Hippity Hop

It's that time again!  The annual Easter Egg Hunt at the gym!  Woohoo!

I probably shouldn't admit this now, but this is the best picture of the post.  It's all down hill from here.  But let's be honest, you're here.  It's not like you're going to click over to some other site before reading to the bottom of this.  I know I've got you.

Blake takes Egg Hunting very very seriously.  You wouldn't believe me if I told you just how seriously.

See what I mean about the picture quality?  Super cute smiles in the front, but what happened in the back?  I guess that's just the face that goes with serious strategizing.

This one is much better, don't you think?  Check out the ears on Trey's hoodie.  Oh!  I can scarcely handle them!

It's Go Time!

Playing out the strategy.

Check out these happy smiles!  Hurray for bags full of fun-filled eggs!

And we're done.  Now you can click away.  Unless you haven't stayed caught up with the recent blogging frenzy we've been experiencing here lately!  Then you can just stay as long as your happy heart desires.

More Boys Being Boys

Remember the house they're building next door?

They've made excellent progress.  In fact, it's all but finished.  At least, they must be done driving great big machines all over the place because they poured the sidewalk a couple weeks ago.  We discovered this upon arriving home from preschool.

Bryce hopped out of the car and just stood there staring at the work in awe and wonder.  So, I suggested that he eat the first part of his lunch in his camping chair.

Front row seating.  Good eats.

And trucks and dirt.

What more does a boy need?

Love At First Sight

Hi!  Trey here.  You may have noticed that my mom really doesn't post enough about me here.  So, I hijacked the computer to tell you a really cool story.

Once Upon A Time...

My mommy let me play outside.

And I found a rock!

Lots and lots of rocks!

What is a rock?

I don't know, but I LOVE it!  I'm so proud of myself for picking it up!

Wait!  What is this delightful specimen?

Hmmm... Does this make me look more intelligent?

How about this?

Okay, now?

How many of these do you think I can hold at the same time?

Oh.  Look at that rock over there.  I must have it.

Hi, Mom!

Wanna rock?  I'll share!

No?  Well, more for me then.  I wonder how it tastes.

Ew.  That was gross.

Mommy!  I can't believe you let me do that!  What kind of mom--wait a minute...

A rock!

Funny Foto Face

Trey gets super duper excited whenever Zima comes close.  He really loves to pet her.  But for him that means grab her fur and pull.  With full fledged enthusiasm.

So, one day Blake got her good and relaxed so that Treyton could practice petting her softly.  He was SO excited.  I grabbed the camera to get some shots of the sweet scene.  I succeeded in this endeavor, but this shot was my favorite.

No caption necessary, right?

April Fool's

This is the first year I really tried to do any April Foolery.  It was fun!

I started things off by telling the kids we would be eating cake for dinner.

I should have made the mashed potatoes creamier, so I could get a smoother finish.  But I was in a hurry.

So, here is our "cake" with "caramel" sauce.

The kids were so excited to have cake for dinner!  Although, Bryce did ask if I put mashed potatoes on the cake.  I didn't want to lie, so I just turned it around and asked him if he really thought I would put mashed potatoes on our cake.  He realized his folly and laughed.

I think they were truly starting to doubt me by this point, however.

They had been so so so excited about cake for dinner all day.  I was starting to feel a little guilty and worried that they would be upset.  As in, tears.

They took it well.  Thought it was funny, really.  And then they ate meatloaf and mashed potatoes.  They never do that.

And then I told them we were having something really nasty for dessert.  Oddly, they didn't believe me.  But this time I was kind of telling the truth.

Look away, Mom.

Even after I presented it to them.

Of course, some of the fun was spoiled since we had to explain kitty litter to them.  But there was still some fun.

For the record, it was not all that tasty.

A Tragic Travesty

One time when Blake and I were dating we got into a little play fight during dinner.  Blake put pepper in my lemon water.  I felt that was pretty nasty.  So, I put some salt in Blake's water.  He loudly declared, "That ruined it!"  And then we had a bit of a discussion about whether or not pepper ruins a drink as well.  He didn't think so because the pepper floats to the top.  I voted 'yes' because I still wouldn't want to run the risk of sucking up a stray pepper fleck through my straw.  I concede that Blake's argument is somewhat stronger that mine, but still...

