Jack and Cate Update -- April, 2009

Thursday, April 2, 2009

After losing two teeth in a week, she's officially a Cate-o-Lantern.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Exceling in the [Christ Lutheran Church](http://clcdallas.org/) Easter Egg Hunt involves three key steps: Unbutton and untuck your shirt Put on your game-face Run like a madman Well played, Jack. Well played.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Blazing her own course, Cate forgoes the shirt unbuttoning/untucking as well as the madwoman running to focus exclusively on an exceptional game-face. Well played, Cate. Well played.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Jack and Josh conduct post-game analysis of their respective egg-hunting strategies while Jack inspects his spoils.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Cate is a poser in the best sense of the word.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

3 out of 4 really isn't so bad...

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Shriver Hansen celebrated his sixth birthday at [Flag Pole Hill](http://bit.ly/flag-pole-hill) in Dallas. It's cleverly named after the hill where the flag flies on a pole. Also pictured: two people I don't know flying a kite and a flag at half-staff for reasons I can no longer remember.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Shriver's older brother, Jackson, and the rest of the second grade boys generally ran amok (or at least ran atop).

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Mary and Francie had a score of kites for the kids, and they each lasted an immeasurably short period of time in the windy weather (and that doesn't include those destroyed in the parental assembly process).

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Cate's incredibly persistent and mind-bogglingly aerobic approach to kite flying proved fruitful -- she was one of the few kids to successfully fly (perhaps in spite of Mom and Dad's help).

Sunday, April 5, 2009

One of many photos illustrating Cate's detmination to fly her (in this case, invisible or hypothetical) kite.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Cate, this time, with an honest to goodness kite.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Cate. Kite. Spring greenery.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Cate with the eponymous Flag Pole Hill behind her. Because of its [artsy but somewhat confusing sign](http://www.flickr.com/photos/beer30/2227354336/sizes/l/), Francie refers to it as "Hill Pole Flag."

Sunday, April 5, 2009

But wait! Here are *more* photos of Cate with her kite.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

And, mercifully, this is the last, albeit my favorite, kite-flying photo.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

After interrupting their game of hide and seek, I got Jackson, Cate, Jack, and Thomas to pose with the oft-mentioned flag pole. Shiver isn't pictured because he was "indisposed" As he was about to take his first swing at the pi–ata, he puked instead. Classic six year-old mistake.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

As we were rounding up the kids to leave, Cate (as she is wont to do) decided it was *critically important* that I take some photos of her on the jungle gym. I'm such a pushover.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

That's cute, that's wonderful, that's magical, now get in the car.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

We flew to St. Louis Saturday morning (thank you Southwest Rapid Rewards) and went to Uncle Joe's and Aunt Pat's for a family f�te honoring baby Max. Before too long, Cousin Johnny joined the party too, and Cate was only too happy to join him in a photo. When we arrived in St. Louis, I jokingly asked if we were going to bring the kids to the party. Cate quickly replied: "Of course! We're the most adorable kids in the world!" Good to know...

Saturday, April 11, 2009

This is how the world looks to a seven year-old in the middle of an adult conversation. Let's face it, adults are incredibly boring.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Johnny and Cate invented a new game: wall-soccer-giant-frisbee-tag.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Nice form. We played catch with the frisbee for a while, and she, frankly, ran me ragged.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Jack is working desparately hard to not have a good time. He failed.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Cousins Johnny and Sean can apply a vaneer of normalcy, but only for short periods of time. Then they revert to being boys.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

I don't know. I just don't know. I really just don't know.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

The boys hang...

Saturday, April 11, 2009

...while the girl abides.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

The man of honor, Max Savino. This was his first trip to St. Louis to meet the Lamkie/Leuchtmann gang -- he seemed impressed and will likely return in the future.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

If he's anything like his Dad, he'll soon be selling his toys to the other kids and making a tidy profit. Related: he's adorable.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Joined by Cousins Evan and Luc, the kids run (if it's possible) amoker at Grandma Mary Kay's house. Just a few hours earlier, Jack was repeatedly barfing in a hotel wastebasket. We searched in vain for a doc-in-a-box (they were all closed for Easter) and considered our options for delaying our return to Dallas, but he quickly recovered and was anxious to infect others at Grandma's party.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Grandma Mary Kay seems decidedly unconvinced of the grandkids' display of good behavior.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

You thought the trellis was purely decorative?!? Silly adults...

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Larry and Kathy are understandably proud.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Johnny is twelve years old, and he's already picking up younger women. Well done.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

What concentration! What grace! What form!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

What follow-through! Like his big brother Luc and his cousin Johnny, Sean is quite the soccer stud.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Lisa loves her some baby-time.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Max loves Lisa and all, but who's the cute guy with the camera?

Friday, April 17, 2009

And just when we thought they could use chalk unsupervised...

Friday, April 17, 2009

Monica and Svend are understandably proud.