A Little Late...

It's a project (string of felt peeps from a fun crafty blog I lost the link to) that I started a week before Easter, and...well...better late than never.  They'll be ready for next Easter.

I didn't know playing "dress-ups" started this early.  Maybe she just wants to be like her brothers.  She sees them wear it.  Whatever it is...we'll be in the basement, and she crawls up to me holding the cap or the "S" bib in her hand making the "uh, uh" or "plsss, plsss" (translation = "Will you do this for me?") sound.  When I put the cap and bib on, she bounces up and down and squeals.

Happy Spring! Happy Spring Break! Happy Easter! Happy Esther's Brithday!!!

Happy Spring!

 My mother-in-law gave me some tulips, and my mother helped me plant them.  Hurray for mothers!  The tulips were fully open and beautiful, but they took a beat down from the heavy rain we had.

 Nate had a week off the week before Easter.  We went to the Air Force science musuem early in the week.  We watched a fighter airplane IMAX.  During the show, Josh told me he didn't want to be a firghter pilot when he grew up.  I was fine with that.

Later in the week, we went bowling.  Fun, fun, fun.  The boys beat me during the first game, but I had an awesome come back in the second game almost beating Nate.  The boys and Esther had fun.

 On the day before Easter, we went on a Easter Bunny Train Ride just southeast of us.  The train drove us to an Easter Egg Hunt.  The boys were at the perfect age for this particular egg hunt.  There were 40 or so children in their age group and about 150 eggs for them to find.  The orchestrator anounced that each child could get 5 Easter eggs.  You do the math.  Josh found 4, and Caleb found none.  Luckily, Caleb and Joshua were more into the experience of it all then the lack of equal opportunity rights.  Also, Joshua shares...most of the time.  He gave one to Caleb, one to Esther, and one to a sad little boy who found no eggs.  All in all it was a FUN (Josh wanted to type a word) trip.  We drove by the Wright brother's bike place and homestead and had a good lunch at a place called Roots. 

Happy Easter!

Aunt Sarah came to visit!  What fun!  She helped us dye Easter Eggs, watched the old school batman with us, went to the Gibby Family Easter Bash on Sunday with us, went to the zoo with us, and hung out with us.  Thank you, Sarah!  We're  glad you could visit.

Happy First Birthday, Esther!!!

She had two eager helpers assist her in unwrapping her presents.  Caleb particularly enjoyed bumping the presents on her head.

She had a Chocolate Mint Cake and liked it, but she liked the vanilla ice cream better.

Esther is a delight.  She smiles, laughs, and says, "Hi."  She loves playing in the sandbox, eating bananas ("Nana"), playing with balls, putting blocks and other items inside containers and taking them out again, laughing with her brothers, climbing up stairs.  She lets all her joys, sorrows, frustrations, and laughs known to one and all.

She's been taking a couple of first steps and even a second step, but not walking yet.  I get to hold onto my baby a little longer. 

The Macaroni and Cheese War

This recipe tastes like quiche. Should I have known from the egg to cheese ratio? The fact that the macaroni and cheese recipe calls for eggs should have been a red flag. It's not that I don't like quiche. I just don't want my Mac and Cheese to taste like it. Josh liked it, but he was in the minority, the minuscule minority.

Sorry the picture turned out small.  I'm testing new technology.  I'm not too happy with it at the moment.

Nate's Birthday

Nate had a good birthday. It's hard not to have a good birthday when stuff like Caleb's standing up in his chair singing "Happy Birthday" on the top of his lungs is going on. I tried getting a video of it, but I kept pressing the wrong button (new camera). The video I ended up getting is their third or forth time singing (poor ice cream cake). They needed a little help.
I tried doing an ice cream cake for Nate. Unfortunately, I put the fudge sauce on while it was too warm which gave the ice cream a slight freezer burn taste. I'd like to try it again for my birthday. I'll do a normal one for Esther's birthday coming up, though (She's turning one! Hurray!)

At winter's end

Cookie dough tester
Dancing in Dad's shoes

High Fever

From Nana

Boys with Camera

Little things I've learned (relearned) over the winter...

I am mortal.

Not all macaroni and cheese boxes are created equal.

I like to eat my rice with Maggi Sweet Chili Sauce on it, so much Maggi Sweet Chili Sauce that you can't even tell your eating rice. That's how I like to eat my rice.

Even little choices, choices between right and right, have consequences.

If I don't want to have a temper the size of Texas and a fuse the size of a mustard seed, I need to get more sleep and eat less sugar.

No matter how cold, mild, long, short, crazy winter is, spring will come.

Sunday Afternoon

I believe I'd like 9:00 church better if my kids could dress and feed themselves 100%, but Sunday afternoons are nice...especially when Dad's home.

Esther's growing, growing, growing and smiling, smiling, smiling. Her brothers love her. She loves them, but sometimes they make her nervous. I don't blame her. What Caleb considers cheek kissing is a full contact sport to Esther.

Caleb's Birthday

Josh and Caleb got this rocket ship from Santa. Unfortunately, the rocket ship is no longer in working condition. Boys being boys were a bit rough with it, but I don't regret having it. It was definitely fun while it lasted.

Caleb is three, and his full smile is as contagious as ever. Like a lot of boys his age, he loves all things Cars and Thomas as well as dinosaurs, reading stories, singing "Nephi's Courage" and Bob the builder. He loves dried fruit, pineapple, and apples in addition candy and cookies. He likes breakfast, but the only lunches or dinnertime foods he likes (or will willingly eats at the moment) are pizza, mac and cheese, and occasionally pasta and red sauce. We've enjoyed his wide variety of facial expressions. His most repeated quote: "NO GUM FOR YOU, DAD!!" He didn't like dad telling him, "No gum for you."