Spring time

Our neighbors gave these olive trees to us when they moved.

Noah trying one of the games at the Easter Egg Hunt and Carnival on base.

DJ wasn't planning on playing this game, but he agreed to show Noah how to do it.

Noah has been using his art scissors to trim these trees. Not a bad job!

Max didn't mind hanging out with the Easter Bunny.

These made great Easter baskets for collecting the eggs! (thanks Sue!!)

The hunt was divided up into ages. Tom helped the little guys collect eggs

while DJ was with his friends in the older section.

It was such a warm day that all the chocolate candies in the eggs were melted!

The boys were looking for the golden egg but had no luck this year.

brothers

DJ's Spring Break

Our 3rd grader had an amazing Spring Break! DJ went with his Grandpa Larry and Grandma Loree to Rome. Then from Rome they went on a Mediterranean cruise for almost two weeks! They went to places in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey. DJ's highlights were just being on the ship and staying up late to watch the different shows at night. They had a water slide and his friend from school was on the same cruise! In the mornings, the cooks began to know him for his ability to eat four omelets for breakfast. He also loved getting off and seeing the different countries. One of his favorites was Ephesus. They did a 9 hour tour! He got to see Saint John's tomb and Mary's house. When they got back to Sicily, we spent a few days taking them around the island.

Thank you Grandma Loree and Grandpa Larry for making this trip such a special time for DJ! We enjoyed your visit too. Here are just a few pictures. It was almost impossible to only pick a few from their 2, 534 pictures! Some of the pictures are from our time with them in Sicily, and the rest are from their cruise.

London

This was definitely one of my favorite places in Europe so far. We have a vacation budget and a list of places we want to see before we leave. We have about a year left. London was at the top of our list.

We just got home yesterday. It was actually a last minute trip. We hadn't planned on going this soon. Tom's work schedule changed and he was able to get some time off. We found a pretty good deal to London and decided to go.

DJ is on a cruise with his Grandma Loree and Grandpa Larry so it was just us and the three little guys. We had an amazing time. Beautiful weather everyday.

We tried to keep the boys busy on the three hour plane ride. Whatever it takes! Cookies at 9 am, gummy bears, coloring books, surprises, Curious George on our ipods. We try everything. We made it for most of the trip without making too much of a scene.

* * *

It's hard to tell from these pictures that Lincoln had a few meltdowns.

Lincoln helped keep Max busy for some of the flight.

It was cute to see them laughing and playing together.

* * *

After we landed, we took the train to our hotel.

* * *

Noah's famous funny face.

I was disappointed with the boys' haircuts before we left.

The Italian barber gave them each a nice bowl cut.

* * *

Breakfast at the hotel. One of the highlights!

* * *

They call the subway The Tube.

* * *

I can't remember if this was a kind hug or an I'm frustrated with you hug or a mommy's making me do this for the camera hug.

We did a ton of walking.

* * *

Wish we had DJ here for the family shots!!

* * *

We walked across The Tower of London bridge.

* * *

The weather was sunny and in the 60s everyday.

* * *

The locals said we got really lucky with the weather. It's usually not this nice in April.

* * *

We took a tour of the Tower of London.

* * *

The Tower of London has the crown jewels and many other interesting artifacts.

* * *

The kids had a fun time at the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park can almost be considered one and were the private hunting grounds of King Henry VIII.

* * *

The play area is also called the Peter Pan Playground and has a big sand pit and pirate ship.

* * *

Max had fun crawling around and exploring too.

* * *

Noah loves to draw. He took a notebook with us just about everywhere.

* * *

It's hard to tell from this picture that Lincoln had a few meltdowns on the bus.

Gotta love two year olds!

* * *

Peaceful protestors.

* * *

Shot in front of Big Ben.

* * *

We took a ride on the London Eye, the tallest ferris wheel in Europe.

We had amazing views of the city.

* * *

We went on the Hop on, Hop off Bus tour of the city.

* * *

Camden Market

* * *

Lincoln liked the horse!

* * *

In front of Buckingham Palace.

* * *

We took a tour through the church at Westminster Abbey where the royal wedding will be in a few weeks!

* * *

Noah with his notebook in Westminster Abbey. All he wanted was for us to find a place for him to write. I think this is a good spot!

* * *

We took two trips to Whole Foods.

* * *

Holland Park

* * *

See Max's two front teeth!!

* * *

Lots of beautiful homes near Holland Park.

* * *

We had to get up at 3:30 am to catch our plane home. It's about a three hour plane ride from Sicily. We landed in Palermo and then had a three hour car ride to our house. It was a tiring day! Lincoln fell asleep on the couch when we got home.