Happy Easter!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Hallelujiah!

This is an Easter Egg Alia decorated earlier in the week. I was washing dishes and I looked over and this is what I saw! She drew this picture all by herself...then explained to me that it was Jesus on the cross and the cross was red because of Jesus' blood. I didn't really know what to say because it touched my heart. She gets it. At 4 years old, she gets it.





We had an Easter Egg hunt after church today. Here's Elijah gathering his eggs.

And Alia...

A silly picture of little Ethan this afternoon.

Happy Easter from the Backlunds!!

Spring Break!

This past week Alia has been on spring break. I've been busy trying to keep us busy and I think we've had a pretty good week (with the exception of a few migraines). As you read this it will go backwards...from Saturday to Tuesday. Sorry about that. But...enjoy reading about our week.


SATURDAY morning we decided that we'd do some house cleaning. We started in the back of the house-with the kids room/laundry area....then moved into our bedroom/bathroom. And that's where it stopped. I ended up getting another migraine so Jason took the kids to do some errands while I slept.


On FRIDAY afternoon Jason and I took the kids on a train ride to Fresno. We piled onto the Amtrak train, leaving from Hanford, and took the 34 minute ride to Fresno. Because of Easter weekend the train was packed both ways...so we didn't even get to sit next to each other. But the kids had a blast-especially Elijah. After we got back to Hanford we had pizza at a local pizzaria then went to Superior Dairy for some yummy ice cream. It was a special day indeed for our kids!





THURSDAY'S fun was a bit different. The big activity was a trip to the dentist for Alia and I! :) I hadn't been to the dentist since we lived in Chicago and Jason's uncle graciously took care of our teeth. But we now have dental insurance so we made appts. Jason went a few weeks ago to check it out for us. :) Since it's been so long I ended up having a pretty good cleaning done and Alia was so patient through it all! I didn't hear a peep out of her the whole time. I do have to go back for a small filing. Poopy I say!
Alia did a great job! She was so big and brave and she laughed a lot, too! Of course "fishy" had to come with her, just in case she needed her. So here's a picture of Alia and fishy.



Yes, I am a silly mom! :) I took a picture of Alia's first teeth x-ray's. :) It's actually pretty cool because you can see her adult teeth already there...waiting to pop through. They are right behind the main teeth. :) Her teeth were in good shape! Hooray! We left with another date to the dentist in 6 months!

On WEDNESDAY we went to Boingo's. It's a warehouse full of bounce houses, and they have this rock wall. Obviously Alia liked the climbing wall. :) We spent about an hour and a half there then went to McDonalds for mini meals. I was sure they would nap...and they did!! The day ended with me getting a migraine.

TUESDAY brought us to a friends park for a MOMS Club Easter Egg Hunt. It was a nice day to be at a park. Alia and Elijah had a fun time playing with friends and getting eggs. Ethan enjoyed being outside. I have been putting him in the stroller more lately because he likes it so much better than being cramped into an infant car seat.

Arizona!

The last weekend in March we made the drive to Phoenix to visit my brother and his family! It was a long trip there and back (especially back) but it was worth it. The kids had a blast playing together and it was fun to be with Jeff and Mary! Thanks so much for having us!



Avery had her 5th birthday party while we were there. It was a beautiful sunny day for a park party! Here are the "best cousins" on a rock together at the party.




The Backlund boys!

We also were able to fly kites one day because it was so windy. Elijah enjoyed this the most. :)

And here are 4 of the 5 cousins playing in another park. Ethan was asleep in the stroller. Someday he'll be able to join in the pictures. :)