C'mon Dover!

I finally made it to a real, live horse race. We took the kids to Keenland over Easter weekend.
the key to having the most fun at a race is to bet $2 on a horse with 68:1 odds to win, and then watch that horse stay in second place right until the end. I can only imagine how much more exciting it would have been if my horse had actually won.
We taught the kids all about gambling and how if you pick the right horse, it can really pay big--for instance, on a two dollar bet, we made three dollars (we let the kids have the winnings just to teach them a lesson).
The following day, we headed to our state's capital for Earthday (it's like my 5th favorite holiday).
Gabby scares me some times:
The kids got FREE pedometers (those are the best kind).
But the highlight of the whole weekend was when Oliver's name was pulled in a drawing for a brand new composter (I was so proud I screamed when they read his name):
I think he was more excited about it before we started filling it with garbage:
Gabby didn't win a composter:
The next day was Easter and we were all so burned out from all the fun we'd had the days before that we kind of skipped it. But don't worry, Monday was Easter take II, and we made sure to observe it. P.S. Easter candy is 40% off on Monday.
The goods:
Oliver was shaking, he was so excited when he figured out that there was real candy in every single egg (in case you haven't heard, I've rid our home of all sugar). And yes, that is a Halloween ghost bag Oliver is carrying.
Easter take 1 had its challenges:
We got one good shot though:

First Egg Hunt of 2010

Alex's preschool had a little party. Here are a few pictures:

P.S. stay tuned, we've got some kick A weekend plans up our sleeve. You'll be totally jealous.

P.P.S. in a sad side note, El Gato has gone missing. Poor Oliver keeps waiting for it by the door to no avail. We think either it got taken to the pound or a fox got to it. But don't tell Ollie, he'll be heartbroken.

Spring Sprung

I apologize for my absence. I've been in a blog funk--it happens. But now it's over and I'm back, for now any way.

So here's what's been happening in our neck of the woods:

The Spring fairy brought Noah a nice red ride-on lawn mower. EVERYONE who's anyone has ride on lawn mower in Indiana--they even race them.
Since getting the mower two weeks ago, Noah has mowed our hibernating grass once and is expected to do it again tomorrow. In addition, Noah is busy at work looking into modifications for said mower in preparation for the big race, which we WILL enter.
In the mean time, the kids and I are readying the house for Easter.

This year, for the first time, Alex helped blow out the eggs and paint them.

I was reminded why we haven't been doing a whole lot of crafting lately--Oliver. The boy can't wait to get his hands on each and every one of those delicate and breakable eggs.

So our Easter tree is up on our fire place mantle, away from little hands.
Happy Spring everyone, I've waited all winter for it.

Easter in Review

Thanks to the clouds parting and the rains taking a two-day break on Saturday and Sunday, we were able to have yet another successful Easter.


Saturday was filled with fun at Noah's Aunt and Uncle's property in Brown county for their annual Easter Egg hunt.

We were joined by about 6 other young families which made it extra fun for everyone.

We really only had one problem. Gabby missed most of the egg hunt because she waited until just after it started to announce she had to go to the bathroom.

Luckily, it was nothing a smore couldn't fix.
Then on Sunday we got to hang out with the Nugent's, who are quickly becoming some of our favorite people.

********

And now it's raining again.

Easter Preview

I am a planner to a fault. I like to plan things out in my mind and then wait until circumstances are perfect before I carry them out, meaning that I often don't carry out my plans. Case and point: Easter is upon us and for the past week or so I've been planning what we'd do if we were in a house. I saw my friend Mirjam's blog on their cute German tradition of decorating blossoming branches and thought how I really would like to do that in my own family. It brought back memories of painting eggs with my mom and the thrill of blowing out the inside of an egg without breaking the shell. But the fun will have to wait until next year when we have a cute house to decorate, with an even cuter craft room to make the decorations in.

Then it occurred to me that my thinking was a bit off and what better table to paint on than the work bench we're using as a dining room table? In addition to that, will there ever be a time when I care as little as I do for the chairs surrounding my table (remember we are using $5 Walmart camping chairs at the present and I certainly hope not)? So paint away children and make as big a mess as you would like!
If you've never experienced the thrill of blowing out an egg, I highly suggest you try it. Simply poke two holes (one on top and one on the bottom) in the egg. I used the tip of a sharp knife and tapped on the shell until it broke a little hole. Then blow on one side and empty the egg contents into a bowl. If you have a hard time blowing out the egg, make the holes a little bigger.

We used acrylic paint and sprinkled very fine glitter dust on the wet paint so it would stick. Then using a hot glue gun, we attached string to each [dried] egg.

We found a blossoming branch at the park and "planted" it in a little pot.

And now I smile every time I see my table, which is an utterly new phenomenon.

P.S.

If you're wondering where Alex is, he opted out of the egg painting and went for a nap instead. He's a bit like Noah in that regard--when I pull out the crafts, they both disappear.

For the rest of the week:

Thursday is Passover (my side of the family celebrates this every year--no they're not Jewish) and we'll be doing a modified observance, meaning we're going to skip the dialogue and just talk about the symbolism, go for hummus rather than horseradish (for the kids), naan rather than Matza (they're both flat breads and naan tastes so much better), and we're using grape juice instead of wine in the haroset and as our drink (if you're surprised go talk to your bishop). We're also going to watch The Prince of Egypt to explain the story behind Passover--great movie and music by the way.

Friday is Good Friday and in Indiana that means no school for Gabby and no work for Noah (have I mentioned how much I love Indiana?). And so, we're going to head out to Cincinnati, Ohio and see what it has to offer.

Saturday is reserved for egg hunts galore.

Sunday is of course Easter so I'm making hot cross buns for breakfast (another tradition from my family). The kids will each be getting a new little something to wear. Then it's off to Church followed by dinner with friends.

And so readers, I ask you: what are some of your family's Easter traditions?

Apartment Living isn't All Bad

Don't get me wrong, I'm am SO anxious for our Utah house to sell so we can get into a house and get rid of one payment, however I am discovering that because we're not all that fond of being in our apartment, we get out a lot more as a family.

Over the weekend, Gabby and Alex went on their first Easter Egg Hunt of the season. Gabby scored big time, while Alex on the other hand would get so excited about finding the egg that he'd forget to pick it up before someone else beat him to the punch.

Still, the pickings were good. Unfortunately, candy has this weird tendency of disappearing in our house . . .

After the egg hunt (and between conference sessions), we put Gabby into training for an upcoming school race. She's pretty fast.

Following the run, and to ensure the kids would sleep real well, we rollerbladed.

Then back to the house to watch the second session of conference (I think we made a family record for most conference ever watched on a Saturday). During the broadcast, the kids and I decorated (and ate) sugar cookies in the hopes of taking them around to friends. Yeah. We'll see if they make it.

These were the lucky few that made it to the decorating stage. Lucky for them I'm off sugar today.

So while I am done with living in an apartment, I've got to admit that I'm learning how to spend more quality time with my kids and husband and that is what really matters.