Why Playing in the Rain is Good for Your Child

We are getting some much needed summer rain and today I let the kids play in it. That is the nice thing about summer rain, its usually pretty warm outside also. I remember as a child my mother letting me play in the rain and I adored it. There is something about rain that I have always enjoyed and my kids do too.

Why is rain play good for your child? Here is a list of reasons why I let my kids play in the rain.

1. It encourages a different kind of interaction with nature. Watching water run down leaves, create little streams and collect as drops on the plants puts things into a different perspective. We also like to watch the robin that lives at our house and the other birds dig for worms after a good rain.

2. They aren't going to get sick. That's just an old wives tale. The truth is, being indoors more when weather is bad and the close contact with others is what causes people to catch colds. Your immune system isn't weakened by simply getting wet in a warm summer rain, or we wouldn't be able to take showers. After being stuck indoors, the fresh air and running around is good for them.

3. It teaches them to be adventurous. So many times we are trying to stay out of the rain or worried about getting caught in it. Playing in it teaches them spontaneity and adventure. Go ahead and get out there too.

4. It's really fun. It really is fun and they always tell me I'm the best mom ever. If they have been inside all day it is a great release. Jumping in puddles, opening their mouth wide to catch rain drops and finding worms are all great examples of rain joy. Then we have early baths, towel snuggle hugs and sometimes even popcorn, hot chocolate and a movie.

5. It's an opportunity to learn about weather safety. This is especially helpful in tornado alley. We learn about what to do if there is thunder, lightning or high winds and what type of rain is okay to play in. I have also taught them about creek flooding and why we don't play at the creek when it rains. Science guys, it makes me happy.

Do you let your kids play in the rain? What is your favorite thing to let them play with in the rain?

The Cave Tour at Silver Dollar City

The Cave Tour at Silver Dollar City is hands down one of my favorite things to do at Silver Dollar City. I love the excitement and the accomplishment I feel every time I finish it. Here are some tips to make it fun for your kids and easier on you.

• Get in line and then go to the bathroom. I know this seems counter intuitive but it works. Tours leave every thirty minutes. Your goal is to get there 5-10 minutes after a tour leaves (assuming you don't make the first one). You should be able to get in line and then go to the restroom before the next tour starts. This way there is minimal wait time in the line. 
• It's okay to let them play on your phone while you wait. I would love to say that the scenes that they have filled with history and facts kept my kids entertained, but they didn't. Four and five year olds just don't care about history yet. 
• Don't refill your drinks before you get in line. In fact, make sure they are empty. You won't be able to take them on the tour and you will be less likely to drink them right before the tour. There aren't any bathrooms in the cave. You also won't be sloshing them around either.
• There are a lot of stairs and a lot of walking, this is not the time to wear the cute shoes.
• Be at the back of the line. This way you aren't holding it up. It also frees you to take pictures that don't include photo bombers. 
• Have fun. Enjoy the beauty. Ask them questions along the way. 
• I save this for the last day. This is the only thing we do in the park. We get in, do they cave tour, refill our cups for the car and get any last minute snack for the car. I promise it will make them tired and they will take a really great nap in the car!

Top 18 Travel Tips for Driving with Kids

I recently had a friend post on Facebook looking for advice on driving across country with their three kids when they move later this year. I think I could have written a book! Two years ago we traveled from OK to OR and back again in 10 days and the kids were 10,7,4 and 3. Oh my word, it was fun and we survived! So I compiled a list just for you with my travel tips. They don't involve wrapping up small gifts for each hour you are in the car (this mama doesn't have time for that, but I am totally impressed if you do) and I don't bribe for good behavior, you should be good because it's the right thing to do. Kids today are lucky they have all these fun devices to play on!

