March Madness!

Na-na, na-na, na-naahhh!

Can you guess what Robbie was doing just before this picture was taken?

If you said "coloring Easter eggs"...you just won a dozen Cadburry eggs and a box of Peeps! Believe it or not, the eggs actually looked pretty good after it was all done...that is, the ones that were not gleefully smashed on the pool deck by cousin Jayce and quickly consumed by Pete (the dog.) At ages 10 and 8, Katja and Robbie still cling to childhood traditions and look forward to things like egg-hunts as much as their younger cousins do. However, the egg hunting rules differ the older they get. This year I hid 24 eggs for each in the woods and told them that the first to find their 24 would be declared the winner. After some pushing and much taunting Robbie emerged the winner by a hair. He, of course, proceeded to celebrate by doing an "end zone" dance and digging into the eggs to see what candy mom decided to use to stuff the eggs with this year. After stuffing his mouth he spotted a squirrell nearby, and being Robbie, proceeded to offer said squirrell a lemon Starburst. The squirrell was happy to accept the sweet treat which she devoured after climbing up the nearest tree. Below is the picture of the squirrell, and yes, the yellow item between its paws is a lemon starburst. If you happen to know that sugar, yellow die #4, and artificial flavors and preservatives are toxic to squirrells, please don't tell us!

Easter was even more special this year as it was Jack's first. He crawled after eggs and happily consumed the goldfish and cheerios tucked inside each. However, his favorite part of the day was being pushed in the swing by daddy and playing peek-a-boo through the treehouse slats with mommy.

Swinging Fun!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Jack loves the swing in grandma and papa's back yard ;)

Peek-a-boo!

Jack cruised around the inside perimeter of the tree house and played peek-a-boo with mommy on Easter day. He loved being up higher than everyone else and looking down on us for a change.

Spring Break 2008

Since we didn't travel anywhere during Spring Break this year, we looked for fun things for the kids to do locally. Jeff had inspiration to call our local firestation and schedule a tour for our neighborhood kids. While playing with fire was strictly discouraged, playing with water was the highlight of the day. The firemen connected hoses to the fire engines and allowed the kids to aim the hoses at targets in a soaking relay of fun. The kids got in line over and over until they were tired and the novelty had worn off. Our thanks go the "A" team of firefighters based out of the firestation on Gosling Road.

The Rivera Grandboys (minus Robbie)

At the end of the tour and water play, all the kids were made honorary firefighters for the day and each received their very own fireman's hat. He are all the Rivera grandboys minus Robbie. He was helping the firemen roll-up and put away the hoses with all the enthusiasm he lacks at home when asked to clean his room!

Got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got it!!! That's about all you'll hear Katja say during her volleyball games. She is playing club volleyball this year, and since she is vertically challenged, plays the position of setter. She may be short, but she is soooo- strong she has one of the most powerful serves on her team....which leads her to sing on ocassion "Ace, Ace, baby. Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, na-na!"

When she's not setting, she is working the back row as a defensive specialist...that's what the short one's do! If that's all you do, you are called a "libero" and wear a different colored shirt. Katja will never be a libero because they are not allowed to serve and that is one of her strengths.