Easter 2016

Egg Dying

I love how much fun they have with this each year and they were quite proud of their eggs.

Easter Egg Garland

I have been slacking when it comes to art projects because they both get it at school, and they also know they can color/draw/paint etc anytime they want. But I miss our creative projects on occasion. When Friday morning came around and we had the day off, I decided to look through Pinterest and see what we could find and make with the supplies we already had on hand. Water color painting these and then making them into garland (the next day) turned out to be the perfect project!

Egg Carton Lunches

Just love this one. It was such a blessing because our neighbor invited the kids to play with her daughter and gave me just enough time to put these together for their lunch on Friday since I forgot the night before. Then they had a picnic. 

We had this again Saturday with just a few different food items to keep them guessing. :)

Resurrection Rolls

We made these last year as well, but the kids didn't help me. I decided to try the easier version, with crescent rolls this time, so they could help. Their favorite part was licking their fingers when they were done. They really enjoyed making them.

Our Set-Up

We set out baskets for the Easter Bunny to fill and hide. The kids also gave him two carrots, two jelly beans and a cup of water. Because we have soooo many plastic eggs already, I asked Lorelei to write a note asking the Easter Bunny to use our eggs for their baskets. She was thrilled that he wrote back to her note the next morning. Her note says, "Dear ester bunny   We have lots of egss. you can resicol (recycle) thes for our baskets if you wunt. :) Lorelei and Makin  Thank you." And of course, the arrow pointing to the eggs. She loved sharing the jelly beans she got at school with him too.

Easter Morning

Makin, who typically has his internal alarm clock set to 6:30, woke up at 5:15 AM.

By 6:15 both kids were up and looking for their baskets. They enjoyed getting to have that special candy-before-breakfast treat and play with some new goodies.

I think I mention every year that Brad and I grew up going to big church breakfasts for Easter, so we just have to do something special for breakfast that morning. :)

Then we got all dolled up for church.

After church we found out our lunch plans with the Armstrongs needed to be cancelled/changed because Macie came down with a stomach bug. We quickly grabbed potatoes to go with the rest of our meal and had plenty to feast on for our own lunch. We enjoyed a relaxing and restful afternoon. 

Extended Easter

The kids were very excited for a visit to their friend's house and an egg hunt the Thursday after Easter. They all loved raiding their eggs after the hunt and picking a piece to eat before supper. Then they enjoyed playing together.

Nana's Spring Break Visit

My mom had her spring break the week after ours, so we were excited to stretch out our fun into the following week. :)

We all decked in our green for St. Patrick's Day. Since Lorelei had school, Nana enjoyed getting some 2-1 time with Makin, which has not happened very often, so was special. His request after drop off? Krispe Kreme of course. Nana made sure to bring a donut back for Lorelei that she ate the next morning.


After a mall visit and lunch, Mom and I shopped for some of her school supplies during preschool. Then we made our own Shamrock Shakes from home. Yes, we need to work on our shakes pose! Didn't check the picture after Brad took it! Still a memory! :)

I enjoyed having my "teacher's aid" for home school Friday. Mom enjoyed getting to see how Lorelei is working on her reading, and she got some play time with Makin during some of L's lessons as well.

The other good memory for the kids (but no pic) was that mom babysat them Friday night so that Brad and I could have a date night. They seemed to really enjoy their evening and we loved a night out. :)


One of mom's classroom purchases were Boom Wackers. The kids were thrilled to get to try them out. I was thrilled they were going to Oklahoma after the weekend. ;) So fun though!

Mom mentioned she would like to take us all to the movies, so we were glad to find out Zootopia was coming out right before her visit. It was a wonderful treat and we loved the movie. Makin only liked it, because it was a little stressful for him. :)

Thanks for a great visit Mom/Nana!!!

Texas Tulips

We had a chance to pick tulips at a farm about 30 minutes from home, so we headed out one evening with Mary and company. The husbands decided to forgo this photo shoot opportunity for some reason...

