Egg Coloring and Easter Tree

I told Ross I needed a good branch for our Easter Tree, and he came back with big one. It's cool, though. We had fun decorating with our 30+ year old decorations!!





My mom gave these cool eggs to us last year. They are wooden and hand carved and painted...


So last year, I decided I wanted to go au naturale when it came to egg dyeing, but then I forgot! Next year. But we did get some cool vibrant eggs.

Getting ready...


Here is Zoey drawing a puppy on an egg with a crayon!


I always buy one kit that does something different, and this year it was glitter! It was actually one of the better ones! Cute glitter eggs!






ross was sitting near yellow and blue. He just used what was close to him, so we had an abundance of yellow, blue and green!





He had yellow because he was working on making a Sponge Bob Egg!!



Oh and I did a little photoshop on our family picture. I like how Zoey's blue shirt shows up in this one...


I hope you had a Blessed Easter! Alleluia

Easter Morning

Here we are early morning on Easter Sunday. With a makeshift tripod (our Tiki-man... yes, we have one in our living room) and self-timer. I should have asked for that remote shutter release from the Easter Bunny! Anyway, I will take what I can get...




Umm.. hello? When did Zoey start looking so grown up?


and Max, he got a buzz cut after this day... the shag hair is just way too hot for humid Ohio summers...





and this picture.. well you can't be the photographer and subject when you have something in mind, but oh well. It makes me laugh, so I thought I'd share! HAHA

Easter Run Down - Egg Hunt

We had a nice Easter. Between the cold and rain, we actually had successful egg hunts, so that was good.

Zoey at an egg hunt, making good use of her basket beforehand.



I guess she got bored waiting and decided to hit the playground with her stylin' hat...


At some point she made bunny ears!



Ross is holding Max back as he contemplates his plan of egg grabbing attack!


Ross always makes his joke, "egg hunt? more like Egg harvest" haha





When we have our personal egg hunt, Ross (i mean the Easter bunny) actually hides the eggs, so it is fun since they are older.

Day 113- Neighborhood Easter Party

Two families host an Egg Hunt and Easter Party for our neighborhood each year. It was potluck style, so I made a bean/corn salad with lots of pretty colors!



Here's the recipe if you're interested:

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 zucchini
2 carrots
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 cup fresh corn, or frozen corn defrosted
1/2 bunch cilantro
1-2 jalapenos (or to taste)

Chop all veggies to the size of a bean.

Mix the following for dressing:
1/4 Olive Oil
juice of 2-3 limes
2 (or more) garlic cloves
1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp salt

Toss everything together and enjoy! Also yummy heated up the next day and served with rice.

Guess Who's Not a Vegetarian Anymore?

Max has been a self-proclaimed vegetarian from birth. I wouldn't care if he stayed that way (his dad and sister are definitely NOT), but he's definitely on the picky side when it comes to eating, so we just like to introduce new foods and make progress. And I don't know how excited I should be about hot dogs (it was kosher, at least;) but it was a jump forward which is exciting.







I have to mention... this isn't the first hot dog he has eaten. I once bribed him somehow to eat one about a year ago, and no kidding, it took 30 minutes! Slow, painful, teeny tiny bites.

Kids

I know with all of my random pictures, that I don't have as many of us, so here are the kids on a walk one day...


And at our favorite bookstore... Max could stay here all day...



He loves workbooks, so here is Zoey, giving him a lesson!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

In Zoey's big basket of family fun that she won, there was a kite. We have pretty windy conditions in our backyard most afternoons, so we tested it out. These pics are just fun and capturing the moments with the kids.





It's hard to see... but their smiles are so big. They loved running around the yard, under the kite!



Max actually has kite day at school this week, so this was a good practice run! It was good, but we actually ended up buying a super inexpensive ($2.99) Spongebob kite at Kroger that is even easier for the kids to fly!



Max let go of it once and Ross took off after it! It was like a comedy show... We all were yelling and running. Up over the house it went! The wind dies down significantly in the front of the house so it came down enough for it handle to get stuck in a tree and we got it down, safe and sound!



These pictures were taken on two different days. One was cloudy and a little rainy, the other sunny.

And, guess who else liked flying the kite? So much so, that he even went out alone without the kids? This is my favorite picture... Check Ross out in the background...

More Trees...

Ross called me one day and told me about a group of white flowering trees in an apartment complex that looked pretty. He is good about letting me know if there are any good photo op's around! I couldn't resist more flowers and trees.





I love the pretty white delicate flower against the dark bark of the tree.



They are all changing to green now, so no more pics like this!

Perfect to get ready for Easter for us, however!

Day 109- Snail Mail

I definitely appreciate technology and being able to instantly text and talk to my family and friends, but nothing beats seeing a real card in the mailbox, right? And for no reason? Even better.



I see that I am pretty consistent in my stamp placement! HAHA!!

Day 107 - random Ohio

We come across things like this all the time... old foundations to something? from the past... I thought it looked cool

Day 106 - Lights at the Greene

a bird's eye view...

And The Winner Is...

The kids' school had a fundraiser recently that was a lot of fun. Classes came up with a theme and parents donated gifts to go into a prize basket to be raffled off at their annual Art Show. And amazingly... Zoey won one of the baskets! Here she is with the Summer Family Fun basket!



It was like Christmas opening that thing up! We have had a lot of fun with the kite that was included... more pictures to come.

Spring and Hope

In between torrential downpours and thunderstorms, the sun comes and brightens up the world around. You can see the difference the sunshine makes in everyone around after days of clouds! I love the white flowering trees that come with Spring.



It reminds me that there is a time and a season for everything.



One of my favorite bible verses:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11

I know it's a common favorite, but I love that it has the word hope in it. I love the idea of choosing joy and being filled with hope. Like spring, to me!

Origami Peace Cranes

Zoey's Girl Scout troop was making origami cranes as a fun raiser for Japan, and Zoey took on the assignment with gusto!



She ended up doing 360!



She got creative and used magazine pages and comic book pages (don't tell max!) to make some too. They were neat.



She got really good at it and could just whip one up in no time!



I even joined in to make a couple. It was very relaxing... the methodical folding of paper, with straight edges and tight folds. Almost instant gratification...



Crane central: