Happy Hunting - Easter 2013

Easter morning dawned chilly and rainy this year, but by the time we returned from Mass, we had sunny skies and a lawn bedecked with Easter eggs... just in time for this horde of Raley cousins to descend on it!

In case any blog followers are confused by who's who in this pink bunch, here's the lineup, almost in birth order: Molly May, Annie, Mary, Tessa, Clara, Bridget, Megan and finally Joey.

Happy hunting was enjoyed by all, even the lone, surly seven year-old boy wearing blue and pink check!

Our World, Brought to You by Our iPhones

Those iPhones sure are handy for documenting the here and now! Here's what our March looked like, according to our smart phones!

The best part about spring? Being able to watch spring baseball outside.

Clara was happy to join the boys for a popsicle!

Painting toenails and fingernails -- preferably in neon shades -- is one of Clara's favorite past times.

It was belt testing time for Tae Kwon Do! Clara joined in and earned her first black stripe, while Joey's on his way to a green belt!

 

 

Best playdate ever in Clara's world! A trip to Color Me Mine with her best friend Molly and her little sister Molly! 

A dog walk on a rainy day isn't so bad if you get to wear a new green rain jacket and boots!

 Sisterly fun... at swim lessons, in pajamas, and a spring lunch on the patio.

Joey the Hulk, now weighing in at 75 pounds, loves to demonstrate feats of agility and strength wherever and whenever he can.

He also loves to demonstrate how to chow down on croissants at the cafe next door to the girls' ballet studio, along with buddy Lucas!

 You know there's no need for a highchair in your house when it's only used as a climbing toy by devious little two year-olds.

Sleepover with cousin Marco! Can you tell Molly was excited??

Molly and her two favorite toys... markers and a baby doll.

Swim lessons started out as a giant flop (Molly was that screaming child), but now she loves Teacher Katie and her squirty fish toy.

Molly knows how to keep busy with all of her "sibling posses" at Joey and Clara's various practices and games. Here she is enjoying the contents of the bag of "baseball toys" at a T-ball practice and at one of Clara's indoor soccer games with friend Ava.

A rare picture of Mommy and Monkey Molly, before heading into Clara's parent-teacher conference.

Sampling an "ocean pancake" or a Dutch Baby for the first time... the excitement was unreal.  I am not exaggerating.

  

And finally, it was off to the Father-Daughter dance for the second year in a row for Clara and Tim!

Little Slugger, Part 2 (the Pink Version)

You thought there would only be one baseball player in this family? Not if Tim has anything to say about it!

Clara started her first year of T-Ball this month, sporting all of her big brothers' hand-me-downs, except for a brand-new pink baseball bag.

Even better than finally getting to be out on the diamond herself... she gets to be on the same team as cousin Marco, be (unofficially) coached by Uncle Jeff, and get some third-base coaching from Grandpa!

 

Swimsuits, Sunscreen and Scottsdale

For the third year in a row, we enjoyed an early taste of summer with a five-day trip to Scottsdale - welcome break from rainy spring weather at home and our crazy, overscheduled life. We loaded up on sunscreen, poolside drinks, and inflatable water toys, and loved every minute of the 90-degree weather! We even snuck in some baseball games and golf (for the boys), and lots of books and trashy magazines (for the girls...well, just one of them).

Our water babies are becoming more and more independent every summer, and for the first time, we lost track of both Joey and Clara in the pool multiple times, and didn't worry. There might be no better feeling than having water-safe kids!

 

We had just one little person to keep track of, and  she was content to play in the baby pool, making new "best friends" every day, and astonishing other parents with her vocabulary, her sentences and her general ridiculousness. At one point, after playing with a little 4 year-old friend named Tessa for two days straight, she abruptly switched allegiance to a new friend, and casually shouted across the pool, "Mama, Tessa is not my best friend anymore! I am not going to play with her anymore, okay?" The former best friend's mouth fell open and she burst into tears, while I quickly scolded Molly, who shouted back, "WHAT?" with her signature shoulder shrug. "I just said I am not going to play with her! That's all I said!!"

We squeezed in some outdoor chess and checkers, lots of games of pool, and met up with one of Joey's best friends, Isaiah, at two A's spring training games.

Until next year, Scottsdale!