Easter and the Great Hunt!

Easter was a little different this year.   The Easter Bunny still came bringing all his sugary treats!  He also left eggs, but Lydia and I missed out on the hunt.  Lydia flew in from her Dad's and I picked her up from the airport.  While I was gone Wes snapped pictures of Violet and Adelle hunting for eggs.  He didn't use the flash, so some of the pictures are darker, but I'm glad he captured such a fun event. 

Violet really got into the hunt.  It is always a very serious event for Adelle.  She tries to find as many as she can. 

There is nothing like jelly beans for breakfast!

Zootastic!



Early in April I decided to take Philip, Adelle and Violet to the zoo.  Lydia was with her dad.  I decided to buy a year pass so you will be seeing a lot of zoo pictures this next year I'm sure.  I was so excited to take Violet.  It has been a long time since she has gone and I knew she would love all the animals.  We had a few meltdowns, but overall it was a great day. 

 Adelle is growing up so much! She really loves it when Philip is able to join us on our adventures. 

Violet really liked all the animals, particularly the elephants, but she was absolutely terrorized by the large elephant statue that sneezes and makes noises.  She didn't expect it to make noises so it has traumatized her and to this day she cries around him. 

 I always love seeing the monkeys.  There was a cute mom, dad, and baby monkey that we all enjoyed looking at. 

 We all packed our own lunches to avoid the high priced food.  Philip even shared some of his yummy candy!

 Everyone got quite a kick out of the giraffes.  They were licking the walls with their long blue tongues.  They are so beautiful and fun to watch. 

 Violet craned through the fencing to see them. 

Philip is really patient with my girls and he loves coming along.   

We also spotted a white wolf.  After our couple hour stay we had to head home for nap time. 

Worn Out and Blankies

Violet usually naps pretty well, but one day she just wouldn't sleep.  She got pretty cranky as the day wore on.  Before I knew it she was crashed on her comfy pink chair with her blanket and her Sunshine bear.  Poor thing.  Her blankie is her absolute crutch.  She hasn't been able to sleep without it for years.  It goes straight in her mouth and she will suck on it.  It is present for nap times, bedtime, when she is particularly sad, or just because.  Thankfully she hasn't needed it out of the house, but I'm sure she would if we were to stay somewhere overnight.  The blanket has held up pretty well.  It used to be a beautiful pink color on the opposite side of the polka dots, but is has become an ugly grey.  I have tried giving her other blankets, but she won't try anything else.  The worst part is how stinky it gets.  I wash it as best I can to get out the aroma of spit and sogginess.  Baking soda the other day seemed to help.  I have never had a child that latched on to something quite the way she has with her blankie, but emotion just oozes out of my last little one. 

Produce Galore!

I'd heard of Bountiful Baskets for years.  It is a produce co-op where you usually pay less for produce, but you need to pick it up at a certain time, and make an effort to volunteer every so often.  I had never tried it due to the drive to the locations and the early morning pick up.  One day I found out from a friend that there was going to be a location right by my house.  I jumped at the chance to finally try it.  I was quite amazed at how much produce we received.  We got a few extra things for volunteering as well.  It is a fun challenge to try to use your produce each week and it forces you to try something new.  There are some weeks where we don't seem to get as much, or we struggle to use what we get, but I have decided that it is worth it for us because it forces us to eat better and branch out from our usual meals.  It can cut into the weekend sometimes, but we try to make it work as much as we can. 

Little Green Men

Adelle never lets us forget St. Patrick's Day.  She gets so excited to put out little dishes, plates, furniture and toys.  This year the little green men didn't dissapoint her.  They left each of the girls little treasure chests whith chocolate mints. 

Lydia and Adelle also got little glass blocks.  Carved inside the glass was a vase with flowers.  

Of course there is the letter that Lydia and Adelle wrote as well as the response.  I'm glad there is still magic in our house!

Making it My Way

When I was a kid I absolutely loved play-doh, clay, silly putty or anything else squishy!  I loved getting my hands on the stuff.  One day I ran across a recipe for homemade play-doh and I just couldn't resist.  It claimed to be just as close as you can get to the real stuff without buying it.  All homemade play-doh I've

ever seen is that satly, grainy stuff.  Lydia and I decided to give it a try.  When we were all done we were quite pleased with the results and all of the girls sat around the table squishing, molding and chatting.  It really was pretty close the stuff, minus that heavenly play-doh smell.  

 Violet was quite intrigued and jumped right in, jostling and fighting for the best tools.  I've never known a more bossy little girl.  I often need to reign her back in.  Despite how independent she can be she really can be super sweet as well.  

 See how smooth and heavenly it is!

 It was an unexpected night of simple fun with my three favorite girls.

Lydia's Night with Shakespeare!

I have one of the most amazing daughters ever!  Lydia decided to participate in Shakespeare Night this year.  She worked and memorized one of  Titania's monolauges from Midsummer Night's Dream.  She really did it all on her own with very little help from Wes or myself.  The night of the event there was a huge snowstorm but we managed to drive the couple of slippery blocks to the school.  When it was Lydia's turn I held my breath.  As she began I was absolutely tingling with excitement and was absolutely amazed at her poise and passion!  I couldn't have been prouder of my oldest girl.  While she didn't win she was given compliment after compliment from her peers and the teachers.  She was so happy! I wish we could have all attended, but at least I got it on video.