Awe! That look! Ruthie normally wants Katherine or Lauren, but today I was the one who rescued her from the stroller...so "Aunt Kelly" was a happy camper ;)
We were walking around and came by the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. I didn't realize that the kids had never been inside (just Regan and I) We did not know why they had red banners hanging from the front either. We have since guessed the reason...keep reading.
So, this is the center door that is almost never opened and you can only walk through it every 40 years. We were surprised to see it open.
And now we know why...The bishop was there and several cardinals. They were coming out to have a ceremony for a new cardinal. We briefly got "stuck" here as they were coming out of private quarters.
And just like that, the door is closed again.
Ruthie is a huge fan of the dogs
Coming to Katherine for protection ;)
It's easy to relax with these fur balls around.
WOW! 18! I can't believe it. Happy birthday, Benjamin!
He asked for carbonara for lunch, so Jonathan made it.
It's been some really busy days recently. We decided to let Hudson and Lauren stay home and we celebrated Benjamin ALL DAY! It was all about him.
He only wanted money for his birthday so he was surprised to have any presents to open. We got him some candy (small package)
And we decided to go ahead and buy a fan for the boys' room. Benjamin asked nearly every day last year because it gets so hot in the summer and AC is too expensive to run. He was very happy about this surprise gift and has already tried it out.
Benjamin requested a family game of Monopoly...but on his XBox.
So, the original plan was for a cookie cake at the Lake with 2 other families that Benjamin enjoys hanging out with. He's been looking forward to it, but we had to cancel because of heavy rain (and cold weather) So, I made a red velvet cake for his real birthday, too.
Sometimes things don't go as planned, but I think it turned out great.
It was the end of the day and Katherine finished his flower. She had been working on it to give to him because he didn't have one yet. He was happy about it :)
They are just toooooooo cute!
Easter break. They ran down to the store and bought some treats with their own money. Katherine got a big Coke so she could make Coke Slushies, and Lauren is a sucker for those chocolate eggs. She was waiting until after Easter so she could get them on sale.
Hudson FINALLY got to use his birthday coupon for a Starbucks. He's tried to redeem it several times, but I kept telling him I needed more warning/time. After the trip out there he understood why. It takes at least 45 minutes just to drive there and 45 min back (but since it was a holiday it was an hour each way)
So we had a little mini date and he got a kick out of the guy writing his name as "Hueson" and the other guy reading it as "Wilson" and the guy at the counter talked me into getting hime a gold chocolate coin since they were on sale. Sure. Why not? It was his dream come true ;)
We still did the cookie cake and 1 of the families came over for an epic game of Risk.
Kevin also showed up which we weren't expecting but enjoyed his company :)
Silas helped Jonathan make some birthday pizzas
His one request was "not too much icing" So, I did my best :)
He wasn't expecting anything from the other family, but Silas gave hime a handmade card and inside was money! That makes any teenager happy!
Silas was busy measuring my feet
Group photo with Jonathan...Lauren, Ruthie, Katherine, Silas, Hudson, Jonathan, Benjamin, Kevin, Rachel, and Brice
Group photo with Kelly (and the poodles)
Silas wanted a selfie with the dogs
Silas was sitting in my lap playing the piano and Shadow was JEALOUS! He managed to squeeze in between me and Silas.
Silas was so serious trying to figure out this game
It took a while, but Benjamin ended up winning the game!
Easter baskets! Thanks for the candy Grandmommy!
Katherine made her Easter basket
She was so excited about the BIG egg!
Lauren's egg was swirled
White chocolate egg
Milk chocolate
All eggs come with a surprise inside, but you never know what it will be. Lauren's was quite large!
Benjamin got a heart necklace...that Hudson wanted to trade fro because he knows a girl he could give it to ;)
Poor Hudson. He got a princess doll.
Katherine got a fuzzy fox bracelet.
And Lauren got a Mandalorian toy
We also did some egg dyeing.
Trying some tie dye with shaving cream
Enjoying some sun on the balcony
Easter Sunday...we matched...unintentionally :)
Hanging out with friends after church
We went out for dinner on Easter. Two from our table had already left, but we enjoyed talking with several new people.
What a surprise! We met Tony and Esther.
I got this from Regan. It might be one of my new favorites! They are enjoying the sun and the hammock