• DVD's. Okay this one is a no brainer right? If you don't have one, ask your friends or family if they have one you could borrow, barter or rent. Did you know that you don't have to pack any of your own DVD's? We used Redbox the whole time! You can download their mobile app and plan your gas/food/breaks for places that have them. Wal-Mart's usually do and while I am not a Wal-Mart shopper on the norm, it will suffice when we are traveling!
• A sturdy kid potty. The kind that you use to potty train with. This one is similar to the one I have, but they don't make mine anymore (what? why???). The point is for it to be small and compact without a back, so you can put it in a re-usable shopping bag with wipes, toilet paper, clorox wipes and extra plastic shopping bags. If it doesn't have a back then you can use it too. Middle of nowhere, you better believe I used it! Some of the best stops were in the middle of nowhere doing business in the woods. 
• Extra clothes in zip lock bags for when there is an accident. If its pee or vomit, you don't want that leaking out of a bag you tie up. 
• A positive attitude and a sense of adventure. If you are nervous, they will see right through you. 
• Snacks that your kids normally eat. Some people say to bring lots of candy or treats. The last thing I want in the car is my kid on a sugar high who then gets a tummy ache. No thanks!
• Markers if its summer time. Crayons if its winter. 
• I let them pick new coloring/activities themselves. Sometimes when I pick something for them they aren't as into it as I thought they would be. 
• Are we there yet? Give them the schedule. Very important for my oldest to know where we are going and when we would get there. You can even download a map app for them to look at or print off your own "map" coloring pages.
• Plan rest stops for parks if the weather is nice or Chick-Fil-A for an inside day. A lot of times its more about moving around then it is about eating for the kids. We stopped once outside of Colorado and the sky was so big and blue and beautiful I could have stayed right there forever. Those are the times when memories are made. 
• Wear comfortable clothes (ones that would be okay to sleep in) and shoes that are easy to get on and off. Regan was a big fan of wearing her pajamas all day. Worked for me. She was happy and it really felt like a vacation I think for her. 
• Don't try to fit too many miles into one day. I know that I could travel with just me and the hubs and crank out a ton of miles and be fine...the kids just get cranky, which is no fun for anyone.
• Try and book hotels with pools. Again, this is just so they have a place to move around. It's often hard to sleep after you've been in the car all day. This really wears them out so they (and you) can get some solid sleep. 
• Eat dinner in your hotel if you are just beat and not up for social graces. We found a local pizza shop in a small town in Idaho and had a party in our room one late night. It was great pizza, we didn't care if they ate in bed and everyone was happy. 
• Instead of buying more stuff for them to do in the car you can let them purchase a new game. movie or app for their tablet. They only get paid apps when they get a gift card or something in our house. Let them know ahead of time what their app purchase amount limit is. 
• Bring an inflatable air mattress for the hotel if you have a bunch of kids. I don't think we have ever checked in as 2 adults and 4 kids. Mainly because they will tell us that we need two rooms. I don't think so! Especially when we are just passing through. A couple of good quality air mattresses that fill up on their own (you just plug them in) really serve us well. The kids already have extra blankets and pillows so we just bring a couple up with us. It also helps that the kids can have their own space. Sometimes you don't get good sleep when you share.
• If they have a breakfast buffet in the morning and its been a late night, usually the hubs and our oldest child, will go down and load up as much as they can, bring it up and then go back and do it again. That way we don't miss breakfast because we are still getting kids (or myself) ready and you can have breakfast in bed! Pack up and eat at the same time. No rushing and no forgetting stuff. 
• Keep electronics in one spot and have a reusable checklist for each stop. You could even have an electronics bag that houses all electronics upon pack up. We totally left a tablet at a non-Disney hotel in Anaheim and of course cleaning never found it. At the point we realized it was left, we wouldn't have made it home on time if we had doubled back. 
• A small container for the laundromat with essentials. Use an empty drink mix container to put dryer sheets, detergent pods and quarters in. If you need to use the laundry at the hotel or because someone barfed all over their car seat cover you will be totally prepared to stop, strip and wash. You can also pack lighter and/or arrive home with clean clothes by doing laundry as you go! We stayed in a hotel off of Hwy 1 and grabbed a six pack from a convenience store and hit the laundry mat. Best beers and we were good to go with clean clothes for the rest of the trip.

