Easter Fun

We decided to host some friends for a toddler Easter egg hunt this morning and all-in-all tantrums were kept to a minimum, the sun was shining and people hung around for a few hours, taunting naptimes in their face. So! Overall success in my book. 

We pretty much polished off a nine pound ham and the kids were all fueled by goldfish and teddy grahams they found in some of the eggs - lunch of champions. I was so thankful Grandma is in town for the week because she was ridiculously helpful in keeping the kids occupied and that lady knows how to load a dishwasher like no one's business.

Thankful for a sunny day!

Immediately combining the sand and water.

Toddlers didn't fight over the eggs... yay!

Baby chicken perusal.

Baby George getting some Grandma action. Who can resist Georgie in an argyle?!

Gratuitous amount of food: check.

Here, Dad, hold this. For the rest of the morning.

Friends dressed in their Sunday best!

Vivian and her balloon.

Anders gracing us with his presence post-naptime.

 

A yummy bunny cake, hand crafted by Grandma!

New Project: "The Beast"

I picked up this beast from the Kiwanis thrift shop last month to turn it into our dining room buffet/ sewing machine cabinet/ company-is-coming-quick-throw-crap-in-these-drawers/ oh-so-that's-where-that-went catch all kind of piece. Something about pieces from the early 80s are starting to catch my eye more and more. This thing even smells like 1983 and it doesn't really bother me; I kind of caught myself breathing it in when I was working on it a bit this morning.

So where will this go from here? I'm thinking a high gloss gray-ivory with dark bronze hardware but time will tell. The Springtime weather has me eager to get outside and continue with sanding and priming The Beast this weekend. I should put the damn thing on casters since it is ridiculously heavy, hence it's moniker.

I didn't think to take a picture before I started disassembling the doors and some drawer glides.

One huge motha from anotha.

Those shouldn't be annoying to sand or anything.

True

Spring is in the Air

About one day a week, Mother Nature has been sending us a sunny day here in the Northwest. The veil of the concrete coffin is lifted and everyone is outside trying to catch some vitamin D.

Finally succumbing to a "cheeeese!"

Walking off into a field with Vivian.

Remembering Val

Val's close friends have pulled together the following site to help share memories:

http://valdelaneysmemory.wordpress.com/

Heavy Hearts

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath, even those who seem secure … And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.”
     -Psalm 39:4-5, 7

We have lost dear friends this morning. It sounds very generic, but I can't describe it any other way than hearts are weeping. We don't know what to say or how to act in front of their families; it's just all awkwardly horrible. It serves a reminder to take the extra seconds to say "I love you" and give pecks on the cheek while heading out the door. It doesn't matter whether you fly a Navy jet, drive a Dodge Dart or ride a Schwinn - life happens in split seconds.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2013/03/navy-identifies-deadly-prowler-crash-aircrew-031213/

 

Go Go Gadget Arm

I predict Anders will be able to grab objects off the fireplace ledge within a week or two. He is very intent on accomplishing this feat to grab whatever toy scraps Landon leaves behind.

A for effort.

True

Think Spring

Last night was such a nice evening with my boys at the park. It was mild, the sun was setting beautifully and it was quiet, save for the resident bullfrogs and some Landon gibberish. 

This marks Anders' inaugural crawl outside which didn't last terribly long given the rough surfaces and gratuitous amounts of mulch ("Mmm, let me chew on this giant gross splinter death trap.") but he loved it. Otherwise he just watched brother running around and made some mental notes for future reference.

"Yay! I'm out of the stroller! Watch out, world!"

"Where's Landon?"

"This carpet is pretty rough, but I don't mind... did I mention I'm out of the stroller?!?!"

A Friday Morning

Plopping down the stairs with some undies on.

I finally got a chance to hang a Christmas present from my brother. Love them!

Enjoying the in-house entertainment (aka Landon), as always.

Landon insisted the dinosaur was thirsty and then abandoned him there soon thereafter.