Easter Sunday

Gannon made this little display outside on Friday (good friday)  after school.  He came and got me to come look at it and he said he made it for Jesus... because Jesus died for a purpose, so we could go to heaven.  It was pretty cute.

Of course the boys colored some eggs.

Easter at Grandpa Rick and Grandma Deba's house.  All the kids looking for the final golden egg!

Trey and Gannon

Gunnar

Crew, Gannon, Easton, Trey, Gunnar, Griffin, Mikiya, Reese, Tyra and Brooklyn

Grandpa Rick and Grandma Deba with Tyra

Tyra

Tyra alice with Nana Alice

The Dykstra Dozen from left to right... Danya, Kenya, Riley, Tyra, Gannon, Lane, Avery, Daylin, Demi, Griffin, Gunnar and Logan.
We had a great Easter Sunday, and once again have too much candy in our house!  We are really thankful that Jesus died to take our sins away and rose again so we can be in Heaven forever!  I read the book called Heaven is for Real just recently... if anyone is looking for something good and easy to read, its a great one!

Our BABY GIRL is 1, BOY #2 is 5 years old!!!!

WOW!!! We have been busy!!!  The last day of March was Tyra's birthday... since we just did her room we didn't get her much for her birthday... a really cute pair of gladiator style sandals :) Then started off April with my birthday, the big #27... that sounds old to me!  I got a new patio set so I am happy! (if the weather ever gets nice enough to actually use it)  On to April 10, Gannon's 5th birthday!  We took him to billy McHale's for dinner... he got the kids ribs and ate them all, they put his name on the train that goes all around the restaraunt and they came and sang to him and brought him a hot fudge sundae!  He was pretty embarassed, but happy to get ice cream.  The picture above I took of Tyra in her birthday outfit... I made it into a 16x20 and put it on a canvas in her room.  It looks adorable in there!

The claw he got from us he was REALLY excited about!

Grant and Tyra on her birthday party day!

I had so much fun planning/decorating for a girl party for the first time!

Of course I couldn't do everything pink since it was a joint party for Gannon and Tyra. Gannon and his skateboard cake I made for him.

Some of the cousins

Some more of the cousins

Gannon got some golf clubs from Papa and Nana

The candy buffet for all the kids

The fab four... never all cooperating at once!

Grandpa Rick and Grandma Deba with the birthday kids!

It seems like April just started and already its almost over!  The FEW nice days we have been having we spent cleaning out our garage, pressure washing, painting trim, putting together my patio set, planting flowers and lots more.  Soccer has started again for Gannon and Griffin so we are at Bender Fields for sure 3 times a week.  I just wanted to add a few things about the Birthday kids...
Gannon~ We love you so so so so much... You are our cuddly soft hearted easy going kid.  The FIRST one to always say Thank you, please, I love you.   You are the jokester and love to tease us a lot... although you aren't too happy when dad teases you!  You love your new sling shot you got for your birthday... and all you keep talking about and asking about is when you will be 5 1/2... it must be a big deal at that age :)
Tyra~ We love you so so so much too... what a blessing it is to have a baby girl in our family... I think all your brothers agree too.  They already carry you around, lay on the ground hoping you will come cuddle with them, they get legos or whatever else you get in your mouth out, they can't wait to go open your door in the morning when they hear you talking on the monitor.  They get the biggest kick out of making you laugh.  They feed you little tiny bites of whatever they are eating.  You are so sweet and girly yet you LOVE LOVE LOVE to be outside and get dirty.  Quite a few times during the day you go to the laundry room to find your play shoes and you set them on the ground and try to put your feet into them because you want to go outside. 
We love you both Gannon and Tyra!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY WE WISH YOU MANY MANY MORE!

Soaking up the... MUD!

Yep, soaking up the mud literally.  I ran to the store on Saturday and left Grant in charge of the 4 kids... when I drove up this is what I found.  Tyra eating mud, for real... EATING mud.  She loved it!  Since she started walking she gets to go outside a lot more... it is very very dirty... but she obviously doesn't mind.

This is what the boys were doing the day before.  We have been getting  a lot of rain lately, leaving lots of puddles everywhere...  Friday afternoon after all the rain it got sunny and 60 degrees!  So they headed outside with their squirt guns and found the GIANT puddles to have a water gun fight in with the neighbor boy.  They were actually using the puddles to fill up their squirt guns.  For the past two weeks I have been doing lots of muddy laundry, hosing off our back porch, dumping the water out of their boots and spraying out the dirt filled bath tub after they come in and clean up!  Spring break so far has been lots of legos, play-dough, coloring, movies, mc donalds, playing war (the card game) and playing a game called angry birds on Grant's Ipad. Today I had to work and the sun finally decided to come out... Lucky for my kids they got to go to grandpa Rick and Grandma Deba's today...  (while I worked) which means feeding the ducks, going to the park, and riding jeeps and bikes on their long driveway and the loop the grandkids take over when they are there.  The high light of the day... Griffin found a dollar on the trail!!