The boys at the potty break spot.

Can you survive? You betcha. And if all those don't work, take turns driving and sitting in the passenger seat with headphones in. And remember that its not just about the destination, but the journey as well.

On her way to the potty break spot in her pajamas and shoes. It was a breathtaking potty break!

Airstream Progress: Gutting, floors, must haves

We worked tirelessly to get at minimum the floors installed for our first camping trip in our 1978 Argosy Airstream we have affectionately named Three Magee. We took her to the bones and thankfully there wasn't much underbelly damage. The hardest part of gutting for us was taking off the wheel wells! Here are some of the things we did and what we did on our first trip!

Once we had everything out we checked and sealed any leaks. This part is super important, nobody wants to get wet or deal with water damage. We will be testing to see if we got them all soon, more on that later. We purchased a bunch of insulation and decided to go with a higher grade so that we would save on heating and cooling costs and make it easier to maintain a comfortable temperature. Even on a 50-60 degree day it would get really warm in there without the insulation and walls in. We really wanted to be able to go anywhere without temperature limitations. We tucked the insulation in and began cutting the floors using old flooring as cutting guides. We did not place our plywood under the shell (like when it was built). We didn't measure it correctly somewhere and ended up with a one inch gap going across the width of the trailer. We were putting in some serious time on it and well, I guess we only measured once. It was around 2 a.m on the day we were supposed to be leaving so we MacGuyver'd it and made what reminds me of a door way threshold cover. Dale made it nice and smooth so it wouldn't be too bothersome. It sure worked for the first trip, but we will have to go in and fix it.

After we got the floor in we set to getting the electrical hooked back up and getting all of the outlets and wires duct taped to the walls. We made sure that no one would accidentally electrocute themselves and that it would be kid friendly! We assembled a futon at the front for Dale and I to sleep on and pulled 2 of the kids mattresses down from their rooms instead of using air mattresses. We also had a cot that we put on one side. Best purchase ever was a mini-fridge. It was the most convenient thing to have. We put a spare TV on top of the fridge and brought a cable cord. I strung up Christmas lights and had pretty bedding and put some rugs down.

It was super rainy before we got there and during, which means mud. The spot we reserved was a muddy mess and not big enough to put our pergola in front of the door...which I've decided would have made the trip much more pleasant. I brought our outdoor rugs and they helped with the mud control, but it would have made a huge difference if we had had the pergola in front of the door. I was so glad that we brought the TV. It rained just after we finished cooking dinner over the fire on the first night and we snuggled up and watched movies together and listened to the rain. Everyone was so tired from walking all day that they pretty much crashed.

Here are the must haves for the next trip, which we hope to take at the end of summer. Walls up and painted. Bunk beds for the kids. This one is a biggie. Of course when they are at home they want to share beds and have slumber parties. You would have thought we were torturing them this time! I want to leave it open so that they can see out of their bunks towards the TV. I have always wanted it to feel open, and I think this will really help with that. I really want the toilet back in. Just for those early morning trips to the bathroom. A kitchen sink. Okay this one isn't so much a need as a want. I am definitely an outdoor kinda girl, but it would have been so much easier to have done dishes inside and have a nice place to wash my hands for things like contacts or teeth brushing. Curtains or some major window tinting. Changing while laying down or putting a sheet up only cut it because I knew it was only for a few days. I found some neat tutorials on new curtain rods. Now I just have to settle on some fabric!

Now for my wants. At first I didn't really care if we had a shower, but if we are going to put the toilet back in and since we have a practically brand new hot water heater, I say why not. We had originally planned on reconfiguring it to have the bathroom in the middle and the bunks all the way pushed to the back, but snuggle family movies totally trumped that. For me glamping and camping isn't necessarily about removing electronics, for the daytime sure, but at night, I just want some peace and quiet and to be able to relax together. Especially if it's raining! I really want to have cute coordinating bedding for the kids. I also want some pretty light fixtures. We ditched the 70's and I am not looking back! I also want it to have more storage and shelving. There were so many times that I just really wanted a hook or a shelf to put things. We were kind of living out of totes and suitcases. Maybe storage is a need! With the bunks and storage we will have walking space which is at a premium when you are confined to 24 ft!

What worked. The futon worked great. I don't know if it will be the last thing we have there, but it made for a decent nights sleep. There was still plenty of room back there if we decided to put a fresh water tank in behind it like what had been in there originally. I loved the functionality of it and being able to have a couch or a bed. It was also really light weight so moving it was a breeze. We got a great little space heater too. It worked perfectly to heat the whole place, as long as the kids didn't mess with the buttons...which for sure happened. I was happily surprised with how warm it was and the temperatures were in the 40's. I also was so glad we got a mini fridge. It just made it feel more like a little home and it was great to have things like milk for cereal.

We had a pretty good time. I can't wait to get some more done and take her out again.

We stayed at the Silver Dollar City Wilderness Campground. I would totally stay there again. The showers were decent, but hopefully next time I will have my own.

Lots and lots of insulation.

He worked so, so hard!

Bare bones, but a floor and mattresses. 

You can see the standing pools of water! Our pergola was amazing, I just wish it would have been in front of our door. That would have made all the difference. 

Those black pants on Jack are the reason you pack spare clothes no matter what. Let's just say I'm a ninja.

These two were total best buds.

Quick! Selfie time!

I love doing the cave tour.

This is the moment right before the shit hit the fan and we went from having the best day to whine city.

Love this one!

More next time about what to pack and tips for traveling with kids. 

5 Ways to Make Your Morning Routine Less Stressful {with kids}

I have been getting kids up and out the door for what seems like forever. It is sometimes the most excruciating thing I have to do all day. On some days I would rather walk across a room covered in Lego pieces. That bad! So lets make it a bit easier. I can't calm all of the "but I don't wannas" and the "she looked at me" drama but I can help you to get it go a bit more smoothly.

1- Pick out their clothes the night before. Have your kids help you pick out their clothes either for the week on Sunday night, or every night before you go to bed, with the shoes they want to wear, because shoes like to mysteriously walk away when you are trying to find them at the last minute in the morning.

2- Make lunches ahead of time. If you make their lunch, do it the night before. I have been known to procrastinate this. It never works in my favor to do it in the morning. It also helps to have an extra lunch box and drink container for the one that forgot theirs at school.

3- Load and Go Area. Have a dedicated place for backpacks and coats. Have them look at the weather and put anything they will need next to their backpack. This is a really great time to sign folders and read all of those science project is due tomorrow notes.

4- Me Time. Wake up 20 minutes earlier than you normally do. Okay, I am the worst at actually getting up earlier than I'm supposed to. Hell, I struggle with getting out of bed at any appointed time. I am a self proclaimed night owl living in an early birds house. I hate it, but when I give myself that extra 20 minutes things really seem to go much more smoothly and I am more calm. Or maybe it's because I've had my coffee earlier.

5- No TV. Leave the TV off. That is unless they are all done and waiting. The kids know that I am more than willing to let them watch TV if they have eaten their breakfast, got dressed and brushed their hair and teeth. Only then. TV's have some insane, mind controlling laser that makes it to where they can't do anything without their eyes glued to the screen like little zombies. I consider it more of an incentive than a bribe. It's understood that it will happen if they do what they are supposed to but I don't ever use it to get them to move their keister.

Do you have anything that works really well for you?

Here they are on a successful morning where they did exactly what they were supposed to do!!

Lego Advent Calendar {and the life lesson it brings}

As a child I celebrated Advent every year with my mother. She had a sweet little set from Unity that we would listen to (on a cassette tape!) and we would light the candles on our wreath. The memory is a dear one and I wanted to recreate that feeling of closeness, reverence and gentility that my mother had with me. I had really considered doing a cute little one that I had to fill myself (ha maybe next year) but when we visited the Lego Store last month in OKC with Girl Scouts I found two Advent Calendars there and opted for easy and fun. Something I knew that would entice them into this celebration. You could make a cute one and fill it with Lego's though and that would be pretty awesome too!

So far, it's love at first open! They had two options in store and I picked both so that the boys and girls can take turns opening one each day. As they opened their first one (littles got to go first) the excitement was palpable. It was then that I realized the main lesson it was teaching them, patience. Patience, something we are not born with but must learn and practice.

It also teaches so many other things. In our case, there was graciousness of the older kids, allowing to let the younger ones go first. It teaches them that they do not always have instant gratification and that its okay when you don't! They will also have to share the sets once they are complete, which isn't anything new when it comes to Lego's, but a good lesson to reinforce nonetheless. I also love that it fosters the anticipation of something and then having to be patient in order to get it. The lessons all tie together and are interwoven. They may not realize what the tradition is teaching them right away, but what they learn from it will spill through in their daily life for the rest of their lives.

You can check out all of the Advent items The Lego Store has to offer here. I could spend all day looking at Lego's, shhhhhh don't tell the kids though!

My Black Friday Deals and Steals

I love Black Friday. I get the best deals and steals! I'm going to share with you my secrets. First, I stay up late on Thursday night. I put on the comfiest pajamas and watch movies late into the night with the oldest kids while the littles fall asleep around us. This year we discovered a ton of new/old movies (which I listed at the bottom). We all fell asleep in one big slumber party. Friday morning I don't get up until I have to pull together a leftover piece of pie and cookie breakfast for the kids. Or whatever is easiest to get to in the fridge that is stuffed full of leftovers. I chose a roll and a cup of coffee. Then we snuggle up on the couch again, fireplace still going and we watch movies, eat leftovers, laugh, nap, joke, hug and enjoy the entire day just like that. I get the best deals. I spend the entire day with my kids and husband.  I stole hugs and kisses and stroked their cheeks and ran my fingers through their hair.They don't need a new toy or for me to get all my shopping done, they need me. Sleepy me in my pajamas snuggling them and making memories.

If you go all out for Black Friday, I support you 100%. Live and let live or in this case nap and let shop :).

Movies we suggest: The Burbs, The Man With One Red Shoe, Romancing the Stone, Maidentrip (it is half Dutch/English with subtitles and she used the F word once, which didn't need subtitles) and we started PBS's National Parks: America's Best Idea by Ken Burns. Everything is on Netflix. Enjoy! Oh and 80's PG is like today's PG-13, just sayin'.

Coloring Turkeys with Oil Pastels

Ellie's favorite art supply is oil pastels. They happen to be the perfect medium for creating her disguised turkey this year. This year she had to disguise her turkey as a famous Oklahoman. Being a little gymnast she chose Shannon Miller.

This year she had to write and essay in addition to simply coloring her turkey. She learned a lot about Shannon and I encourage you to check out her website. I especially loved that Ellie got to learn about life after gymnastics and to see a courageous woman who won the battle against cancer.

Oil pastels are a great tool for blending colors. When she brought it in to show us we were amazed at how she so many times, teaches herself by doing. My children never cease to amaze me in how they learn. Each are unique in what they are gifted at. It's really a beautiful thing to watch.

This years Thanksgiving Turkey disguised as Shannon Miller at the 1992 Olympics!

