Coloring Easter Eggs

I decided that I would try a new way of cooking the eggs this year...and I'm not sure if they turned out because we haven't eaten them yet.  But I basically baked them at 325 for 30 minutes.  WAY easier than boiling, cooling, and drying.  Supposedly the yokes turn out more tasty this way. I am thinking deviled eggs for lunch tomorrow?? hm.

Anyway, here's a montage of photos from coloring our eggs.  We totally went old school with the dye and vinegar.  Nothing fancy like tattoos, stickers, paint, tie-dye, etc...too much work for me. HA! I do believe that Rhettsy loved it the most.  He was a little obsessed and we actually colored a raw egg just because he couldn't get enough.  They were his babies as you will see in the photos.

Point Defiance Ferry Field Trip

Macrae's preschool class field trip on the Pt. Defiance Ferry to Vashon Island.  

It was snowing, raining, windy, and freezing.  

But the kids LOVED IT! 

2nd Grade Spring Program

Isla's Spring Music program was tonight! She has been excited about this for at least a month.  She came home from school with the songs on a paper and hid it from me and practiced in her room.  It was very cute.  And speaking of cute, check out the outfit she chose (like a week in advance)!  

 The girl loves to sing! 

 And the hand jive song was her favorite.  After it was over I saw her lean over to the boy next to her and say "I messed up 2 times."  HAHA! Too cute.  

But seriously Isla, stop getting older and bigger!    

All About RHETT

Rhett woke up on his 3rd birthday (December 29th) and asked WHERE his birthday was! This kid keeps me laughing, for sure.  He didn't start talking until 2 months ago and what do you know, his words came out in full sentences.  Not too long ago, out of the blue he said to me "mom, people like my hair."  Clearly, he has been "with us" much longer than we thought.  His red hair is fading but his cowlick still remains.  He wants to do everything Macrae does (including going to school).  He's a lefty and already has a pretty good arm on him!  (Brandon is so proud)  And although his diet is pretty well rounded with fruits and vegetables, he loves carbs and sugar! (Gannah is so proud)  Also, this boy will NOT do what he does not want to do.  He is very strong willed! (STUBBORN-his gannah is so proud!)

(oh, how i wish this photo was in focus)

 This boy loves bowling!  So for his birthday we went bowling with all his cousins...and he loved it! 

he was thrilled that it was HIS birthday this time.  whenever we celebrate someone else's birthday he has to take a turn at blowing out the candles.  so this time, the candles were all his and he was quite pleased.  

When he was born I thought for sure I would have another child.  Until he started moving.  And then I thought, he was my "sign" that I was done.  He is so busy!! He is getting a little less high maintenance but has no interest in potty training. 

SNOWMAGEDDON 2012

Did this "storm" really get dubbed Snowmageddon?  Yes, truly, it did.  I heard it on the news a few times and laughed to myself.  I mean, it's only 6-9 inches.  But whatever.  A true winter storm around the Pacific Northwest is a rarity.  So when the snow predictions started last Sunday, I was more than skeptical.  I thought it was bunk.  Steve Pool was assuring us that the storm was coming.  And it was going to be anywhere from 6-12 inches.  It started on Sunday with an inch or two and then melted but each day has been a little more snow...until today, we got dumped on.  And it is glorious!! Since our city has one lowly snow plow school, work and most activities are completely cancelled. Everyone just gets out and enjoys the snow.  It's like Christmas (without the presents!)

Rhettsy loved it from the moment he saw it and spends most of his time just digging and swimming in it. Jumping up and landing on his belly or backside and then doing the crawl stroke.  Good thing I got him this one-piece snowbunny suit because even though he's immersed in the snow he stays completely dry.

Snow ball fights...someone always ends up crying but they love it anyway.  

 After all of our snow was used up yesterday, we went to Gannah's to mess hers up!  She doesn't need it anyway.  Great idea, huh?

 And tonight...another adventure picking the icicles off of the light.  

On January and more than you ever wanted to know about what goes on inside my head

WARNING: this post is about to get a little crazy and a lot long.  read on if you dare.  move on when you bore.