You decide.

What I am about to show you is akin to the salt in the water, however.  Most definitely, "that ruined it!"

This is the footage of what ruined my baby.

Blake has been wanting to cut his hair for ages.  I finally relented.  I expected Blake to trim up the front and remove the budding mullet in the back.  But I failed to state that out loud.

And then I got behind the camera lens.

And busied myself trying to get a clear shot of my baby.  And get away from the horrid lighting caused by being in a dark hallway, opposite a mirror happily reflecting the necessary flash.

And then I was distracted by my sweet little man making a desperate getaway attempt.

Must escape before Daddy shaves me bald!

And then Daddy struck back.

Actually, this isn't as harsh as it looks.  His face is not being pressed into the wall.  I promise.

But he did find a more relaxing pose to wait out the remainder of the tragedy.

See that look of determination on Blake's face?  And those sweet chubby little fingers?   At least those aren't going anywhere any time soon.

Look at him!  Look how different he looks!  His sweet, soft, downy, newborn hair.  Gone.  All gone.  Ruined!

I cried.

And I couldn't look at my baby for the rest of the night.  At least, not without my heart breaking anew.

Which is the more offensive crime:  Salt in one's ice water, or taking away a mama's baby boy?

You decide.

No better way to start the day than with a lovely piece of pie.  And a squirt of cooking spray.

And then time for another drive!  We drove straight to the church where the kids performed "Army of Helaman" .  The kids did a great job, besides Bryce attempting to eat the microphone near the end.  Then we listened to a wonderful talk from Blake's youngest brother Casey.

After church we headed back to the house which was quickly swarmed by a mass of humanity wishing to wish Casey well as he embarks on a two-year mission to Hong Kong.  Seriously, there were at least a billion people there.  And my mother-in-law and sister-in-law fed them all.  With a bountiful supply leftover, I might add.  Much of which we enjoyed the whole drive home the next day.

And Trey was so pooped, he slept through all the chaos (including children running in and out of his room, screaming all the while).

Eventually, people left and things wound down.

And the kids got to play with their cousins and Grandpa!

And take a picture with the Man of The Day.

My b-i-l Chris had recently returned from Hong Kong, of all places.  He brought back all sorts of wonderful and bizarre souvenirs.

Like these shirts.  You can tell which of these boys has actually spent time in a Communist country.  From left to right we have:  Hopful Optimism, Fearful Anticipation, Comrade Blake, Scoffing, Waffling Focus, and Utter Confusion.

So, I asked them to just smile for the camera.

*No offense intended by any of these photos.  It's just a little joke.*

Ah, a fully normal, nice looking photo of the gents.  And a blurry little Bryce running around near the bottom.

It's a good thing for these boys that they have such a pretty sister.  Aren't they a cute family?

And then it was time for Uncle Chris to head back to Notre Dame.

Treyton was a little nervous of almost everyone the whole trip, so he would only say good bye while in the safety of Daddy's arms.

And then we were back to the Lincoln Logs.  The kids and their cousins spent a while building a fun little town.  Treyton came in and did what babies do best.  Destroy.

Bryce was very focused and hard at work building the tallest of towers.

Treyton managed to balance a tiny piece between his six teeth.  And yes, I felt it was more urgent to take advantage of this photo op than to remove this choking hazard from his mouth.

And then Bryce stepped aside and allowed Treyton to let loose on the tower.

And there was happiness.

Trey is only happy being held by someone else when he can't see me.  So, as soon as I showed up with the camera to get a picture of him sitting very happily with his grandma, he started into a tantrum.

But then he remembered that he's supposed to smile whenever he sees the camera.  He's such a good little boy.

We were heading back at 4 AM the following morning, so we said our good byes to Casey that night before heading to bed.  He will be greatly missed by us all!  We are so proud of him and know that he will accomplish great things!  Good luck, Uncle Casey!