The Owl, the Key, the Fleur-de-lis...and these three.

Three college besties, plus their husbands, plus their combined 5 kids, and one overdue weekend together equals a great time. I was so happy Crystal - my great friend and insanely funny college cohort, spent the weekend in the 85260 with her amazing family. The third part of our trio, Jami, happens to live two streets down from me (coincidence??) Crystal, Jami, and I were suite mates in the Kappa house at ASU (along with Rebecca, who tried to make the trip from Dallas). It's crazy to think I've known these girls for 12 years now. They are the definition of life-long friends, and I was thrilled to finally get to spend some quality time with both of them.

Go Kappa.

Forever trying to get a good pic.

The best part was watching our kids all hang out. No question, the next generation of Kappas has been born...and this is their version of rowdy-doo.

All the kids, including Colin.

All the kids enjoying some play time.

KKG pledge class of 2031.

"Easter Bunny Hop On My House"

Easter was filled with all of the normal Eastery traditions - egg dyeing and hunting, talking about the Easter Bunny, pretty dresses and lots of candy. Peyton was excited and worried about the Bunny for several weeks. She said he was going to "hop on her house" and leave her candy. But you could see the anxiety creep over her when she began to process the idea that a giant talking rabbit was going to sneak into her house in the middle of the night. Daddy explained that he would personally escort the Bunny the entire time he was here and make sure nothing bad happened.

Getting ready for the Show Low easter egg hunt...er, easter egg pickup from the big empty field.

"Scott, you go left and block the big kids. I'll get the eggs and eat the candy."

"Sixteen eggs! This hunt is for amateurs."

"How many did you get?"

Best seat in the house.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay. No screaming. No crying. Maybe this creepy thing will bring me some candy."

Sparkles, sprinkles and stickers.  Best. Eggs. Ever.

Patiently waiting for the neighborhood egg hunt to begin.

It's no Sullivan Circle, but a nice showing of neighbors to celebrate.

"Peyton, you've got to give 110% if you want to get all the eggs."

Surely there is an egg up here somewhere!

"Okay, I'm hot."

Jameson trying to scam some candy away from PK.

"Let's head out Daddy. It's about 100 degrees out here and I could use a cold box of juice."

The Easter Bunny is also known as "sucker who can't resist the giant Costco teddy bear."

"A quick costume change and I'm ready for Easter dinner."

All hopped up on goofballs.

Hellmer Family Portrait

Pretty

"More toys from the Bunny!"

Easter is pretty hoppin!

Swimfan

We've taken PK to swim lessons since she was about 6 months old. In Virginia, classes consisted of splashing, kicking, and putting her face in the water. It's been an entirely different experience in Arizona - and for good reason. The drowning rate of children in AZ is startling, and at AquaSafe Swim School, kids of all ages and skill levels are taught survival skills. While swim class is fun, it's not about splashing or goofing off. This is serious business, and we were told Peyton's coach, Spencer, was one of the toughest. They focus on a small set of necessary skills - rolling over onto your back so you can breath, floating, finding the wall, and learning how to get out.

Peyton's slowly gotten used to Coach, and even though we've been going to AquaSafe since September, we really didn't get the sense anything was sinking in. Until this month. It was as if a light bulb went off in Peyton's head, and all of a sudden, she was the star of swim class. She floated on her own for at least a minute, rolled over by herself, rolled back again, and even started pushing off the wall, making small kicks and "swimming" toward us.

Undoubtedly, Peyton's favorite part of swim class (next to the lollipop and juice she gets aftewards) is jumping off the cow at the end. It may not be the most graceful entrance, but she sure does love doing it!