We tried to squeeze in a quick trip to the park this afternoon before impending bad weather. But after about 20 minutes we were sent packing when the weather siren sounded. The boys were absolutely horrified to be caught outside, exposed to the danger. Even my calm reminders that the sirens are not just for tornadoes, but also for severe thunderstorms did not quell their anxiety.

"WHY aren't you RUNNING," they called over their shoulders as they rode their scooters down the hill toward home. For the record, there were a few stray rain drops and gusty winds, but no thunder or lightning at this point.

Once we reached home they were still scampering around like nervous cats so I finally gave them a bag and said, "Here, take this and put things in it to keep yourselves busy if we have to go to the basement." I emphasized that this was not a "survival kit" as we had plenty of water, food and flashlights in the basement already. Here is what they packed:

• Nintendo DS (and games)
• LeapPad (and games)
• iPad
• Lego
• Lucha Libre masks
• Willy Wonka hat
• coin purse
• set of toy magnets
• rubber snake

We did not end up needing to seek shelter, but the gathering of items did calm them a bit. Then we allowed a bit of TV time and by the time the show ended the worst of the weather had passed.

And later in the evening there was much love for new pajamas that I impulsively added to my "cart" while ordering a new pair of "church shoes" for Edward, having learned this week that the ones he was wearing were 2 sizes smaller than his everyday shoes!

Oh...just realizing that the picture of the Lucha Libre masks John and I brought home from our trip to Mexico in February never made it to the blog. Here is what is considered essential severe weather entertainment:

Shortly after this exuberant embrace of the Easter Bunny's largess, the jig was up.

In the 10 minutes it took to drive from our house to church for Easter Mass, three childhood heroes were toppled. I always knew that I would not lie when confronted head on with the quest for truth, but I thought it would come from Edward and I thought he might get a few months or a year of being "in on the secret" before Daniel was brought up to speed. At the very least, I thought Edward would be the one to reveal the truth to Daniel, in a conspiratorial big brotherly way.

No.

A friend of Daniel's, whose family does not participate in the myth-making, told him, "It's your parents" and that's all it took. I think she probably told him back around Christmas, because Daniel has tested the theory a bit in the last few months, casually mentioning, "I think maybe you and Dad are Santa Claus." My response, "Oh, really, that's interesting. What makes you think that?" has never drawn him into further conversation.

But this morning there was no dancing around it. Voice from the backseat: "Are you guys the Easter Bunny?" Sideways glance between John and me. "Are you sure you want to know?" YES!

"OK then, here it is. Yes, we got the treats and made the Easter baskets."

What about Santa? Again, "are you sure you want to know?" YES

Another one bites the dust. Here, Edward was skeptical, "But, wait, how do you know what we want from Santa. We only tell him!" Oh, really, you mean you don't spend weeks and weeks of anticipation listing your hearts' desires? "Oh, yeah, I guess so." There's still the magic of the snowglobe, which Edward knows he only told Santa and Mrs. Smith. Maybe there's still a kernel of mystery there.

That 10-minute drive seemed endless, and then, getting out of the car Daniel said, "What about the tooth fairy?" Are you sure you want to know? NO...wait, yes?

I'm sad for him that the myth is busted even before he loses his first tooth (which just started wiggling this week.) I guess he won't care too much as long as he gets his dollar when it falls out.

We made a point to let them know they should NOT spoil the secret for other kids. I've revisited that point separately with each boy today. We talked about how even though there isn't a real guy in a red suit who travels all over the world in a single night, there is a special feeling of excitement and a spirit of giving that helps us celebrate Christmas. And we agreed that holidays are special family time with or without the colorful characters. And we proved it by spending a lovely day together riding bikes (with new baskets from the "bunny") to the park, playing backyard wiffle-ball, grilling out and eating our first porch dinner of the season, and then another bike ride--for ice cream dessert.

 It was an amazing milestone year for Team Kenyon in the March for Babies. As we approached this year's event we wanted to do something special to recognize it was our 10th time walking for Will. We decided we'd set an audacious goal of $10,000 and see if we could make it happen. Well, I shouldn't say "we" could make it happen. It turned out, all it took was an army of generous friends and family members supporting us as they have from the very beginning.

The local March of Dimes staff asked us to be part of the opening ceremony for the walk. They announced that it was our 10th March for Babies and we were called to the "stage" to share a few words about our journey. John announced the "moment of silence" to honor all the babies who have lost their battle with prematurity. And then we walked! It was the most beautiful day we've ever had in 10 years. Cool, but growing warmer. Bright sunshine, light breeze. Wish we could bottle that up for every year, since we know what it's like in rain, snow and cold!

We had to dash to Daniel's soccer game after the walk and by the time we got home I was spent. Literally. I had to put myself to bed for the afternoon with a 100-degree fever! The boys muddled through and I stumbled down to join them for pizza and a movie at dinner time. By mid-afternoon Sunday, one final donation (from a stalwart Team Kenyon member who had already donated, but just couldn't stand to see us less than $100 from our goal) put us over the top.

We raised $10,000 in honor of our 10th March for Babies

 and Will's 10th birthday coming up this fall. Wow!

Thanks once again to all of our amazing family and friends who answered our call. We know we would not have made it this far without you and each step forward is that much easier with you at our sides.

Well, the entire basketball season passed without any documentation here. Luckily, the four primary readers of this blog got to see games in person. My parents' experience even included Edward getting a bloody nose mid-game--exciting!

So let's start soccer season off right with a couple of shots of Daniel's first game, in which he scored three goals! Yay!

Edward's team played two games this morning (can we say insanity?!) but with the bigger field, our low-powered camera, and his, shall we say, less-engaged approach to the game, I wasn't able to capture a picture. Will work on that (both the action and the picture) as the season progresses.

Edward's second game was at the same time as Daniel's, but luckily on adjacent fields so I could shuttle a bit between them. We were expecting chilly conditions as this last week has been pretty brutal for the first spring practices (temps in the 40s and winds not far behind!) But this morning the sun was shining and the wind was calm.