Easter

We spent spring break and Easter weekend at my parents' house in Florida, where the kids were reluctant to leave their life of leisure and return home on Sunday! The weather was in the low 90s every day, so the kids got in plenty of swimming and lounging.

Dying Easter eggs with Elizabeth and Abbey

Somewhat confused during the Easter egg hunt

We also attended a Florida/Alabama baseball game, and some fans sitting behind were quite confused about why Elizabeth was wearing and Alabama shirt and Abbey was wearing a Florida shirt. I wore a green shirt, which definitely did not fit in with the color scheme in the Gator stadium!

Mom and her five grandchildren -- welcome to baby Emily!

2011 Easter Egg Hunt

The weather was near 80 degrees today for the neighborhood Easter egg hunt, which involved 1,660 plastic eggs hidden in the woods. We enjoyed sharing the event with a number of Japanese families, some who experienced this American tradition for the first time.

Molly and her friend Jolie listening to the Easter egg hunt instructions

Josh was disqualified from the Easter egg roll once again this year for picking up the egg and running to the finish line instead of rolling the egg on the ground. He has a "do whatever it takes to win, regardless of the rules" attitude toward games!

This is my friend Junko, who I tutor in English once a week. Junko and another friend took me to a Japanese grocery store last week so that I could try some Japanese cooking at home. I was so proud of my first Japanese dish, only to have another lady tell me later I had cooked "Japanese junk food"! This week we'll be trying Japanese seaweed, but the kids don't know that yet.

Duck Race 2011

We headed out Sunday for yet another rubber duck race, and we were so thankful for the 80-degree weather after a week of rain and cold. Josh refused to pose with the big duck, but Molly was a good sport! We had a lovely afternoon watching the duck race and eating Klondike bars on the lawn.