Easter 2013

Since it was only going to be us for Easter, we decided to dye only a few Easter Eggs. Hannah "hates eggs" and Elayna won't eat hard boiled eggs. So, not wanting to eat a dozen hard boiled eggs, Ed and I boiled a handful. None-the-less, the girls still managed to dye their hands a rainbow of colors.

That night the Easter Bunny came and left all of us a little something. Elayna and Hannah both got a video, a bath toy, and a handful of chocolate. Ed and I both got a chocolate bunny and a handful of other candy. The girls were dressed up very nicely...especially since church started at 6:30am. One nice thing about going to mass that early in the morning is that you don't have to fight for your seat. We were home by 7:45 and breakfast was cooking by 8:00. After watching one of the movies, we took the girls to a park and played around for quite a long time.

At the end of the day, we had smoked turkey for dinner and finished it all off with a rainbow chip cake. Finally, we watched the second movie, then it was off to bed.

Easter Egg hunt

This year we went to our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. It was quite a fun event. They had the Easter Egg hunt split into age groups so the little kids wouldn't get trampled by the big kids. It was kind of nice that way. Elayna and Hannah didn't want to grab "ugly" eggs (blue, orange, green), so they tried to only pick up the pretty ones. Eventually they realized that there were only a few eggs left and needed to grab whatever they could. Each ended up with almost the limit (plenty enough candy from my perspective). Sadly, it was so hot that all the chocolate candies were melted inside the eggs.

After the Egg Hunt, the girls went and got tattoos on their faces, ate a cookie and punch, played in the bouncy tent, blew some bubbles, and hugged the Easter Bunny. Needless to say, they were exhausted by the time we walked home. Yes, I said "walked" home. It is always fun walking tired children (even if it was only three blocks).

Adventures in Photography

As we near the last of our boxes, we finally found Hannah's camera. Over spring break, when we went back to Idaho Falls, she had the opportunity to show of her photography skills. Our previously planned trip to Oregon had to be rescheduled due to a small bout with Mono...grrr...moving on...Anyway, dad, Hannah, Elayna, and I walked the river pretty regulary over the week. Hannah wanted to capture as many photos as she could. Some were pretty well taken. Others needed a little cropping. Not bad for a little kids camera. Can't wait to see what she scraps with these pictures.

First Time at Dentist

So, most people aren't all too excited to go to the dentist. Elayna on the other had was super excited about her first time at the dentist. Yeah, I know I was about a year behind the recommended first dentist check-up, but in the process of moving, I delayed it slightly. None-the-less, she enjoyed every minute of it. She was even allowed to suction her own spit. I wish I could have caught her expression when she suctioned the inside of her cheek on accident.

Tubing

Shortly after all the holiday buzz wore off, Amy and Ryan were able to make it to Boise. We decided that it would be fun to try out the tubing hill in Garden Valley. They had really tiny tubes for Elayna, but she didn't weigh enough to keep her tube from falling off the tow rope and kept sliding down the hill. We eventually moved her into the double tube with me and that proved a little more effective. Hannah wanted to go off on her own, and enjoyed the moments of independence... that is until she saw how AWESOME our tubing train was. Once we were all finished, I started took off the girls' snowpants. Elayna was literally dripping wet. I took of her pants and socks and it was almost as if they had been dunked in a swimming pool. What a trooper. She didn't even complain once. I guess we need to get her better snow pants for her ski season next year ;)

Dance Performance

Well, she has gone and done it. Elayna has joined the one thing that I was positive my kids would never do...DANCE! The daycare Elayna attends offered a dance class for the 3-5 year olds once a week. Trying to break up the monotony of daycare, I signed her up for it. Little did I know that it would become her obsession. Not only does she LOVE dance, but she forced us to watch The Nutcracker about 10 times over the holidays while she danced and copied all the moves from the performers. She is currently preparing for her big recital in May. I may be biased, but she is quite the little dancer.

December 2012

For Christmas, we were blessed with family. Dale and SiRan (Papa and Little Grandma) came the Friday before Christmas and stayed until the day after Christmas. It was truly an enjoyable time. The girls especially loved having someone here for the holidays. It was Ed and my first Christmas where we didn't have to leave the house. All six of us truly took advantage of the situation and dressed in our best pajama bottoms the ENTIRE day!

For a quick transition, Papa and Little Grandma left the day after Christmas and my parents (Grr and Big Grandma) came in later that day bearing a new set of presents. Elayna especially loved the chocolates and the Lalaloopsy costume and Hannah was infatuated with her new MP3 player. Take note of the matching pheasant shirts with stylish...pajama bottoms!

A couple days later, my parents celebrated their anniversary with us. Dad took us all to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner and we treated them to a night at the Botanical Gardens: Winter Garden a Glow. very impressive evening. There was even a light snow falling to add to the experience.

Anyone who has been to my mother's house has seen, or slept in "blue blanky". So, mom brought material enough to make each girl their own "blue blanky". She had each girl guide the blanket through the sewing machine. When it was finished, she put two butterflies on each. The only difference between the blankets is the ties. Hannah has pastel colors and Elayna has rainbow colors.

Christmas Preparation!

YEAH! Camera and pictures have been found, now for a serious update. Let's start where we left off. Here is Hannah and Elayna decorating their Christmas Tree. Our new house has a living room and a family room, HOWEVER, we don't have furniture enough to fill both spaces. We decided that two Christmas Trees would be the perfect way for that. Also, here are the girls' Christmas letters to Santa. I helped Elayna spell hers, but otherwise all was done on their own. Proud of them.