Sunday, April 18, 2010

Garage Sale Season How I've Missed Thee!

I forgot to take pictures of my purchases before sorting them into the laundry but I made out like a bandit today at a couple of sales! I ended up getting 4 grocery bags of clothes and shoes for Little Miss. Full of brand name items such as Old Navy, Childrens Place and Osh Kosh. I was able to get all of my items for half price so even though I spent about $45 I got A TON of clothes. Plus my hubby says he doesn't mind as long as I am getting some nice stuff. Oh and another thing... he got up this morning with Evie and let me sleep about another hour then I got to go out and peruse the sales for about 3 hours while he stayed home and played with her... and I was told more than once not to hurry but just take my time and enjoy myself. What a sweetie! Anyways, I need to get to bed so I can get up for church in the morning but thought I would share my excitement and say Welcome back garage sale season!

Oh there was one little tidbit to share about Evie and her new stuff... I found her a pair of hot pink crocs and some little clear sparkly jelly sandals among other things but she took one of each of these pairs of shoes and put them on and said she was ready for nigh night... so cute!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Loving this weather!

look mom a worm!
helping me in the dirt

at the park
dancing in the rain
burning off energy after dinner




Wednesday, April 14, 2010

First Trip to the Zoo this Year

baby train on the slide... yeah, they went to the zoo to go to the park within :)
watching the sea lions in training

giraffes


holding hands with her little buddy
So excited, we got a family pass this year so we can go all the time! And we got a +2 so we can take friends and family too :) We also combined the Science Center pass too, I am excited to see how Evie likes the Science Center.




Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter Sunday! Our church service helped to remind me why Jesus is so important in my life. Around 15 of us shared on a poster board around 6 words what this Jesus has done in our lives or means to me... I wrote "never gave up on me" on my poster board. Seeing all the other people and their reasons really made me emotional and brought to the surface a deep gratitude for how powerful Jesus' ability to change and shape lives is. There were people who are doing awesome things for Christ and the body who used to be drug addicts, convicts, abusers. I knew about Jesus growing up but it didn't seem like a reality because of how I saw some of the so called Christians living. I was a nice person, didn't try to do anything purposely hurtful to people. I enjoyed the college lifestyle and was having a lot of fun. But deep down, I could feel something was missing and no matter how much "fun" I had or how many people I got to like or even "love" me. Fast forward to 2002 when I met my future husband, then eventually we went to church with my sister (who had been working on me for a long time) and I was open to the message. God had been knocking on the door to my heart for a long time and that December I finally let Him in. It has been over 7 years now and I can honestly say that my life is soooo much better when I live my life God's way. Anyways, I am so very thankful that my God loved me so much even before I loved him back that Jesus came to die for my sins and in that he defeated death and was raised again on that first Easter Sunday!
Daddy didn't think about the backdrop for the pic... but she posed cute :)

Evie got to open her Easter basket before church this morning since we were going to a friends' for lunch and an egg hunt. She got some Melissa and Doug puzzles, raisins, a new itty bitty baby doll, a bath tub book, some spill proof bubbles, safety scissors (to which she said "my own scissors... not yours, mine" - she was pretty happy about them), Bible song cds, and a few other things. She didn't even mind that there wasn't any candy :)

Hunting eggs with her buddy Miciah. Every time she found one she said "I hind another one!"



and no, she didn't find the green egg in the bush... even with all our helping words... she peeked on the one side and said "no, there isn't an egg"
Miciah found it though!






Saturday, April 3, 2010

Spring is in the Air!

This past week we had some absolutely beautiful weather! It was in the 70s and even got to the high 80s by Thursday. It has been a bit cooler the past couple of days but I am hoping for a little warmer for Easter Sunday dresses :)
The first day out and about... Evie was practicing pedaling her trike (she did really well backwards but forward was harder), she mowed the driveway, did sidewalk chalk, and drug her pool out from under the back deck all the way around the house.



our lovely driveway art

walking on the trail near our house after dinner on the hot day
the geese by the trail keeping an eye on us
a great picture of mommy and Evie taken by Daddy :) dancing in the water on the deck

precious little footprints... how is it possible to love her more because of this?

a beautiful sunset


Easter Weekend #1 March 27-28

So being that there are 4 "kids" (I use this term lightly since the youngest will be 29 this year) in my family plus 3 spouses and 2 grandkids we don't always get together for holidays on the actual holiday. I guess you could say we have our own version of "insert name of holiday" observed :) So on my side of the family we celebrated Easter together the weekend before Easter complete with egg hunts for the little kids and the big kids!

As a small side story that you might need for history on our Easter gatherings... I'm pretty sure there was a period of time during which we didn't really do egg hunts but then as we got to college age (and by we I mean most of the 4 of us at one time since there is only 5 years from the oldest to youngest) my mom started doing egg hunts with quarters in the eggs for laundry money. I tell you, that woman has the ability to hide those little plastic eggs in the middle of the yard and you can't find them... there was many a year that the last egg or two went missing until a later date and then would be mailed with contents intact to the intended recipient. There also has been a nickname of full contact egg hunt placed on the event as well after one year two grown women in Easter dresses wrestled in the grass over an egg.
Anyways back to the present... so this year the granddaughters are 2 and 18 months so they were able to fully participate for the first time. My mom went all out and got them each 6 GIGANTIC (just look at the pictures) eggs to find that were filled with everything from a stuffed animal to pom poms and play jewelry. Evie had so much fun with her egg hunt that later she helped the big kids with theirs! She also loved her Easter basket that contained a spring hat, rain boots and some healthy snacks (no candy for this one yet), window stickies, coloring books and puppy/kitty stickers and magnets. Then the "kids" (and by kids I mean myself and my siblings and spouses) finished off the day with a trip to the historic BP movie theatre that has both a balcony and an opera pit - yeah this is old school - to see How to Train Your Dragon. I don't think I will ever feel like an adult when we go back to my parents'.... is that how it is for everyone?
Oh, and sorry but somehow I didn't get any pictures of the big kid egg hunt. Too busy hunting I guess.

Heading out to hunt some eggs.
You sure can't miss those bad boys!
Checking out the loot :)
wearing a few of the items from her Easter basket... the hat, the necklace and the boots :)
seriously this is like a flash forward to when they are 80! Little Violet and Evelyn in their Sunday hats :)
putting up the window stickies from her Easter basket afte we got home. She really put all of them up like that, I was just handing them to her. I know... I was as amazed as you!