Easter Festivities

We had a wonderful Easter, and it was great to have Micheal home for the entire weekend.

Earlier in the week, Michael's sister Kari and her family were visiting for spring break.

So we had the kids do some early festive activities while the cousins were together.

First, the kids decorated Easter eggs.  I say kids very lightly, because the adults pretty much did the work.

Then, we had a little Easter egg hunt in the backyard.

I loved watching Maxwell when he found one.

He held it up like he'd found the greatest prize of his life.  

Actually, he is allergic to eggs, but he still didn't mind.  The chocolate was better anyway.

 

     

On Saturday morning, we attended the community Easter egg hunt.

Before it started, children were invited to ride their bikes in a parade to the field.

We started right in front, but found ourselves immediately in the back.

It was a tough ride for Kathryn.  The road was slanted and slightly uphill, but she did a great job.

As you can tell, I did all the hard work taking pictures while Michael juggled the kids:)

  

The community Easter egg hunt was a bit of a bust for Kathryn.
They separated the field into age groups and put eggs out.
Kathryn got a bit intimated and had a meltdown during the hunt.
She was very sad when she only ended up with three eggs, but Max had plenty to share.
Michael helped him and said he was a pro.
However, the 0-2 age group was much more laid back I'm sure.

 

We met up with Michael's mother and went to D&B supply to see the baby bunnies and chicks.
That has become an Easter tradition for our family.

Thankfully, Maxwell did not attempt to eat the baby geese this year.
Maybe he would have tried if there had been some!
He was very fascinated with the chicks though.
He could have watched them for a long, long time (like 15 minutes).

On Easter Sunday, the kids searched for their Easter baskets and ate their fill of candy.
Or at least what I would allow them.
Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of their hunt around the house.
Then we headed off to church.

After church, we visited Michael's parents and had dinner together.
It was a little busy that day, so I never got any pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits.
But I finally took some the other day.

Happy (belated) Easter!

Organization please

This was my kitchen for the entire month of January.

Post Christmas build-up and clean-up overflowed everywhere.

I found myself loading baskets in the kitchen, and unloading them in the guest room.

Then I would shut the door and feel a little bit better.

The guest room is really my craft room.

Except that Michael calls it my "crap" room.  Because it kind of looks like that occasionally.

It's sort of my dumping zone for everything in our house.

Don't let my tidiness fool you.  And don't open that closed door.

I've really felt an urgency to organize everything in my entire house.

With spring beginning, I really want to clean and organize every inch of my house.

I want to get rid of everything we haven't used in a year.

I did a lot of research, but finally gave up, and decided I should just get to work.

Our garage is another sore subject.  

It hasn't been completely unpacked since we bought our home. That was almost two years ago.

Michael has tried, but a lot of my unfinished craft projects wound up there.

Most of them are taking up room in his wood shop, so he can't get much done.

To sum up this little rant on organization:

1. I'm going to get rid of everything I don't need.

2. I'm going to deep clean every inch of our house (and garage).

3. I'm going to organize everything we own.

Bath time joys

On most occasions, bath time is very fun.

There's a lot of laughing, giggling, splashing, and screaming.

I usually find a swimming pool on the floor when I go check on them.

Maxwell just cannot resist...

I love the picture of Max washing Kathryn's back.

He always wants to help wash her up, and the same goes for Kathryn.

Maxwell is getting so much more daring.

I found him hanging from that bar one time, having the time of his life.

I find them a lot with the shower curtain closed.

It's like their own little world in there.  I guess they think they are hiding from me.

I love when Max lays on his tummy and kicks his legs.

And despite the water logged floors, they are pretty good together.

There are definitely two additional animals in our bathtub...

Is this seat taken?

Normally, he doesn't even ask.

He just backs right into the spot he wants and parks it.

Kathryn did the same thing when she was his age.

I always love(d) watching them sit like that.

Christmas in March: Part 2

Time to finish out December?  Being as March is almost over...

Wow, this year is flying by before my eyes.

Row 1:  One of our favorite Christmas decorations, little Shepard boy from Michael's parents; Playing with Christmas gifts; Enjoying Grandma's beautiful tree; Christmas at our house

Row 2:  Taking care of her baby; Cousin lovin'; A Grandma Jones ornaments we love; Favorite toy

Row 3:  Family visits; Decorating Max's baby Christmas tree; More family time

Row 4:  Laser Tag with cousins over the break; My favorite ornament, Michael's elementary school picture; How can you get mad at that face; Kathryn told Santa about the doll house she wanted

Playing together

I love watching them play together and they are starting to get really good.

However, the sibling bickering has begun.  It mainly comes from Kathryn though.

Max does come to me occasionally, and in his own crazy gibberish, tells me about something Kathryn has done to make him mad.  Usually she has taken something away from him that he shouldn't have.

But despite all the squabbling, they really do love each other so much.

Christmas in March: Part 1

This has been a long and frustrating winter for us.  

At least one person, but more often two or three, has been sick since October 31st.

I am ready for spring, sunshine, warm weather, flowers, picnics and bike rides.

I'm kind of a wimp about the cold weather.  

I like to think that I can handle it, but if I'm being honest, I can't.

However, I am not here to complain about the weather:)

I'm here to (very briefly) explain our Christmas.

It was so long ago, it's hard to even remember it all.

I think I'm REALLY going to play catch up this time though.

So here goes...all the way back to the December.

Row 1:  Picking out our Christmas trees, the small one was for Max; Grand kids watching the Christmas Carousel; Max in awe of the tall trees; Kathryn's gift from Santa, a doll house

Row 2:  Reading a Christmas story by the tree (almost) every night; Christmas light lane; Michael's gift for me, an awesome SLR camera; Maxwell's gift from Santa, a cool truck

Row 3:  Micheal's gift for Kathryn, a pretty necklace; Putting up Maxwell's baby Christmas tree; Pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa; Decorating gingerbread men with cousins

Row 4:  Sunday night drive down Christmas light lane; Christmas morning with cousins; This is the tree; Singing Silent Night around the German Carousel