Photo Dump and Crispy Kale Chips

the boy caught a massive Pompano recently in our backyard. saw it on the line and reeled that bad boy in himself. i’m learning that Pompano are kinda an expensive type of fish, and maybe rare to catch out here, so to get such a big one was pretty nice!

our spring break was literally spent on the beach almost every day.

the kids had fun one afternoon working their way through a beach maze:

and Bella was completely beside herself to get to enjoy some great tide pools. she exclaimed one morning as she looked out the back doors, “MOMMY!!! Jesus gave ME tide pools! i prayed for them in my head last night, and HE GAVE THEM TO ME!! He really does love me!!”
if tide pools strengthen that little one’s faith and trust in her Daddy, then I say to Him, bring on the tide pools!!!
there were some monster truck obstacle courses that managed to find their way pretty close to my feet:
you know…jumping over sand hills into buckets of water.

and over boogie boards through a floatie:
we did get to get away for a quick night, because we were gifted with a night at the most amazing family friendly hotel. check out our pool:
i’m pretty sure the kids stayed in that pool for about 6 hours straight. they were pretty exhausted that night, but managed to hold their little eyelids open to watch the fireworks over Disney from our hotel window, before big time crashing within 3 minutes of the show ending!

we came home in time for our church’s sunrise service on the beach:
always a fave!

and the Bug was thrilled to get to take a real live bunny for a little Easter walk, compliments of some church goers who had the brilliant idea to bring their pet bunny to the service! love it!
this was the best I could do that morning in terms of a picture of the crazies. they were way more interested in bunnies on a leash and getting as sandy as possible in their dressy clothes.
its probably never a good idea to try to take a family photo on a cloudless day, especially when its 8:30 in the morning, and the sun is blaring all over the place.
we always wait till after church to use the clues the Easter Bunny has left in eggs throughout the house to find the hidden baskets:
checking out the loot:
Bella was so worried all week about what the Easter Bunny would bring, since she “isn’t awowed to eat sugor…only natuwal sugors…”

but they didn’t skip a beat when they saw their treats. in fact, i couldn’t quite believe it, but we made it through the entire Easter holiday without even a nibble of candy.
after finding baskets, we had an Easter egg hunt on the beach:

i’m wondering if your Easter egg hunts always end like this too? actually…our’s didn’t just end like this. it was pretty much like this the whole time. totally fighting over eggs…who has more, who got to it first….Bella was seriously P-O’d whenever Canaan found an egg. next year i’m marking the eggs, and each child will only be allowed to find their specific eggs. maybe it’ll make them want to help each other out? one can hope, right?
i almost skipped this tradition this year, but the Bug looked at me on Monday morning with sad eyes, saying, “i LOVE dying Easter eggs! its my favorite part! we have to do it!” so we did…on Monday morning…the day after Easter…cause that’s how we roll around here! and we only got thru 6 eggs before everyone lost interest….but not before covering my table in egg dye…and they are still sitting in my fridge, untouched, and will probably never be eaten. dang egg dying tradition! i don’t even get it, to be honest!
i wanted a good book to read over spring break, so Jake bought me this one.
i’m a big time library book kind of girl, and don’t like buying books unless i’m gonna mark them all up for some reason (like a Tim Keller or Francis Chan or Jack Deere book). but i was 10th on the waiting list at my library for this one, and knew i wouldn’t get my hands on it for a long time, so Jake found a good deal on a paperback, and we figured it was worth it. i read it in a day and a half. its THAT good!!! the 2nd one comes out May 1st. forget the library waiting list…i’m gonna go to the bookstore and buy it as soon as i can!!! i’m totally hooked!

you know how i mentioned a few weeks back that Canaan was gonna get to be Principal of the Day? well…it happened….
i might be just a little biased, but does it get any cuter??? i mean…checked shirt, striped tie, and Chuck Taylors??? i’m dying…

we got to watch the taping of the morning news…
and see him multi-task while taking care of some general business!
it was absolutely adorable, and his day was full of lunch duty, patrolling the hallways, grading some papers, and helping teach a Kindergarden class and PE class. maybe a glimpse into the future, perhaps??

and then he wakes up this morning with this mop top, and i can’t help but to bust out a laugh…and my camera:
i read this doozy today, and i think it was written just for me. i like the last 3 sentences in the first paragraph the best….well…i actually like the whole thing the best, to be honest! and don’t look at the date…or mind the fact that i’m a little behind on my devotional. and i might’ve skipped some too…maybe. i’d be lying if i told you i was on the ball with those kinds of things, all the time…or ever:
and i’ll close with my kids’ new snack…Crispy Kale Chips. they devour these, and Bella asked me about 50 times while eating them today if they are a “superfood” and if they will make her body really healthy. thankfully, i can respond with, “they are, and they will!!”
there are a gazillion recipes for these, but this one is our tried and true. go try them out, and let me know what you think!
i made a list today of 7 more Clean Eating recipes that i have made and taken pictures of and need to share with you. so check back in!