Easter, a tale in 4 parts--Part 3

So it took us awhile, but we did finally die Easter eggs.  The Captain enjoyed eating them for breakfast.  I think he had, like 2 a day.  Ridiculous how much this kid eats, must be a growth spurt.

Anyway, dying eggs is serious business at our house.  

It takes a lot of concentration and focus.  

Oh, who are we kidding, it was lots of fun.

Just ask Miss Joy.

Easter, a tale in 4 parts--Part 2

We decided it had been too long since our last road trip, and since Johnny had Monday off of work, and there was no school (and thus no Seminary) on Monday either, we packed up everything and went to the beach for Easter.  And be "we packed up everything" I mean I packed up everything since Johnny still had a full day of paintball on Saturday.  Which was fine since it meant we could go to the Easter Egg Hunt (see yesterday's post). I've never lived anywhere within a day's drive to the beach, and I've never gone to the beach for a vacation before, so even though we didn't leave until 5 pm and didn't get there until after midnight, it was still a fun experience.  

The Captain has never been to the beach, but I have never seen him so excited about something.  He couldn't understand why we couldn't go to the beach RIGHT NOW, and even though the Easter Egg Hunt was fun, I think he'd rather had been at the beach.  It created some problems since he didn't want to nap on Friday, just go to the beach.  And he didn't want to nap on Saturday either, just go to the beach.  Needless to say, it was very challenging to completely pack for 4 people, load up the car, and make food arrangements when I couldn't get this child to take a nap.  But somehow we got through and I forgot very few things, which is a miracle considering my mental state these days.  

And speaking of food, I had quite the dilemma.  We were going to be gone Easter Sunday.  While finding a church to go to was not a problem (thanks LDS.org!) food was.  I was busy all day Saturday, and we would get to Virginia Beach after midnight, and we don't believe in shopping on Sunday so, I was forced to get creative . . . 

I sliced carrots and potatoes and put them in a bag with a little lemon juice so they'd stay looking nice.  I put spices in a snack bag, and a frozen roast in it's package in a plastic bag.  Then I threw them all in the crock pot and put them in the trunk.  The roast was still frozen the next morning when I emptied everything into the crock pot and turned it on while we were at church.  Then when we got back to the hotel, I wrestled The Captain into taking a nap and when we got up, voila, dinner.  

It was good, too.

There are some things I'd do differently next time (like put the veggies on top so they didn't absorb as many drippings, not so many spices on the roast, and remembering to bring the salt), and cleaning up in the bathroom sink isn't much fun, but I'm calling this a success.  

Then there was nothing to do but play at the beach for two days.  Which we did.  

We were really spoiled because of the perfect weather.  It was a little chilly, which meant that the sand was pleasantly warm on our bare feet and it felt 10 degrees warmer by the water than it did by the hotel. 

The Captain has no idea what burnt feet feel like.  It was the ideal beach trip for him.

This little one got to take a long morning nap snuggled in a blanket on a bed of warm, body-molded sand.  So I'd say the trip was ideal for her, too.

Even though The Captain is still scared of water and refused to get his feet wet (I think Johnny forced him to touch the Atlantic Ocean for the principle of the thing), he still had a great time playing in the sand.

And I got some great pictures for my portfolio while we were there.  And now The Captain really loves the beach and pretends that it is our upstairs hallway.  He rolls his suitcase out there and "goes to the beach" and tells me not to walk on the sand with my slippers cause they'll get dirty.  Good advice, Buddy.

Easter, a tale in 4 parts--Part 1

Easter came so early this year.  It almost seemed a shame to make an Easter wreath when it would only be applicable for a few days.  But rather than make something else, we decided to just make Easter last longer.  So we did lots of Easter activities throughout the month.  The Captain didn't know the difference, and we all had fun.  In fact, now Johnny is starting a post-holiday campaign in which we would celebrate most big holidays after their original date . . . and after we hit the after-holiday sales.  

But we did do some things in a normal time frame.  One of our dear friends in a minister at the local chapter of the Methodist church, and they had an Easter celebration the day before. Well, we thought it was only an Easter Egg Hunt, but it turned out to be quite the event.  

We started out coloring in religious coloring books, dying hard-boiled eggs, and eating lunch of hotdogs and potato salad.  Then, we hunted.

The eggs were empty, of course, because this was a church activity.  That didn't mean we didn't have candy.  The Captain left with a full bag of candy.  And a cake, but more on that later.

Then we had an egg relay race.  

The Captain got lots of help from some very nice children.

Last thing was a cake walk.  The Captain loved walking in a big circle with everyone.  He thought every number called was his, but right about the middle they did call his number, so he got to choose whatever cake he wanted.  He surprised me by picking a pretty small cake, but it worked out nicely to become dessert for our Easter dinner.  