The holidays around here were quite a blur.  I don't think I took more than a dozen photos.  I will post those later but seriously, we were so busy it just flew by!  

We made gingerbread houses, baked at my mom's, did a service scavenger hunt, a white elephant party, bowling, Rhett's birthday, family dinners where we each took turns cooking.  But the most important event was sneaking the Madsens back into the country to surprise my parents! We had planned a full week's worth of activities but no one really had their heart in any of it until the Madsens arrived on Christmas Adam (donned, "Christmas Madsen," this year). Honestly, it really wasn't Christmas until they arrived.   

I video'd my dad's reaction because my sister-in-law had her video on my mom. But if you can tell, my mom is crying.  And my dad has no words.  Both of these reactions are totally out of character for them.  My mom never cries, and my dad is NEVER short on words. 

Thoughts on January: I love the idea of a new start!!  Who doesn't love a clean slate?  When i was in college i loved the first week of school.  It was a Fresh START...the new syllabus with all the outlines of projects and the possibility of perfect scores on tests.  (what a nerd.)  i also loved a new notebook, calendar, and pens to keep track of all my soon-to-be accomplishments.  it was exciting!  but of course, life gets going, the semester moves forward and although you are learning, you never quite make the perfect A on every assignment or test (at least I didn't) and it is...deflating.  

My life no longer includes a syllabus and shiny new pens every semester.  However, January and September both offer new starts for me...in my mind.  I want to be and do all those things in my mental syllabus.  The closets to organize, the recipes to perfect, the weight to lose, the house to keep tidy, wardrobe to overhaul, the blog to keep up, the new hobby to nurture, the vacations to...well, vacation, the photos to take and the memories to keep.  And all the while, nurturing, loving, teaching, and enjoying the children.  It's a lot to do!  So much to do that I can never get it all done!  And even though there is no professor handing my "term paper" back with a red C+ on it, I still feel as though I'm not quite measuring up.  Ugh.

This is why I haven't been blogging.  It's just the one on the list that I had to let go for a while to decide where I wanted to be in my life.  I still don't know.  But I do know that I am going to blog more.  Last September I decided that my camera and I needed a little break from each other.  I felt too much pressure to try and capture the moments...so much so that I felt like I was really just missing all of it.  Being behind the camera sometimes feels like you aren't IN the fun.  I'm trying to learn a little balance with this.  So the blog may be less photos and more talk.  I hate my "voice" but well, it may be all I have on here at times.  

When January 1st came, I thought, okay, it's my new start.  I can start blogging today!  And I can begin all those projects that I never finished last year...what were those projects anyway?  And then the month started to move along.  And all of a sudden I realize, it's more than half over and I'm still sitting at the same spot I was 3 months ago!  I think I just got a B- on my first exam!  

Here I am, with my B- staring me in the face and feeling like it's time to raise my grade!  I'm going to get organized with my life.  Do I need a planner?  A gagillion sticky notes on my monitor?  A journal where I write down all of my dreams and plans?  I don't know.  I only know it's time to do something!!  If you are still reading, and you have an idea will you please email me???   I don't care if we don't know each other IRL, I need help here people!!  

All my life I played sports or worked out or both...so since having the two boys at such a close proximity, I haven't had the time to work out and it is definitely something that I have greatly missed in my life!!  A month ago, my sister Marion joined a bootcamp gym at BeFit Tacoma and asked me join with her because she wanted moral support.  I wanted to join but I wasn't sure how to fit it into my schedule.  I sort of thought I would go for a month and make it work and then be in great shape and be able to quit and just go back to running.  Seriously, the thought of that makes me laugh!  My body composition is in such bad shape that I need more like a YEAR before I will feel confident in exercising on my own!  It feels so good to finally get exercise back into my life!  My body is thanking me.  Actually my muscles are sore all the time but I know this is good.  The trainers are awesome! I couldn't recommend it highly enough!!  I can honestly say that this class, the trainers, the other people who go there, have changed my life.  I have more energy and happiness in my life and all I have to do is sacrifice 3-4 hours a week.  Totally worth it. 

And now I will leave you with a photo of my boy this morning watching the snow fall.