Baby Bird Update

Four of the five eggs hatched as of April 15th....

And, as of last night, the birds are definitely changing and growing. We haven't seen momma-bird around as much the last couple days, so I'm sure it won't be long until they are out flying around! Good thing, because I'm not sure how much longer the duct tape will hold!

The kids are still so sweet checking in every day and always saying "nigh-night momma bird!"

More birthday celebrations!!

Saturday we had a big plateau party for the Hansen family to celebrate the April birthdays....

Jarin..... 30!!!!
Justin...... 35!!!
Rhonda.... 60!!!!

We spent the morning getting some family pictures taken at Ambroja Photography. You can view the final product at http://pictage.com/824144.

The boys enjoyed the spring game in Iowa City and then we spent the evening grilling, playing yard games and enjoying a couple beers. :) It was great to have Justin and Jacque so close that they could bring our little Vivienne down just for the weekend. Seeing the kids all playing together, and getting big enough to where they really remember each other, is very cool. My kids talked the whole weekend about Baby Vivi, who really isn't a baby any more.

Jarin and Justin had a little competition to see who could do the airplane with the most ease... It may look like Justin is dying, but really he had the advantage with about 15 fewer pounds of baby girl!

The birthday cake was one of the best parts of the weekend! All of the kids helped to blow out candles ...

And now for my most favorite video.... my poor little girl wasn't getting her fair share of the yummy cake!

Skala Easter 2010

Every year, the Skala family has a very cool tradition of gathering for every major holiday. We celebrate the holiday, yes, but it's much more than that. It's about family, food, and fun; it's about the joy of generations and the happiness and surprises on the kids' faces.

Of my dad's six brothers and sisters, they rotate the location of the holidays each year, and my parents always host Easter. On their acre lot the Easter bunny drops off eggs to be hid while the kids are stuck in the garage doing crafts. Then on the count of three the door opens and the kids race across the lawn!

Here are a couple of my favorite snap shots from this year. It's sure good to be a Skala!

SURPRISE!

It was Jarin's turn on Friday to be surprised with the big 3-0! Our very dear friends, Brad and Kate, managed to help me get him to the happy hour and then his work gang helped to pull off a surprise that he didn't expect in the least! As we walked into the restaurant, he tried putting his name in and couldn't understand why I thought that I could just walk right in! Too funny!

I realized now that I did a horrible job at taking pictures of everyone there, but here is a big group shot...

A very special thank you to Jarin's great high school/college buddies who were able to travel from Cedar Rapids and Chicago to join him. These boys made sure the party lasted beyond just a happy hour!

Jarin even wore his depends diaper out of the bar....

Happy 30th honey; hope you had fun! I love you very much!

Dinner and Birthday Wishes

We gathered last night for a birthday celebration for Meg at Blackstone in Iowa City.... what a wonderful dinner spot! If you haven't checked it out, it's a must.  The kids had fun with their Aunt Meggie, but Alayna wouldn't give up the onion rings long enough to look at the camera!

 I did finally get the cutest picture of her with her daddy though... had to share this one!

Happy Birthday Sissy!

Megan Skala is 27!! Wishing you a wonderful (last) birthday as a single lady. I know this year you will have many of your biggest wishes and dreams come true. We love you!

Beautiful Easter Day

The eggs are dyed, check.
The fingers are stained, check.
The kids are dressed, check.
The ham is cooked, check.
The bunny came, check.
The bellies are filled, check.

It was a great Easter, and coloring eggs was sure a riot this year! Not only did Cade and Layna spill green and yellow dye all over my table and (freshly scrubbed) hardwood floor, but they were soaking their hands in the bowls of dye and slurping it with a spoon!! AAHH! We started with a dozen eggs this year, some of them were slammed onto the cooling rack, others were dropped and rolled across the floor....I think we ended up with 8 good ones, 3 of which were still cracked and broken all over, but pretty!

(My kids also decided sometime in the last few months that taking pictures was not going to be on their list of to-dos this year. So, as you'll see from our Easter celebration, one of the kiddos were uncooperative in almost every picture that I took!)

Here are the sweet pumpkins before and after church Sunday morning. What a beautiful day it was! Can you tell how thrilled Alayna was with my photo requirements!

We played outside for a while, and Jarin captured the kids' attention with a bird nest that was built around my wreath recently. (Maybe if I put away my winter decor prior to spring, I wouldn't have this issue, but...)

Then it was time to enjoy our wonderful feast! We made 20 lbs of ham for 11 adults and our 2 kiddos. I have to show off the masterpiece! I was thrilled with how it all turned out...

And after our bellies were filled, the Easter bunny dropped off 58 eggs for the kids to seek out in the backyard. By now, the kids changed in to their comfy clothes, which apparently consists of Harley Davidson gear for both! Happy Easter to my biker-babes!

Hungry Girl!

This morning Caden and Alayna sat down for breakfast... After a little while, Caden was full part-way through his cereal so I helped him into the bathroom to wash his hands. When we walked back into the kitchen, this is what we found:

Yep, my little girl finished her yellow bowl and moved right on over to Caden's to finish off his too! Why waste a good thing?

Happy 60th Birthday Mom/Nana!

Rhonda Hansen is 60 today! We are wishing her a very special birthday!
Here's one of my most favorite pictures of her and Caden: