Arboretum

We went to the arboretum the other day, and the peacocks all had their feathers out - it must be spring time I guess. We have had an annual pass for the last year, and it expires at the end of April. I'm not sure if we are going to renew or not, but I thought I would get at least one last trip in with the kids. Elise was so cute with Steven. He was being a madman and refused to stay in the stroller. He kept running off, and she would chase him down and hold his hand. She told me, "Mom, I'm going to hold Steven's hand because I would be sad and miss him if we lost him." What a cutie!

Dance, dance, dance!

Lately every time Elise sees the camera, she starts dancing. She is such a nut. I took these pictures the other day and she just wouldn't stop dancing. She was cracking me up. The next day we went to Disneyland and I actually remembered to take the camera - a rare occurrence. Somehow it never seems to end up in the bag. I was standing in line for the carousel with Elise and Steven, and Chris was taking pictures of the kids with his IPhone. Elise started dancing like a crazy lady in line and everyone around was laughing. It was pretty funny, but you probably had to be there to really appreciate it. So, I said to Chris - "Hey, the camera is in my purse. Why don't you get it out and take a picture. He snapped the picture, got kind of a funny look on his face and said, "Where's the memory card?" Well, you can't expect me to remember EVERYTHING, can you? It was still in the computer at home from the last time I downloaded photos - oh well. And, in case you are thinking to yourself, "Hmmm, why wasn't Chris in line for the carousel too?" Well, he refuses to ride the carousel. He claims that going in circles like that gives him motion sickness. Really??? Motion sickness from a carousel??? I think it is just a good excuse, but he sticks to his story. Anyway, I obviously don't have pictures of Elise dancing in line at Disneyland, so these pictures of her dancing in our driveway will just have to do.

Cooling Down

Last week we had a couple of REALLY hot days, well over 100 degrees. Weird weather... so my kids had fun keeping cool in the water. One day they ran through the sprinklers in our backyard and the next they went swimming with cousins - so fun! Oh, and by the way... I have a confession to make - I love ruffles! I know, my mom is reading this right now and thinking "Kara??? Really???" For most of my life I have avoided them, but there is something about a little girl in ruffles that just makes me smile. I especially love the swimsuit the Easter Bunny just brought Elise because it even has ruffles on the bum. We sure have one fashionable Easter Bunny!

Working Cinderelli

Last year for Halloween, Elise kept saying she wanted to be the "worker Cinderella," but she changed her mind a few weeks before and decided she wanted to be Tinkerbell. However, before she changed her mind I had done a little Etsy research and found a cute worker Cinderella dress that retailed for a mere $125 (just a tad bit out of our price range). However, I saved a picture of it on my computer thinking I could probably copy it for a whole lot less money. So, the last couple of weeks Elise has been asking for a "worker Cinderella" dress and a Snow White dress. I decided to attempt the Cinderella one, since I already had an idea of how I would do it. I think it turned out pretty cute. The little Cinderella mouse in her pocket is actually a Happy Meal toy we got about two years ago - how perfect is that! Here are a few pictures of my little working Cinderella, and a picture of the Cinderella dress we copied. I think mine turned out pretty close. Maybe not quite as cute, but a whole lot cheaper. And most importantly, Elise loves it. She is upstairs watching Cinderella while wearing it right now. Although she did take the headscarf off and put her sparkly Cinderella crown on - she's got to get a little bit of the Princess Cinderella in there too I guess! Now I'm thinking about that Snow White dress - I'm not too sure if I'm brave enough to attempt that or not. I think it would be a little trickier to make, and a LOT of work for a dress up. I think I'll wait and see how much she actually wears this Cinderella dress before I decide if I'm going to try to bite off that project or not.

Egg Hunting at Nana and Bumpa's House

We went to my grandparent's house for a delicious Easter dinner followed by a fun Easter Egg Hunt. The egg hunt is always a favorite for the kids. I knew Elise would be into it, but I was surprised by how into it Steven was. This was his first egg hunt, because Chris and I have a rule that we are not going to do the hunting for them, so they don't get to participate until they are big enough to do it themselves. It helped that there were some suckers and wrapped candies laying on the grass not inside eggs for the little ones. It helped give him the idea that he was searching for candy, and believe me, candy is great motivation for Steven. He just walked around like, "candy, candy, candy, gotta get candy, more candy....." He was seriously cracking me up. He was just so focused on it. I should have taken the video camera, but since I didn't a few cute photos will have to do.

The kids getting organized for the traditional walk that they go on with the dads while the moms and the big kids hide the eggs:

Bumpa leading the pack back home from the walk:

Elise looking for eggs. She made out like a bandit. I actually had to tell her to stop searching for eggs and save them for other kids towards the end.

"Candy, candy, candy, gotta get more candy...."

Easter Morning

So, it seems that every Easter I have to snap the obligatory shots of my kids in their new Easter clothes before church. The funny thing is that by the time we get Easter baskets done, eat breakfast, get dressed, and try to get out the door on time for church at 9:00 am, there is not much time left for a photo op. So, the photos never turn out very well. However, in last years photo Steven was screaming so I guess this is improvement. I love how Elise is lifting her dress up in the second one. She did that in most of the shots. I think she just knew it was bugging me and thought it was funny. She can be such a pill. A cute pill though.

Thank you, Easter Bunny!

Elise is in the process of coloring the Easter Bunny a picture to tell him thank you for her Easter goodies. Not much can beat candy, a kazoo and a new swimsuit when you are 3. Steven could have cared less about the new swimsuit, but he was definitely into the jelly beans and the kazoo. Elise was very concerned that the Easter Bunny didn't bring anything for Mom and Dad though. We'll have to have a talk with that Easter Bunny before next year. Here are a few fun pictures of my kids with their Easter Baskets Sunday morning.

Elise coming down the stairs to find her basket:

Nothing like jelly beans at 6:30 in the morning. Yum!

Steven was a master at the kazoo in no time at all:

Chocolate - yes!:

Flashback Friday: Happy Anniversary

Since tomorrow is our 6 year anniversary, I thought it would be fun to share a photo from when we were dating and a photo from our wedding. Looking at these photos made me realize how old I have gotten without even realizing it. I'm even starting to find some "really blonde" hairs on my head. Some people would call them grays, but I'm not ready to admit to that yet. Happy Anniversary, Chris!

Easter Egg Fun

Last night we decided to dye Easter Eggs for Family Night. We had never done this with our kids before, because until this year Elise was young enough that it just seemed like more mess than fun. She loved it though. She likes to think of herself as an artist, so she kept telling us she was painting the eggs. Steven kept trying to crawl on the table and play in the dye, so we had to divert his attention with chocolate. You will notice that in the picture of him he has a fist full of chocolate. I think he enjoyed his chocolate just as much as Elise enjoyed dyeing eggs. In fact, I think he was playing us. I'm pretty sure that he figured out that every time he made a break for the dye, we would shove a piece of chocolate in his hand. But that's okay, he's a boy after my own heart.

Big Sticky

The other day when I picked up the See's Candy for our Young Women Fundraiser, I got my kids each a butterscotch sucker for the drive home. This reminded me of the last time I picked up See's candy for a fundraiser a year and a half ago. Steven was just a newborn, but I got Elise a butterscotch sucker for the drive home. She was still a young two, and she didn't talk as well as she does now. I looked back to the backseat in my rearview mirror, and she was covered in butterscotch. I said to her, "You look like you got a little sticky." She looked at me very seriously and said, "No mom, I not little sticky, I BIG sticky." It cracked me up. So this time around, Elise managed to stay a little big cleaner, but Steven was definitely "BIG" sticky. When I looked at him it just reminded me so much of Elise a year and a half ago. Except, of course, saying "I BIG sticky" is just not in his five word vocabulary.

Lloyd

So the more I look at Steven's haircut, the more I think maybe it is a little too short. And when he was in the bath the other day, it came to me: Lloyd! If you are familiar with Dumb and Dumber, you will know just what I am talking about here. The gap between his teeth in his smile makes him look even more like Lloyd. And in case you think I'm nuts to compare my one year old to Lloyd, here is a picture for your viewing pleasure which will leave you understanding why the thought came to me.