombies.

Today I asked the kids if they wanted to go to the park. Calvin asked to go to the cemetery instead. He said he wanted to make sure for himself that there were no zombies there.

So we spent a lovely afternoon hanging out at the cemetery.

We had a long talk about being respectful. 

 At first they did great. 

 And then they started sitting on things.

 And then they started tampering with things. 

 And then they started hiding in things.

 And then they turned into full-fledged zombies. 

My favorite part, though, was when we saw this tombstone:

I have a sister named Mary Ruth. 

Calvin saw this marker and freaked out. "Mary Ruth died? When did Mary Ruth die?!? What happened?!?" I laughed and said it was a different Mary Ruth and our Mary Ruth was fine, but it took him a minute to calm down. 

(R.I.P Mary Ruth Taylor. I'm sure you were lovely)

It was actually fun. It was a pretty day, and I'm glad Calvin is now at peace about the lack of zombies in our local cemetery. 

Redeeming Christmas Gift Cards

For Christmas the kids' Uncle Gary and Aunt Gretchen sent them each a gift card to Toys R Us. Today we took them to redeem their present. Calvin chose a Sonic racing car and Autumn chose Little Mermaid Legos. They were so excited. It couldn't have been a better present--especially since it was three months after the onslaught of other Christmas gifts. They were something new and fun during the doldrums of late winter. Thank you Gary and Gretchen!