Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Egg Rolls, Egg Hunts, and Egg Decorating

This last weekend was way too much fun! Noah won 3rd place in the egg roll at the Hayes Presidential Center on Saturday (we think there was a mix-up and he really did get 1st), The E.B. left eggs out in the backyard on Sunday morning, and he even left clues all over the house to find where the Easter baskets were hidden :)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so you should definitely check out the 173,000 words-worth in the Easter Photo Album. Here's a sampling below.

































Saturday, April 7, 2012

An Early Bunny Visit

There has been panic at my house this week regarding whether or not the Easter Bunny would realize that Thing 1 and Thing 2 were not going to be in Farmington on Easter morning. Apparently, sensing the unrest, the Bunny made a quick stop here this morning to leave a note saying he had heard that Noah and Mikayla would be in Fremont tomorrow morning and that he would leave their Easter goodies there. He also left a new shirt for Noah to wear to Church tomorrow and the cutest sparkly princess shoes for Kayla. Oh and bunny ears for both :)

Bunny pancakes :)




Friday, April 6, 2012

Marshmallow Drop

Grant and I try really hard to stay on top of the latest happening and events in the area to expose the kids to, (Grant is really good about this!) so the other day when I heard about the Marshmallow Drop I knew we were going to have to check it out. Apparently it's a really big deal up here as there are multiple drops at multiple locations in the area. The kids and I headed out this morning for our first Michigan Marshmallow drop experience!

Chaos does not even begin to cover it! There were thousands of people there. I used the time over in the car to explain to Noah that if he got lost his Mommy's name was Kristi Gatchel and she was wearing a purple coat, but I wanted them to try really hard to stay with me and holding my hand. They did an EXCELLENT job. I was so proud of my two kiddos, especially because of what came next.

They fortunately broke the group into smaller groups and the 4 & unders got to go first. After we squirmed as close to the front as we could, we waited until spotting the helicopter which then literally dropped garbage bags full of marshmallow in this huge park. And they were off! Now the event details made two things super clear 1) Do not eat the marshmallows and 2) you only needed to collect 1 marshmallow to claim a prize. Apparently all the parents weren't in on this loop and I spotted multiple under 4 year olds with baskets collecting marshmallows. Which was all well and good, except for the kiddos (like mine) who then didn't get to actually collect any. Those parents should be ashamed of themselves! If you really want marshmallows that badly, here's a $1, go buy a bag, but let the kiddos have the fun of the experience of picking up one (and only one) for themselves! We came across a little boy who had picked up two and gladly gave one to Noah and then another little boy he was with gave one to Kayla. So while I was very sad that they didn't actually get to pick up and find their own marshmallow, they were able to redeem one for a prize of crayons, a coloring book and a sketch pad. (Thanks to the organizers of the event for no candy!)

On our way home, I was so proud of them for sticking with me, having fun, and not one single whine about not finding their own marshmallow, I stopped and let them pick out a donut for an after lunch treat at the store. We will definitely be doing the marshmallow drop again next year :)

My two favorite marshmallow hunters

This was the sea of humanity forming 20 minutes before the event



Enjoying their treats :)


This was the best shot of the helicopter coming in I could get, it's that little speck, lol!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

29 and Feelin' Fine!

Today just happens to be my birthday and while it won't be official for a few more hours yet I'm turning the big 2-9 today. Just had to share a couple of things that have totally made my day wonderful.

(Mom, you'll appreciate this one)

This morning I IM'd Grant to tell him that I had opened my gifts when the kiddos had gotten up and how much I really enjoyed my presents. While we're chatting he says "Oh, by the way, there was a cardinal just sitting there on the bird feeder this morning so I took a picture. It was like someone was waiting to tell you Happy Birthday." Spooky chill because Grant wouldn't have realized exactly what he was saying, but I knew automatically that Aunt Gladys had remembered what today was and was sending her well wishes, too :)


Secondly, someday, when she's being a real pain in the butt, remind me how sweet Mikayla can be. This morning, she insisted that I put on the dress that she got me. (Super cute, it's a sporty little number in Michigan blue with the Block M and Wolverines, etc on the bottom right of the skirt) I told her I would after we got back from our walk. So cut to awhile later when we'd gotten back and I went to show her I put it on. Her eyes got really big, she looked up at me and said "Oh Mama, ew is boo-ful!" Bless her sweet little heart, it melted me into a giant 29 year old puddle and has made me smile each time I've thought of it since. So while I didn't get what I most asked for (24 hrs where no one bangs on the bathroom door while I'm in there or shouts Mom at me until I answer) I'll just be thankful for the two best presents I've ever gotten :)

Caterpillars & Butterflies!

In a (hopefully) continuing tradition (see this) of ours, the kiddos asked if they could make the decorations for the Easter table on Sunday. After clearing it with Grandma, I only had to come up with a plan of what to do :-p This morning we created our butterflies and caterpillars. I think the kiddos really enjoyed themselves and I was super proud of the effort they put in.



(Ignore the laundry ;-) Noah helping Kayla

Noah's caterpillars

Kayla's butterfly