April and May

 Kids at play are just about my favorite current source of entertainment and joy.

 We will sorely miss our Ada, a.k.a. "Tiny," who is just three months younger than Ian, when she moves to Seattle with her family for her Dad's medical rotations. :(

 Eden and Ian enjoying a rest break on a recent hike of Torey Pines.

 I loved this original superman/cowboy dress-up combo.

 Watermelon anyone???

 Yes, those were all eaten by Ian!  Crazy kid!

 Mormon Helping Hands at Doyle Park. 

 Jack and Henry, our friend, napping.  So precious!  Henry is exactly 4 weeks older than Jack.

 Ian played hairdresser!  So lovely!

My first time making beef brisket.  So delish even though I will go with a tried and true method next time.  This time at least the bbq sauce moistened it up.  Thanks for letting us shop your fridge and freezer before your big moving day, Brit and Mike! ;)

 Another day we had a chiles rellenos casserole (slightly altered by me) along with steamed broccoli, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, and red pepper, and some pureed butternut squash.  The squash was supposed to be soup, but was so thick that it really didn't need its own bowl. 

Jack @ 3 Months

I am so behind on my posting that I have just pictures to share of the 3-month mark.  I only can remember what his latest and greatest accomplishments are, which I'll share in the 4 month post soon to follow!

Family Gathering

 Here are some pictures of the family get-together we had on the day Jack was blessed.  Sadly, I was so busy capturing our visiting guests that I neglected to get a good photo of the all-star himself!  There will be plenty other pictures of him in posts to follow though.  So sorry, big guy!  

You rocked it though!

 Pip practiced her amateur photography skills.  Here's a 3-generation shot of some beautiful women I know.

 Caden ready to run.

 Cam-cam resting on his momma.

 Pip and Lilly

 Grandma Bickmore

 Stephen and Brookie.  Stephen and I stayed up late the night before preparing our crock-pot picnic lunch of pulled pork for sandwiches and baked beans.  I can't believe I missed a picture of the food spread too!  Mom, Jeff, and Pip did some fruit salad.  Dessert was good ol' white cake with whipped cream and strawberries!  The Badger side of the family was remembered sweetly!

 Calvin and Bam-Bam (Cameron) with Brookie and Caleb in the foreground.

Thanks Mom and Pip for planning and staging our treasure hunt for the kids.  I knew that left-over Easter candy would be good for something!  

I remember being worried with my other two babies that they might cry during their baby blessing, but neither of them did.  I had no doubt at all that Jack would be a good boy during his.  Someone in the circle said that Jack was just looking up at all the men and watching them.  He is a happy baby.  For that I am forever grateful!

Easter with Family

 The kids and I took a trip up to my parents place in L.A. for spring break and Stephen joined us for the weekend.  We enjoyed exercising together, going on wagon rides, visiting museums downtown, eating lots of delicious food, and staying up late catching up with each other. Here is one exercise session.  Notice the contrast in these two pictures of these simultaneous exercise sessions occurring in different rooms of the same house. Stephen did a serious session of P90 in the front room while Calvin hooked up a dance party for the kids and a few of us anonymous adults in the bonus room. ;)

 Daisy the Drama Queen

 Desirae the nursing queen

 My sister played amateur photographer with some staged group shots of all the cousins.

 One can only imagine the fun we had trying to photograph eight kids under the age of eight years.

 This shot was particularly telling.

 The older boys were pretty cooperative though.

 Here's the oldest and youngest grand kids.

 The GQ "big boys"

 the older half of the cousins

 the ride home
FYI: Brooklyn's cute purple scab is the proof of a super fun wagon ride involving Dads and kids (both dads and kids in the wagon at the same time) and a grassy hill at a nearby schoolyard.

 nap time for the boys

 They were all in the same room.

 This is after church on Easter Sunday. Dad was the only one not color-coordinated, and thus stood behind the camera.

 Brooklyn and Lilly

 Me and my younger, cuter sister

 Calvin and family

 Calvin and his hot wifey affectionately referred to as "CarolITA."

 Calvin, Jack, and Cameron, a.k.a. "Bam-bam," for reasons Jack now understands

 Hunt time!

 Home again