Happy Easter 2010

We have fun! Lots of it! And sometimes it's messy! And in my honest opinion, the messier the better!

We colored eggs for the first time. Did I mention it was fun? 

And messy!

Look at what they did!

Some of the eggs got dropped. And cracked. But I think it just adds to the charm.

We hunted eggs.

And ate chocolate.

And found cool stuff.

We also decorated.

We are professionals!

Don't try this at home!

If you'd like to see more of the egg coloring look HERE.

If you'd like more of the egg hunting and home decorating look HERE.

And if you want all the photos check SNAPFISH.

Hunting and Gathering

We spent last evening with some of our favorite friends in the whole world. They're not just friends, they're family and our kidlets may as well be cousins! We've had the pleasure of watching them all grow up together.

This year's egg hunting party was the best ever! Every year just gets better with Noah and his willingness to participate. In the past, he's lasted all of 30 minutes before needing to move on. But this year, he totally got into finding eggs to put in his basket. I'm so glad he had such a fun time, which made me have the best time!

The egg hunting was fast and furious this year - over before it began it seemed! So I don't have a gazillion photos, but I did get some really great ones!

Three children in the same frame. I declare victory!

The girl didn't stop moving until all the eggs were found!

So awesome to see the boy really get into it!

She put this ensemble together on her own. It's her "egg hunting outfit."

Enjoying the sugar binge!

Pretty girls!

I tried!

Thank you again, T Family for a wonderful evening!

The Best Christmas Ever Continues!

Can you believe we had to wake them up at 8:00?! I'm not complaining. I'm wondering how many more years I'll have to sleep in on Christmas morning. How many more years will I be more excited than the kidlets? I'm still not sure if the kids or adults had more fun...

The boy is still trying to wake up. Isn't he deliciously sweet?
And don't you just want to nibble up those angel cheeks?
Santa Daddy is making chocolate chip pancakes.
Once they woke up and had breakfast they were ready for the festivities!

Here's the first spin on the new wheels!

I told you it was the best Christmas ever!

The Best Christmas Ever!

When I said it last year I meant it. I'm saying it again this year and I still mean it. It was the best Christmas ever! This year we were lucky enough to have Bud join in the festivities. It was the first Christmas the kids got to spend with a grandparent and did I mention it was the best ever?!

Grandpa arrived the day before Christmas Eve and the bunny was beside herself excited. She basically clung to him every moment she could.
Are these not the sweetest moments ever?
On Christmas Eve we baked and decorated cookies for Santa. Noah was totally into eating the decorations. The bunny was a model of complete concentration until her task was complete.
Noah's cookies:
The bunny's masterpiece:
Look at all the Harveys!
I made the kids sit with the plate of cookies for a photo. I'm sure they would have rather eaten them. But they didn't. They left them for Santa. They're the best kids ever!
Funny thing happened as Mike put the kids to bed. Bud and I went to the craft cave to retrieve the gifts that required assembly. The craft cave is directly above the bedroom. A part got dropped and made a loud THUD! We knew the kids weren't asleep yet. Oops!

Later when Mike emerged, he told us the bunny was very concerned about the noise she heard. Mike told her it was the reindeer landing on the roof! She bought it. WHEW!

On Christmas morning I staged myself in the tree room to capture the kids as they entered. I wasn't expecting this reaction:

Stay tuned for more of the Best Christmas Ever 2009!

Bud, thank you so much for making the drive out here! Your being here was the best gift of all!

Merry Christmas 2009!

So...

...lots of dollars were spent on the perfect gifts this year. Gifts oh so meticulously wrapped in special Princess wrapping for the girl and special Santa wrapping for the boy. Gifts that evoked much enthusiasm and delight from the girl. Gifts that, for the first time ever, the boy unwrapped all on his own. He even had fun in the process! The adults in the room enjoyed every minute, all one hundred twenty of them, as we watched the opening of and playing with the gifts.

Then we went outside.

And the biggest hit of the day, the activity that elicited the most giggles and smiles involved none of the aforementioned gifts. Instead, it involved thinking outside the box...

Mike started it:

The boy loved it:

The girl loved it, too:

And the kidlets loved it together:

I'll leave you to enjoy the vids for now and I'll be back soon, tomorrow hopefully, with more about the best Christmas ever!!!

P.S. Sorry for the month-long absence from posting. That crazy little life we live gets in the way!

It's all about the food!

We have had a nonstop, long weekend of Thanksgiving vacation fun!

Tuesday was Noah's last day of school before the weekend and he brought home this drawing. Go ahead and take a guess.
Does this help?
We asked him what he drew and he told us, "turkey." Of course it's a turkey! Don't feel bad if you thought it was a dinosaur. That was our first guess, too.

Mike took Wednesday off to be here for the HVAC dudes installing our new furnaces. The 21 year-old dinosaurs in the attic pretty much fell apart when they were disconnected and left a lovely trail of rust all the way down the stairs. Yuck! But the mess cleaned up easily and now we have safe heat! Just in time for some super-cold (yes, low 40's is super-cold for us) overnight temps. During the home inspection, it was discovered that the furnaces were emitting higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide, but not enough to kill us...yet...Comforting, right? Anyway, we were reluctant to use them at all. We arranged to get the new furnaces after the summer heat was over and before the cold weather started.

Mike also learned how to use the fireplace that day. The bunny loooooooves her new fireplace. She has claimed it as her own. She's the boss of everything! She fell asleep that night, on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket, with her, "baby sister, Jordan."
Thanksgiving morning was busy, yet wonderfully relaxed. The weather was gorgeous and the kids bounced in the bouncy and played outside pretty much all day. I have no photos of that. But I do have photos of what we ate. Because, you know, it's alllll about the food!

Here's the turkey...
...and Mike, the turkey-frying master! You thought I called him a turkey, didn't you? He fried two turkeys so we had plenty to eat, share with friends, and keep for leftovers.

Mike is in charge of the meat and I do the rest. And I have to say, I love, love, love having two ovens! I didn't have to schedule oven time for all the dishes or make anything the day before.

Behind door number one, we have: green bean casserole topped with crumbled bacon and cheese, Pioneer Woman's buttered rosemary rolls, and brown-sugar glazed roasted sweet potatoes.
Behind door number two, we have: sweet potato casserole topped with chopped pecans from our tree that I hand-cracked the night before and a ginormous roaster full of cornbread dressing.
Wanna see those rolls up close? They were deeeeeee-lish!
I also made a pumpkin-pecan cheesecake. Note: it, too, is topped with hand-cracked pecans from our tree.
About that hand-cracking pecan thing...Never. Again. I spent two hours cracking nuts and didn't quite get a cup full of usable bits. I am truly thankful I don't make my living shelling pecans. I'd be fired on the first day. And my fingers and thumbs would be in a world of hurt. But, it was cool to say I did it and it made the sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pecan cheesecake taste better. Right? *winks*

Here's the spread:
Black Friday was spent mostly playing outside again. Did I mention the weather has been gorgeous in the daytime? We did run to Lowe's in the afternoon to get some things for the house, but not for the crazy sales.

Today, Saturday, I FINALLY unpacked the dining room and Mike brought home our Christmas tree. Needless to say, the kids were super excited about it. I'll have photos and more stories later!