I was a bit frustrated with my lack of ability with my camera. I just need to make myself get out and practice some more! Nevertheless here is what we got. :)

Spring Break

Okay so technically a few of these are before and after spring break. The weather was way better the week before break! It was a very rainy 5 days off which changed up our plans a bit. Some plans not only got changed because of weather, but got cancelled because of friends getting sick. So, here is what we fit in...

Park Time

More Fun

Celebrating 5 1/2 and 7 1/2 at Red Robin.

The Hughes Kids came over to play one morning.
Kyle and Makin played Dodge Tag.

Lorelei read a few books and practiced her addition facts each weekday morning.
Makin enjoys having her read to him.

These two are loving Magic Tree House books during quiet time.
They both listen in Lorelei's room and we made sure to find plenty at the library for the entire week.
They often color while they listen.

Rainy Days Are Great for Games
Battleship is becoming another favorite.

One highlight was Urban Air. They reached capacity and weren't even letting more kids in the doors if that tells you how crazy-busy it was. (That's likely at least 200 kids. Building capacity was 411...) The pictures aren't too crowded yet because we were one of the first 20 or so kids to get in...with a very long line coming behind us. Makin stuck with dodgeball and Lorelei liked a variety.

Sunday and Monday (not a day off, but we had the afternoon free after school work!) finally warmed up so we enjoyed some sand and water fun. The water was plenty cold but I knew the kids would get in anyway. We weren't the only ones either!

While we didn't do a lot of exciting things over break, 

we have a couple of extra-fun weekends coming up with visitors to make up for it. :)

Just Some Smiles

Makin At 5 1/2

At 5 1/2 you...

Make me laugh on a daily basis.

Love shooting your bow and arrow inside and outside the house.

Are attempting to master using air quotes correctly and it is hilarious to watch.

Fully invest in helping me keep our grocery budget on target and already know about coupons and finding the best bargains. Once I found a package of paper plates that had the packaging damaged so I chose a different stack. You said, "But you could ask for a discount!" I will miss my shopping buddy when you are at school next year.

Are testing the waters a bit more with your independence and we have to deal with more power struggles and tears than we are used to.

Just something about the hooded-towel-after-shower look
that I wanted to capture. :)

Seem to really enjoy playing on your own (most days) while we girls are doing school work. I sometimes feel guilty about this, but it has even been your "looking forward to" at supper occasionally, so I think mostly its good for you. :) I love seeing the many ways you find to keep busy and there is quite a variety, so I can never predict what you will feel like playing.

Still struggle to walk with your heals on the ground. We may need another round of dimes or the like soon.

Loving Ipad time at the library while L is at gymnastics.

Handle kids who are bullying/annoying you amazingly well.

Can't stop yourself from rocking-out/dancing/moving in any way to a beat when upbeat songs are playing.


Quotable Moments:

Me: How is Paul doing? (The kid in school who crashed his train, who also happens to be the one who is allergic to peanuts. I was meaning was he doing better about playing nicely...)
Makin: He's doing fine. He hasn't started sneezing yet.

Me: You wouldn't want to eat donuts for lunch!
M: Yeah I would!


Lor: I'm scared! (to use the bathroom...in our house...for the 100th time)
Makin: God is with you!!!

"Sour cream and onion chips are my favorite...even though I don't like sour cream."

(Nana got them digital watches for Vday and it has been hilarious to hear him read the times!) "It's 30 o' 10." (10:30)

Me: Heavens to Betsy!
M: Heavens to Steve!

Me: This is one of those days I wish I had a Diet Coke in the house because I would have one right now.
Makin: You could drink a wine...

(Discussing turning bad/hard things into good - prompted by a song we were listening to.)
Lor: Maybe Makin will be a doctor! (Because of surgeries etc aka hard thing)
Makin:  I do NOT like blood. (looking at her like NO. WAY.)

Me: When are you going to be done with your growth spurt?
M: (Without missing a beat, matter-of-factly...) July.

I was asking the family for requests for our monthly menu...
"It landed on pancakes." (We stare blankly...) "I have a spinner in my head. Oh - delete- it landed on tacos."

(As I'm cleaning the bathroom...)
"Is this bathroom closed?"


Me: Will your room be clean?
M: Well...maybe...Are you supposing our closet to be clean?"
Me: Yes...
M: Uh oh...