Breaking Point

I think so many times when you have a bunch of kids people assume you are some sort of super mom. No such case here. Let me tell you, yesterday was a case of the "I feel like the worst parent ever" moments. Ellie, my gymnast, was walking out of Girl Scouts with her friend while we loaded up meeting stuff and her friend did a cartwheel and accidentally kicked Ellie in the hand. No big deal. Just thought she was being a little emotional and I basically told her she'd be alright and to suck it up. Oh geez. That was last Tuesday night. I put ice on it and wrapped it up. She felt bad Wednesday so I gave her some tylenol and wrapped it up again and then again on Thursday. She had a bit of a cough and a runny nose so I thought that was the main thing she was feeling bad about. Friday she said it felt sort of better so I didn't take her to the doctor. We thought we'd see how it felt over the weekend. It was bruising pretty bad so I thought she had just bruised it pretty good.

Monday (SIX days later). Went to the doctor. Her hand is broken. Broken!!! We go back to the surgeon next week to see if she will need surgery and screws. Whoops. Parent fail. I have to give her some credit though, because she really did suck it up. I felt so awful that I hadn't taken her right away and that I had told her to suck it up! She told me not to feel bad, that even she was surprised it was broken! What a doll. She was bummed she didn't get a pretty pink cast and that she is out of gymnastics for the next 6 weeks.

I hope that she can take away from this how strong she really is. I always knew she was, but this should have been her breaking point and it wasn't.

Apparently I wasn't holding it up correctly (the broken hand is her left and this makes it look like her right). Not bad for in the car with my phone!

Tough little cookie!

Oh you know I got her ice cream!!

A little adventure

Last fall we drove from Oklahoma to Oregon to pick up a 1978 Argosy Airstream from my dad. We traveled through Denver, Yellowstone, beautiful Pacific beaches, downtown San Fran at rush hour hauling the airstream and Disneyland. We pushed hard on the way back to just get back in time and stayed extra at Disney so we missed The Grand Canyon. We crammed a lot in, which simply made us hungry for staying in one place and really exploring on our next little adventure. 

We visited Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful while basking in the most beautiful smell of real pine trees. The kids saw the ocean for the first time. My ocean, with cool water on a wonderfully cloudy and foggy day (in true Northern California/Oregon style). My kids got to see part of the not so little town I grew up in just north of the Bay in San Fran. I really missed mom when I was there, something fierce.We went to Disneyland and managed to surprise the kids. It was magical and I can't wait to go back and really spend some time in each place. Now we are busy remodeling our little Airstream to get it ready for our next adventure. 

I will really introduce our Airstream in the next post. Since she really wasn't stay ready we used her as a giant portable bathroom for us in the middle of nowhere. I highly recommend keeping those training potties...it came in so handy! Take lots of snacks but in lots of varieties, have packs of wipes and plastic grocery sacks for trash. Take a cooler so that you can save money on drinks (crystal light and water bottles y'all). Plan out stops and expect to have an accident. Pack your kids extra clothes for the car, some gallon ziplock bags in case they have one. You'll be prepared so you won't get upset and it will be less stressful, oh and some extra towels.

I planned out our Disney trip knowing we only had 2 days at the park. I studied the maps until I knew it nearly by heart. I chose one must do ride for each kid and then we were free to explore the things that were neat and caught our eye. We did do a character lunch at Ariel's Grotto...worth every penny. We also got the photo pass and we will get it every time we go from now on. I have great pictures of ALL of us. The photographers are really great and really do know how to get the best shot wherever you are. It was truly two days of magic!

I could have stayed at Yellowstone for forever. Breathtakingly beautiful. I cannot wait to take our Airstream and have some awesome little adventures with the kids. We stayed at The Yellowstone Hotel. It has been beautifully restored in the lobby and dining areas, and they are working on the rooms. It was a little Shining-esque, but only for Dale and I :). I want to really camp next time. I spotted lots of animals and it was fun looking for them while we drove. 

It was fun and exhausting...worth every second!

Summer Water Fun

Right before Jack was born we took the kids in the backyard for a good ole fashioned water balloon fight.  We had so much fun that it has become a tradition that we spend an evening in June in some sort of water battle.  This year the kids were playing in their tent and we ambushed them with the hose.  They would get brave and run out to grab the cushions from the patio furniture.  They turned their tent into a sinking pirate ship and would try and block the holes and dig out the water.  I got lots and lots of pictures, that is when Dale wasn't spraying me with water, although most of them I can't post on the blog.  It's no fun to keep all your clothes on when you're being sprayed with water.  I highly suggest ambushing your children with the water hose.

