Easter Egg Hunt With the Best Neighbor Ever!

We have the best neighbors here! This is the first time where we have lived somewhere that we love our neighbors. The kids adore Kathy, the neighbor who lives behind us, and also her husband Jim. She goes to the playground and store with us, and always comes over to chat with us on nice days when we are outside. The kids also love Henry, her sweet little dog. Last Thursday, Kathy planned a little Easter Egg Hunt for the kids, with little prizes instead of candy. She hid the eggs in our yard, blue for Jack and pink for Sophie, and inside were little notes with a drawing of a little toy for the kids. They opened the little note, and there were pictures of toys on it. The kids had a blast, and Sophie got the hang of opening the paper right away. They were thrilled with the toys she got them, especially the magnifying glass. Jack wanted to find an ant right away! Thanks Kathy! :)

Jack finding an egg. He probably thinks there is candy in it!

Sophie finding an egg. I'm sure she is hoping for some candy!

Sophie helping Jack out by finding his blue egg. He helped her out later.

Opening the paper.

A little spring hat. Sophie loves dress up, and all things girly, so this was perfect!

A car for Jack. Also perfect for our car obsessed little boy.

Kathy teaching Jack how the magnifying glass works.

Daddy being crazy with Sophie. I capture the part on film where he let go, and she held on(for dear life!).

The kids with Kathy.

Baltimore Aquarium

Wednesday we took the kids to the Baltimore Aquarium in Baltimore. The kids have been watching "Finding Nemo" recently, and have become interested in fish, sharks, turtles, and other under water creatures. They are at the perfect age fore discovering! We left our house bright and early, and arrived at the Aquarium by ten. It was a good day to go, because although it was warmer outside, there weren't a lot of school kids there. This meant plenty of free space to roam! The kids loved it! When we first arrived, we spent a few minutes looking out at the boats in the Harbor, which Sophie loved.

Next, we went downstairs and watched the dolphins swimming in their tanks. Sophie was also fascinated by this. After the dolphins, we traveled over to the new jellyfish exhibit, which was very cool. If Sophie got too close to the tanks and touched them, Jack would tell her, "No Wofie!"

Next, we watched the scuba divers feeding the sting rays, or as the twins call them, "Mr. Ray." They loved this, and because there wasn't a crowd, we were able to get up close to the scuba diver, and watch her put squid into the sting rays mouths! We also saw a big sea turtle, and a couple of sharks. Sophie loved the one shark, because it had "Godots"(polka dots).

After we watched the sting rays, we watched the scuba divers feed the turtle lettuce, and walked around the Aqurium, and saw lots of different aquatic life.

Next, we went to the Dolphin Show. The kids loved watching the dolphins, and Jack would get excited and clap when they did a trick.

The most exciting thing for the twins was seeing Nemo! There were two clown fish in and anenome, and we told the twins it was Marlin and Nemo. They also loved finding Dori.

We also spent time in the Austrialian Rainforest, and watched fish spit at crickets so that they could eat them, watched birds and turtles up close, and tried to spy the monkeys, although they were hiding.

We walked across the way, and had lunch at the Cheescake Factory, but Jack was so tired he spent the entire lunch asleep on the table!

All in all, we had a blast, and the kids loved it. The next day, Jack told me, "I NEED to see the jellyfish!" Hopefully we will be repeating the trip sometime soon!