Four

Luke makes me smile. He is determined, funny, smart, talkative, and oh so cuddly. We look forward to his little body climbing into bed with us every morning.

A few months ago I was in a rush at the grocery store. I really needed to get what was on my list and get out of there. I gave Luke a free grocery store magazine to look through while he sat in the trolley. He spotted a 'swamp' cake and went crazy! He said he wanted that cake for his birthday and he was serious. Over the next couple of months he mentioned his cake every time we talked about his birthday. He was involved in every part of making this cake. And his smile was precious when it came time to blow out the candles.

 Equally as crucial to a successful birthday for this boy was a Buzz costume. He decided that he wanted a Buzz costume a week before his birthday and he talked of little else. My sister came through for us on this one! She made a last minute trip to the Disney store and sent the costume with my parents. Again, a priceless smile and a successful birthday!

Luke still has dimpled knuckles and I melt to hear him pronounce his 'r's. If only I could bottle up every bit of this age and keep it forever...

We love you Luke! Happy Birfday Mate!

So much sweeter

His and Hers fitness goggles :)

Todd has been away on business for 9 days. The kids and I managed okay but things just aren't the same without dad. Life is so much sweeter when he's around.

He's back in time for an exciting week in the Stepan home. Stay tuned for highlights from the coming week.

Love our pool

Our afternoon schedule during the school break:
1. put Sara down for a nap
2. mom gets comfortable in her yellow lounge chair by the pool to read her book or listen to conference.
3. kids swim- Benjamin does flip after flip and Luke does his crocodile spins over and over.

Last year when we moved here our kids had very little swimming experience and I was nervous to let them leave the pool stairs without me or a life vest. We are amazed at the progress they have made in such a short time. I'm attaching a video of the kids swimming last week.

Shopping with the kids

I've posted before about the comments that people make when they see me out in public with our kids. This one was too funny not to post:
I was in a kitchen shop this week buying a new pan. The lady at the register offered me a bargain on a wine bottle opener with the purchase of my pan. I told her that, "No thank you. I don't drink." A second lady behind the counter piped in and said, 'if all those kids are yours, you should drink!'

Kids with an iphone camera

It always makes me laugh when I find these little beauties on my iphone camera roll. Can you tell which child likes to play with the camera the most?

City day

Sometimes I hesitate to take all 5 kids into the city by myself. Should I drive and try to find parking or should I take public transport? Which bus goes where? Where do I park if we take the city cat? Then I usually decide to do something closer to home.

Tuesday however, we drove Todd into work and I decided that we'd stay in the city and make it a museum day. I found a parking spot and we were good to go.

We visited the Queensland Museum.

The interactive kids activities were great.

I didn't pack a lunch since our day out was last minute, so I took the kids to lunch at a cafe in the city. It was a fun treat for all of us.

This dinosaur was our favorite since it reminded us of Trixie on Toy Story 3.

Easter Sunday

We spent Easter morning hunting for eggs, doing sudoku and word searches and of course eating way too much candy and chocolate.

Then in the afternoon we went to church. Todd gave a beautiful talk to the congregation about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to reflect again on the Atonement and Resurrection and what they each mean to us individually. Click here to see a beautiful Easter Bible video.

Easter Monday

We spent our Easter Monday at the beach. It was a fantastic day together. Blue sky, clear water, warm sand, happy kids...ah...everything is right with the world. 

We wonder if maybe our kids have been away from snow too long. When the tide went out they used their body boards to 'go sledding'.

This little guy can't get enough of the sand.

Again, is he missing snow? Who ever would have thought of sand angels?

Now you see why we went for a family swim when we got home-- to wash away all the sand.

Good times.

Koala sanctuary

We have had a fantastic school break. I've been lazy about bringing my camera on our adventures but luckily Benjamin has brought his camera with us wherever we go.

I'm a koala fan. The Koala Sanctuary has several places to observe these animals. Each one has their own style. Check out the sleeping koala behind Benjamin. We liked this particular koala because he was stretched out. Some of the koalas are in little cuddly balls but this guy has one arm up in the air and the other wrapped around the branch.

After our last visit to the Koala Sanctuary, I'm less of a water dragon fan. We were sitting on a bench eating our picnic lunch and we noticed this guy in the distance watching us eat. I didn't think much about him because he was so far away. Then suddenly he charged for my sandwich. I'll never underestimate how fast these guys can move again. We decided to take our lunch elsewhere.

Hot cross buns

Last year when we arrived in Australia, we discovered these delightful morsels at our local bakery. We became regular connoisseurs. Then last April after Easter, I went to the bakery to order our hot cross buns like usual and I was told that they are a seasonal item. I was stunned.

"You mean hot cross buns are only made at Easter?...

Why not enjoy them year round?" I wondered to myself.

In any case, our long wait for hot cross buns is over as Easter has arrived once again. I made a visit to the bakery this morning to stock up. I was hoping to freeze a few buns to enjoy after Easter. Instead, our kids ate them all. I'll have to go back to the bakery to try to stock up again (but not on Good Friday--all the shops are closed tomorrow for Good Friday).
Our 3 middle kids and Todd like the chocolate chip hot cross buns. Michael likes the traditional hot cross buns. Sara and I like the hot cross buns "with fruit" (raisins).
When our friend Sandra visited she taught us the traditional English way of eating hot cross buns. Toasted with melted butter. That took our hot cross buns to a whole new level.
The kids learned to sing a song at school about hot cross buns. I'm including last years iPhone recording of that song. The hot cross buns song was also one of the first tunes that Michael learned to play on his tuba.
We definitely have a new favorite Easter tradition.

Family photos

A few months ago, I was reading NieNie's blog. She posted that one of her favorite photographers(www.bluelilyphotography.com) was going on tour. I checked the tour schedule which included several cities in Australia and New Zealand EXCEPT for Brisbane. I sent them an e-mail and asked them to PLEASE make a stop in Brisbane. I was so thrilled when...they said YES!

Last week, Wendy stopped in Brisbane in between Melbourne and Perth to take our family photos on the Surfer's Paradise beach. It was the most fun we've EVER had taking family photos. Wendy played tag on the beach with our kids after photos. Our kids adore her. Thanks for coming to Brisbane Wendy! You are awesome!

Autumn school break

Term 1 has ended and our two week autumn school break has arrived. If you need us, we'll be in the pool!