Sneaking back in with a patio cushion.

My favorite picture.  She melts my heart.

.

When it was time to go inside the kids dried off, got their pajamas on and had a hot cocoa picnic in the living room while they watched a movie.  If you haven't had a hot cocoa picnic you should try one of those too.  Just make sure to put a really thick blanket down that needs a good wash!

The Super Diet- How to Lose 5lbs in 24 hours

It's all the rage among Mom's today and I bet if you're a Mom you've totally done it.  I'm talking about The Super Diet, where you can lose up to 5lbs in 24 hours by simply catching the stomach bug your kids have.  It's awesome!  I did it this week and I look fabulous even with the pale and sickly look, which I can totally cover up with makeup.  If your kid isn't sick just go to the park or a public bathroom or better yet the sick kid waiting room at any doctors office.  I bet you could catch it even if you didn't try.

How it works:

You catch a nasty stomach bug from one of your adorable children, or worse someone else's.
You writhe in agony as you attempt to get your children showered and in bed before you have to use the bathroom again for the tenth time.
You survive the night after adorable children #'s 3 and 4 join you in your bed in the middle of the night, #3 decides to sleep with her feet on your pillow and you wake up via foot to the face.
You don't eat breakfast for fear that you will defecate all over yourself while dropping them off at school.
You eat an oreo for snack time and send the little one's outside with 3 each so you can at least load the dishwasher.  Hey that oreo will just make it's way out soon anyways right?  All part of the diet.
You skip lunch for the same reason you skipped breakfast, wouldn't want to ruin all of this dieting by having to do more of your own laundry, it would also make for a really long car rider line at school.
Your husband calls and offers to bring home pizza for dinner.  You gladly accept and eat a slice out of shear starvation and well its pizza.  You skip the beer because that might be pushing it.
You wake up the next day and you've miraculously lost 5lbs.
Easy peasy, right?

Here is my Super Diet secret, I'll be happy to let her breath on you ;)

You might also enjoy:  Cart Karma

Easter Fun

Well we ended up having a pretty fun Easter.  The kids woke up to Easter baskets and a note from the Easter Bunny.  He commented on how pretty our dyed eggs were and told the kids to ask their parents to hide eggs in the backyard for them with the leftover candy that he left for us in the kitchen.  I don't even know how he gets away with this stuff, I guess when there is candy involved my kids don't care how it got there.

When the grandparents came over Dale and I hid the eggs in the backyard.  Ethan and Ellie got special camouflage and green eggs and were hid in harder places.  The little ones were hid on the ground.  There were rules like, for the first 10 minutes you can't help each other or tell the other where their egg is if you see it and if you peek while mom and dad are hiding your eggs you have to forfeit your candy to them.  I'm way better at hiding eggs than Dale is.  Or maybe I'm just meaner!

Game on!

Jack was really into it this year!

When their 10 minutes was up they started helping each other.  And this pic made me realize Ethan has a farmers tan.

Candy Break.

My Easter dress from 1990.  My Grams made it for me.  Loved seeing  Ellie in it, she is looking so grown up lately.

Regan lasted about 5 minutes.  Once she had about 6 eggs she went back inside!

We got Wendy's for lunch and had a pretty relaxing day.  One of the best Easter's we've had.  We decorated our eggs with googly eyes and sharpies.  I had already blown out our eggs awhile back.  Did you know that you can do that?  Blow your eggs out and make scrambled eggs, wash the insides out and put them in a carton.  Then you are all ready to go when its time to decorate.  Blown out eggs can be kept for years!  My mom has some that my brother made when he was a kid, 40 years ago!!  We watched movies and played outside and ate candy.  Easter was fun!