Random Reunion

 It all started when Joe H. had a conference in San Francisco.  Cheryl H. emailed us and asked if she and the kids could hang around for a couple weeks.  Naturally, we said of course anytime and every time you're here!!

So they were coming to visit! Yay!

And then Lynn and Weston, the local boys, said they weren't going to miss out on the fun... they wanted to come play with Cheryl and Joe and the kids...

So they were coming, too! Yay!

And then Dan and Karla had this cute baby boy to introduce to his many aunts, uncles, and cousins... and the Bay Area is at least a little closer than Oklahoma... They got tickets to fly!

So they were coming, too! Yay!

And so we were all here in Newark/Antioch having a grand old time...
When the phone rang...

And then Louis had some work testing to do in Milpitas; just for a day and a half... and wondered if he could stay at our place... Bring It On!!!

So he was coming too! YAY!

And somehow, for two days, six of the seven original Koberstein Kids were all together in one humble home! Oh the fun! The Games, the Music, the Museums, the Laughter, and the food we all shared! It was an awesome impromptu family reunion!

BUT WAIT!!!

Where is Gwen?

Apparently she didn't get the memo... So sad... We would have loved to complete the picture...

Can't wait to see all of the Kobersteins--including two RETURNED MISSIONARIES-- next summer at the actual Organized and Planned reunion...

Easter Fun!

 Easter weekend was filled with fun for all of us!  On Friday, we joined Larry's class party and egg hunt.  Mr. S. was worried that there weren't going to be enough eggs, but as it turns out, the parent volunteers really had to watch out... there were so many eggs that we accidentally stepped on some while trying to hide others... Dawna and Naomi both got to join in the classroom games since a couple kids were absent on Friday!  It worked out perfectly! (except I forgot my camera...)

Saturday Weston came down early and we dyed eggs.  We got a kit that included "velvet" stickers that you could design and stick on the eggs. Dawna very creatively made a brown egg (with her art knowledge that purple and orange make brown, she double dyed the egg to get the right color) and then made a great velvet carrot! That was her favorite one!

 Each of the kids had their own buddy to dye with.  Larry was paired with Daddy, Xochitl with Weston, and Dawna with me!

 On Sunday, we did an old Koberstein tradition: hiding jelly beans (not Easter eggs) all over and hunting for them!  Wes and Jon did the hiding, but we all did the finding and eating of the jelly beans!

Here's Xochitl finding a trail of beans leading to a "jackpot" pile!

Later we went to Nana Papa's house for an egg hunt and dinner.  Uncle Lynn met us there to enjoy the festivities!
My kids got new Sunday clothes for Easter this year.  The girls were really excited, so Larry tried to join in the excitement, but let's face it, he just doesn't go crazy over clothes the way the girls do... 

But look how cute he is!  I LOVE Argyle sweaters! 

 Dawna helped me pick out the girl's dresses.  She wanted to match with Xochitl, but did NOT want another pink dress, so we went with the blue and green floral.  Thank you, Costco, for carrying dresses with sleeves!

NOTE: These were NOT made from old curtains! Geez, Jon!

We finished the evening playing Topple.  Look at the cute brothers! I know it's not the best picture ever, but it's proof Lynn was there!  Happy Easter everyone!

Car Museum! Dipsea Run!

This week was a lonely one for me and the kids.  Daddy was gone Tuesday night through Saturday morning.  Gone on business... to Tahoe... Can't underestimate the importance of "team building" can we?

Yeah, I was a little jealous... but it's not like I would have been snowboarding anyway, so that made me feel a little better...

On Friday, to entertain ourselves, I took the kids on a field trip to the Danville Car Museum.  It worked out perfectly with Dawna's Social Studies chapter this week: "Transportation: Then and Now." We got to read about the "Horseless carriage," and then see one in person!

Horseless Carriage!

Dawna and Xochitl were willing to stand for pictures.   I couldn't get Lawrence to stand still at all!  HE was too busy taking in all the awesome cars!  Nana and Papa and our Danville cousins were all there too, but I missed them in the pictures. 

After seeing all the cars there, Larry now says his favorite car is the Rolls Royce. 

Beautiful Rolls Royce!

Dawna's Second favorite, because of the color, and because it looks like Finn McMissile.

Xochitl's favorite, because of the color.

Dawna's favorite

This one wins for the most interesting car: It's a specially made Rolls Royce for an Indian Maharaja, complete with two silver Boa Constrictor horns, side seats for servants to sit on during hunting, and a removable dark glass compartment so that his two wives would be hidden from public view while traveling.  The story goes this car was found abandoned in the jungle, rusting away, and was so heavy that elephants had to carry it out on a sling... I guess the Rolls don't do so well in the jungle...

While we were there, Weston and Jon took Dan on a long trail run along the Dipsea trail.  Dan did not die... Whew! I was concerned just a little bit knowing how those boys run... but really they all did great!  After the run, they all went back to Antioch for the night... four boys alone in mom and dad's house... what could possibly go wrong...

Saturday we finally all got back together again!  After a grueling run the day before, we decided to take a hike up a hill and along a ridge.  I was still the slowest one there... Lynn got great pictures, which I neglected to get from him... grrr...

Sunday the boys stayed at our place and Jon made an amazing "Surf and Turf" dinner of lobster and steak! Yum! Please come back soon, brothers!  Jon is a great cook, but he only whips out his skills when you are around.

Tough week, but great weekend! We're glad Daddy is home!

Easter Fun

Our Easter holiday lasted all week long. It started on the Sunday before Easter. The Wightmans came to Fremont for dinner and piano lessons. Marisa is particularly great with my kids. They had a great time hiding empty Easter eggs in the back yard and then looking for them... over and over and over again. Balaine had a new lens he was experimenting with on his camera. I think he called it a "fish-eye"? I know there's a lot of photography people out there that would really know... It produced some pretty awesome pictures of all the backyard pre-Easter fun:
On Monday, Nana and Papa prepared an Easter FHE with a new "Easter Walk" book and the 12 Easter eggs that follow the story of the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. After the lesson, they prepared an Easter egg hunt with actual candy in the eggs this time! This is really the first year that Lawrence could enjoy finding the eggs and he was such a crack-up to watch! Great expressions of elation upon finding each egg. To make it fair, Dawna and Larry had separate colors to look for--so Larry found all the yellow eggs while Dawna found all the pink eggs. But... our Easter fun didn't end there...

For Conference/Easter weekend, we went to visit our Antioch family. Grandma and Grandpa were only around for Friday night and Saturday morning, but uncles provided ample entertainment even after the grandparents had flown away to Philadelphia. Larry was particularly taken with Grandma's chickens on this visit. He chased the big black hen all around the back yard:

On Sunday, Daddy and uncles worked together to boil and dye some eggs! There was shrink wrap designs in the egg-coloring kit! I'd never seen that before and thought it was so cool! Unfortunately, Weston and Jon had bought extra large jumbo huge eggs... so the shrink wrap decor didn't fit around the girth of the eggs... Fortunately, Grandma's hens had laid a couple eggs that WERE small enough for it... so we got to see the coolness in action... shrink wrap wrapped around the egg, then dipped in boiling water, and SHALOOP! it skinnied all up to the shape of the egg! So cool! There was also the standard food coloring and stickers... I also just love watching Jon play with the kids! It's so cute!