April's Wreath

Our inspiration for this wreath was this picture.

  The picture links to the blog, which has excellent instructions.  My sister also made a version of this wreath.

To make your own version of this wreath at this time of year, it is good to know that Amazon does carry Christmas ornaments.  For the record, 2.5" is a medium sized ball.  The difficulty with Amazon is that they carry large quantities of single color ornaments, which would lead to a very boring wreath (or maybe not, now that I think about it.  There are some definite aesthetic values in monochromatic decorations.) since you'd have one size and one color.  They do have different varieties of finishes in the packs, though . . . Something to think about for next time.

Anyway, you need approx. 80 ornaments for this wreath, which with 3 people and some planned variety lead to this:

You will need:
80-100 ornaments of varying sizes - $20
1 wire hanger - free
hot glue gun

Total=$20






1) Glue the tops of the ornaments to the balls to ensure they will not pop off once they are strung onto the hanger.  I can tell you from personal experience that this is not an ideal scenario.

2)Bend the hanger into a circle.

3) Untwist the the top of the hanger, and string the balls on the hanger.  Think beads on a necklace.  Use the small balls to fill in the gaps between larger balls.

4) Reclose the hanger and add a bow.  You can use the hook to hang it on your door.

Simple and tons of fun.  It doesn't take too long either, especially with many glue guns.

Some Cuteness for the Road

Sorry about the technical difficulties, they should be fixed now.

I'm a little busy these days (what else is new, I know), but in 2 weeks things should be more back to normal.  So while I'm not planning a hiatus, just in case, these should hold you for awhile:

Race Car Party

It started with an invitation

We planned the party for Saturday, not realizing that it was General Conference.  But since Conference doesn't start until noon, we thought having 3 yr. olds run and run all morning might not be a bad idea.

Here's what we put in our gift bags.  I looked everywhere for checkered flags, but in the end I made them out of a shower curtain, some black paint, and a straw.  We also put a pair of racing goggles in them, too.

Racing goggles

I made them out of card stock.  It held up really well.

We set up outside.  This sign was supposed to be on our table, but slanted yards and cups full of rocks don't mix.  

Our "Pit Stop" table.  We had gas and tires for everyone.  (And presents for The Captain.  It's Christmas all year round at our friend's house ;) )

a close up of the tires.  They are just mini doughnuts and white frosting. 

When our friends came, it was time for Red Light, Green Light.  

Then we pulled out the race cars and goggles.  Safety first. 

Look who's in the lead.

Time for a pit stop.

Then back to racing. 

Then it was time for cake.  

Here's The Captain not blowing out his candles.

Everyone enjoyed the yummy Funfetti cake and ice cream.  For the curious, the black streaks came from licking the frosting off the race car and wiping it off with his arm. 

Then we opened presents. 

By the end, even the very shyest of the little boys was ready to run around and play Red Light, Green Light. Though he still didn't want to wear a race car.  

I call that a success!  I guess it's time to start planning for next year . . . 

3 Years Old

Look who's 3!

I documented the day, so here we go . . .

I asked him what he wanted for breakfast.  He said chocolate chip pancakes.  I think it was a "duh Mom" moment.  First of many, I'm sure.

He was very upset that I took a picture of him eating his pancakes.  In fact, I have a picture on my computer of his "no pictures" face.

He got calls from his 1 2 Grandmas.

We skipped,

and jumped

to the Farmer's Market, where The Captain's friend gave him a special treat, an apple and two bananas.

After lunch and a nap we went to the park.  A new park The Captain wanted to play at the other day, but couldn't.  

There are slides,

and tire tunnels,

and tire swings.

Lots of fun.  Then we picked up Daddy at work and went out to dinner.  The day before, I asked The Captain a series of probing questions (Do you want to go out to eat with just Mommy and Daddy, or with the Baby, too? "Baby too".  Do you want to take a little drive, or eat somewhere close? "Little drive". Do you want to eat Mexican or Italian [that took some explaining]? "Pasta!") and we determined we'd go to Sal's Restaurant.  It was the perfect place.  They were extremely toddler friendly.  They had two different activity paper mats.  They asked if we wanted his food out first.  They gave The Captain a scrap of pizza dough to play with, then they baked it for some special bread for him. 

They had Mickey Mouse ravioli. 

And all that wasn't even for his birthday, just par for the course.  They didn't sing Happy Birthday, but they did have some delicious chocolate cake that we all shared.  

When we got home, we opened presents.  That was a mistake because it was really late, and it was impossible to convince him to stop playing and go to sleep.  And Johnny was off Home Teaching, so I had to tackle that problem on my own.  Needless to say, it was a long, sugar-filled day, but very special.