Festivities

Easter weekend was action packed! It was nice that Dan got Friday off because we were busy the entire time. Things started off with a little landscaping. We had a crew come in and put concrete edging around our garden beds and up the sides of our driveway. It looks a lot better, but now we have a lot of weeding and planting to do to make the beds look pretty. The crew showed up at 11:30 or so and was gone by 1:00. Super fast and very easy to work with.....they let us make changes to the original plan as we saw fit during the process. It's going to take some time to get used to, but I think the space is much more defined than it was before.

Part of our front yard before

The crew

Concrete border

Then it was time to color Easter eggs. My kids look forward to this so very much! Last year we only did 1 dozen and they were done coloring them in about 10 minutes and begging to do more. So, this year I made sure we had a lot more, and even then the girls still put the eggs in color after color after color. And they even took some of the dry eggs and put them in more color. It was no wonder that the dye never really dried and ended up coloring our hands on Easter morning! It was a good time though. Sometimes I wish that we could dye eggs every few months instead of once a year. Maybe I'll see if I can find some clearance egg dying kits and do just that!

Coloring Easter eggs

A bit of a mess was made
Good thing thing that paper was down
(yeah right!)

I love this picture
She just looks so sad.....
Which was not at all how she was acting.....
Funny what the camera catches, things are not always what they seem.

Easter morning the girls got up, got their Easter baskets and promptly ate every bit of their chocolate. I was shocked when I saw all the wrappers. They are chocolate eating machines! We played around the house until the sugar high got to be too much and then went outside to hunt for eggs. It's been rainy for the past 3 weekends so the grass has not been mowed in a while which made for a very lovely field for eggs to hide in. Maddie and Charlotte both had a great time hunting for eggs. Eleanor slept.

Easter morning baskets

The big hunt

I turned 31 today

Today was my 31st birthday. This special day that comes around once a year brings a lot of mental hype with it, but not a lot of change. I don't feel 31, but then again I didn't feel 30. I have a husband and 3 kids and a house and 2 dogs and a minivan and joint pain.....so I guess I am actually getting older. But I still feel 23. At least I get the benefit of being wiser, right?!?

Oh, and I have a kick ass new camera to commemorate the occasion. Thank you Daniel Schultz!

p.s. Just for future reference.....the pictures on my blog are all a lot better looking if you click on them and view them in a larger format. They have been resized by me while editing and then resized again when uploaded to blogger. They look better in their true size, but you'd probably be mad at me! We might have a new/better/bigger picture blog in the works. Stay tuned.

spinach getting bigger

strawberries to come

lettuce

basil flowers

can't wait for these to get big & ripen

Practice makes perfect

We had soccer practice yesterday. It was the first one in over two weeks.....it has been a rainy spring! Maddie was very excited to get out on the field and this time they even let Charlotte participate a little bit which she LOVED! I really enjoy what soccer has brought to our family. We all go to practices and games and it gives us time together. Maddie always asks if we are all going to be there and I think it makes her feel more secure and loved that we make the effort to cheer her on and participate as much as we do. One of the joys of the 4 year old league is that parents are encouraged to get out on the field during practice and games. We are having a lot of fun and I really love watching Maddie blossom and grow as she learns the game of soccer.....she's getting really good too! She made a goal at the last game and is getting so good at dribbling, but even better than that, she is getting confident!

Charlotte being a little mama
picking something off Ellie's face