School carnival

     The next big event was the school carnival. It was held on a Friday night. I don't know how the faculty and staff can be so cheerful and excited on a Friday night.

Hoping to win a cake.

Panda is in a purple-blue shirt in the center. She's wearing colorful sandals.

The cake walk markers were countries from around the world (instead of numbers).

One activity included glitter in the hair and face painting.

Of course, there was food. She can't eat the bun but that just meant more room for  hot dogs. Panda ate four  dogs! (We ate dinner before going to the carnival.)

Poodaloo takes aim for that teeny, tiny hole.

     They also have a silent auction. I love silent auctions! Unfortunately, I 'won' several items - including a new cordless drill. I thought the item was a $90 gift card from Lowes. I was sure someone would outbid.

     I don't need another cordless drill. If YOU need a cordless drill, give me a shout - I will make you a really good deal. Really, . . . . call me!

The Easter bunny was busy

     It was a gorgeous Easter weekend here. The girls love to hunt for and dye eggs. We celebrated with the Girl Scout troop families on Saturday. Spent Easter Sunday at church and then with my sister's family.

A first this year ~ we let the kids colored eggs at the party. Panda is in the middle in green shirt. Poodaloo is on the far right.

Must make time for some horse play!
(Action shots are my very favorite style of photo. It's a special treat to capture one.)

And ~ they are off!!

Panda strikes gold.

Poodaloo and M count their booty. Only 12 eggs allowed per kid.

     The next day it was off to church and brunch with the family. The church egg hunt has a twist. The kids hunt for cans of food. They exchange the canned food for a book. The food is donated to the congregation food bank. (Forgot to bring camera.)

     An egg hunt with Aunt Shaw has been the tradition since Panda's first Easter with us. Shaw takes a special photo of Panda and the sunflower each year. See how she has grown. (Have I mentioned my sis has a blog? She's far more prolific at posting.)

Papparazzi capture the digital moment.

Reno bound and back

     We loaded the van and headed south last week. A spring break trip to see Grandma and the family was in order. We invited J-Bear to come along. Everyone was excited. And, a good time was had by all during our brief two day visit (plus two long days traveling on either side).

     This was our first trip since beginning the gluten-free, dairy-free, egg & beef-free diets. No small feat to prepare for travel. The tradition for our visits is to have pizza at Grandma's house the night we arrive. I bought supplies for making 'safe' pizza for the girls. The only problem was I forgot to bring the most important supply: pizza crust! Upon arrival, Aunt K and I headed out in search of gluten-free pizza crust. Three grocery stores later, we hit pay dirt. Enough to say I am not impressed with the GF foods available in Reno grocery stores.

     Following is a pictorial view of our visit!

Cheers! A picnic in the back yard on Friday.

Playing computer games with cousin L. Notice J-Bear is not much of a gamer.

Bath and ice cream on Friday night. It was non-dairy frozen dessert. We still call it ice cream!

     Saturday was a busy day with a tree planting service at church. The tree was planted in memory of Grandpa B.

Digging the hole in preparation for the tree.

Watching the diggers from inside where it was not windy.

Poodaloo adding a handful of dirt.

A happy tree planting crew.

     After the short tree service, everyone went to Grandma's house for brunch. Grandma P. from Gardnerville joined us for a visit. Both sides of our family live in the area and we try to see everyone during a visit.

     After brunch, Baba and his brother took the children to Scheel's to entertain them. Deer in the headlights is the look I received when gently posing the idea of taking a camera. Six kids and two men = no photos. It was later learned there had been one point when five of the kids had gone missing. The good news is everyone had a fine time and they returned with the appropriate number of children.

     While the kids were off playing, the quilting bee commenced with the ladies. The ladies from Nevada are master quilters who oversee a quilting group at the church. They were very knowledgeable about how to divide up the tasks. With teamwork, we pieced and tied a quilt for the neonatal unit in our local children's hospital. The kids returned in time to help with tying the quilt (although some were too tired to help).

J-Bear getting her first taste of quilting.

Grandma is an expert at piecing and tying quilts.

Panda tying.

Poodaloo and Baba took a nap.

     Then it was time for the long drive home. Ugh . . . . halfway through the trip we stopped to blow the stink off everyone! This is typical of the 'scenery' for most of the trip.

Poodaloo and J-Bear running amok. (They are NOT running on the highway!)

Wearing the nifty hats they bought at the mini-mart in Lovelock.

     We arrived home around 8pm Sunday night. School and work for almost everyone the next day. Mama slept a good share of Monday.