Passover, Easter, Spring Break and i nonni!

It's only mid-April, but we've been celebrating all month long! We started with the kids' Passover seder celebrations at school. Here we are with Brie at hers. Each year, the kids understand the meaning behind each holiday more and more, and appreciate each of the special foods more, too. Such a delight to watch!

Brie and her teacher Ms. Toni. She was Sam's teacher last year--we love her!!

Sam's celebration was even more elaborate...each kid wore a beautiful costume! 

Here are all of the kindergartners at Rockwern. Sam is the tall kid (toward the left) to the right of Moses (the child with the beard!).

Time to eat!

Sebastian kept me company (and nibbled apple pieces) while I made the charoset.

Our first seder with three kids!!

 Sammy volunteered to hide the afikomen this year...and Brie was elated when she found it. :-)

On to the next holiday! Brie was so happy to go to the egg hunt that we've enjoyed in year's past at a local church.

For some reason, this event is really cold every year!

 

 Despite the weather, Brie's hunt was very successful!

And then it was Spring Break! Unfortunately, the weather was pretty lackluster, but the kids didn't mind and we enjoyed having time for many fun (and often silly) things...like modeling new pajamas that Gammy sent in the mail...

Playing board games and putting together a few puzzles...

Watching Sebastian come close to crawling. He's not quite there yet!

 And making fun faces out of sushi, noodles...

and cucumbers...

Once the weather improved, we got to go for a nature hike! 

(And Sam got a great haircut for spring!)

We attempted to take a cute pic of the kids in the backyard on Easter...since the flowers were starting to bloom everywhere...but it was too sunny and, for some reason, the big ol' house behind ours looks like a haunted mansion in every photo. Oh, well...

We finally put up our new swing, which has been great fun since all three kids can sit in it...

We explored Pioneer Park with Sammy and Brie's buddy Eli. Yes, nun-chucks and a magnifying glass improve every outdoor exploration!

And the kids got super excited over the goodies that our friends Chiha and Per Magne sent from Norway. Between Tony's souvenirs from Japan and the Norwegian treats that came in the mail, we've been having a blast with international food these days.

Speaking of food, since Tony is out of town for work, Nonno and Nonna came to visit...and they brought lots of delicious food!

We also got to spend a lot of time outside...

Read and play games inside...

Work on homework together...

Snuggle!

Go bowling!

Enjoy sushi!

And much, much more! No wonder April has flown by--all of the holidays and family time were tons of fun and we're excited that the weather has improved...spring is officially here!!

P.S. Tony's mom gave Sebastian a Care Bear: Sunshine Bear! Not only did I have Sunshine Bear as a child (MUST find that photo, right??), but as I mentioned in this post, Sebastian's Hebrew name means "my light." This bear was a perfect gift for our sunshine-filled little guy!

P.P.S.  While we were having fun in Cincy, Tony was away at a science conference in sunny Hawaii. Life is rough!!