Easter Morning

You'll notice the Easter Bunny tried to include little pictures of Jesus in the Easter baskets to remind my children of the true meaning of Easter. Fat chance. They were promptly set aside. There was also a little picture of the resurrected Savior in the trail of candy that lead to their baskets. That got stepped on during the rush to stuff every little piece of candy in the candy trail into their greedy little mouths. I think I'll ask the Easter bunny to come on Saturday next year. I think Nicole had a death grip on that chocolate bunny.

Oh, the Easter dress and tie, which, by the way, was only chosen because I happened to mention that it was a "power" tie.

The Hunt

Don't you just love Easter? I told Woodson the other day that it was one of the "major" holidays and he immediately said "No, it's not! You don't even get work off for it!" That's when I had to remind him that Easter is always on a Sunday! I still don't think he has the same fondness for it that I do but it's either growing on him or he just knows me well because he hid eggs for me to find without me even asking this year! I will admit I HAVE to have the "who can hide the eggs better" contest with him each year! (P.S., I am UNSTOPPABLE! I consider myself the winner every year!)

I also love all the hoopla for the kids! The day before Easter we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Dean's neighborhood for their neighborhood Easter egg hunt. It has always been and continues to be a hit! Here it is:

Waiting with Grandpa Dean.

A little hot chocolate to get Matthew revved up for the running!

Empty baskets. . .

When is it going to start?

Confident in his abilities to collect a TON of eggs! He told me afterwards that he had been "wise" in his hunting and not "foolish" with reference to the fact that he chose lots of eggs that had "monies" (nickels) in them! I don't know how he knew this before he opened them. . .maybe he was out there shaking the eggs before he decided they were worthy of his basket!

And they're off!

Smart girl. Have dad hold your basket while you run gather eggs, deposit them, and go back for more. Someone else to do the heavy lifting.

Happy kids.

Doughnuts afterwards. Can you have too much sugar?

Posing with Grandpa and Dad.

Examining the loot.

Elephants and Lions

I have decided costumes are better than toys. Hurray for Aunt Heilala who donated all her kids' old costumes to us! Nicole and her friend Grace thoroughly enjoyed them! And what cute elephants they made!

I don't know how in the world we ended up with three elephant costumes! We could start a circus! At least with the addition of a lion we had enough for everyone the other day! And some of the sounds coming from them were quite realistic! It was great entertainment for them AND us!

Wheeler Farms

After doing our budget the other day I began searching for cheap, or rather, FREE family activities! Thus, we set out for Wheeler Farms last week. Thank goodness the farm included some random construction equipment! DEFINITELY added to the appeal of the farm for us.

Refusing to wear a coat at first.

Chasing ducks.

I would have preferred to splurge on the 50 cents to buy duck food so maybe they would have come to us but Woodson was suddenly very firm on the whole not "wasting" money thing! So naturally I joined in the chase too but I will not post the video of that. . . there is something so embarrassing about a screaming pregnant woman chasing ducks. At least when you're that woman.

Hurray for Paper Chains!

Here's what Matthew did during conference. Love the concentration. Forget the conference packet I was so excited about! He called coloring the pictures "boring" and could only stand the bingo for 15 minutes because he knew he'd get to eat the M&Ms we used for pieces eventually. Next conference I will be getting out the construction paper, scissors, and tape again first thing!

P.S. The only downfalls were that this chain became quite long and is now hanging from the fan in Matthew and Nicole's room. Also, we had to admire it every 2-3 new links.

Pampered

Was there ever a luckier mom? I must admit, I LOVE breakfast in bed. Growing up it always seemed like the ULTIMATE luxury. So maybe I unwittingly over-encouraged this tradition in my own family. For the past week and a half I have been treated to breakfast in bed almost every single morning! The first few times it was a total surprise - Matthew would wake up early, get all dressed by himself, sneak out to the kitchen and make me breakfast, which he would then present to me on a tray (which he climbs onto the counter and moves stuff off the fridge to get!). After a while, though, I started getting up earlier, but now he just tells me - oh so casually - "Mom, if you're still tired, go ahead and get back in bed!" Like I can resist that! Then 5 minutes later, SURPRISE! I finally started taking pictures of my gourmet meals so I can always remember them. Here are a few of the latest: Yes, there is usually a treat with the breakfast (which Nicole snitches off the plate while Matthew yells at her to "stop eating Mommy's food!") He also makes it VERY clear that I am not allowed to eat the candy till after I eat the healthy stuff!

Despite feeling sometimes slightly nauseated at what is presented on my plate, how do you say "no" to this cute little face who just LOVES doing something nice for me when he sits there watching me, saying, "Eat, mom, eat!"

Yes, that is grated cheese next to leftover corn bread and raisins. Bubble gum next to the chocolate milk.

How can I say "no" to THIS every morning? (actually, seriously, how do I stop this? I am running out of excuses to not finish my "breakfasts"!)

She may hate us one day. . .

She may hate us one day but I can't stand it. Sometimes I just have to laugh.