Easter Outfits

I think it's an established fact that my kids are punks when it comes to taking pictures.  Despite their extreme cuteness, Easter morning was no different.

Tess had the cutest Easter dress ever; plus, it has a history.  A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Gigi and Margot and I (and maybe someone else... I can't remember now) went outlet shopping in Edinburgh.  Gigi bought this dress for her (then baby) daughter, Bergen.  We all coveted the dress, but I couldn't bring myself to buy one since I didn't have a girl yet.  Unfortunately, Bergen never got to wear the dress, so Gigi kindly gave it to me! 

Since it was all white I made some flowers to make it more Eastery. I think I kinda went overboard with the big one, but I was too lazy to make it smaller.  I thought Tess would love it.

She did not.

Actually, I think she was just grouchy because she's still teething.  The stinker would not give me a smile!

That's kind of a smile.  The kind of smile that say "I would bite you if you were closer..."

Happy and quiet - at last!

Cole was an even bigger punk.  He wouldn't put the stupid phone down so I could take a picture.  And if we took it away he would tantrum, so this was the lesser of two evils.

Josh was the biggest punk.  I had to threaten him into wearing the bow tie, and then he decided he would only have his picture taken with an Easter bag on his head.

But then he redeemed himself with these cute pictures.

Doesn't he look like a young Dr. Who?  (Bow ties are cool.)

Spencer behaved himself, but I couldn't get him to smile naturally.

Then I tried to get a picture of all four together, and all at least looking at the camera at the same time.  (I knew it was too much to ask to get them to all smile at the same time.)  This proved to be futile.

Very futile.

Seriously, Josh?

Whatever.

These aren't the best pictures of my children, but at least they are very true to life!

Easter

For whatever reason I never seem to get very good pictures of Easter morning.  Probably because my subjects rarely stand still.

Except for furniture.  My furniture tends to stay still.  Here's where the Easter Bunny left the Easter Bags. Among sundry items, Spencer and Josh got Star Wars sticker books (excellent for church, by the way), Cole got bubble bath and a bucket thing that won't allow bubble solution to be spilled, and Tess got enough onesies to last her through the summer.

As the boys ran around like crazy lunatics looking for eggs, Tess watched with interest.  I kept telling her that if she could crawl she could join in the fun, but she didn't seem to care.

Cole figured out the hunting for eggs this year.  He also figured out the incentive - the candy inside.  And he had fun in finding around a dozen eggs upstairs, but got bored downstairs and decided to play Wii.  Punk.

Shirtless Josh thought the Easter Bunny particularly hilarious because he hid eggs in the stuffed dragon's mouth, under the stuffed rats, and under the stuffed chicken.  That bunny sure is clever!

Instead of chocolate bunnies, the boys got gummy Spongebob Crabby Patties in their Easter loot.

Josh didn't want his picture taken, so he closed his eyes.  Effective.  Spencer decided to have some fun with bunny ears.  Appropriate.

Tess enjoyed chewing on the empty eggs.

That afternoon our good friends the Wallins and the Wilsons invited us over for a big group egg hunt.  After a yummy lunch we got the kids all lined up and ready for some egg hunting!  (Please note the camera strap in the picture.  I am nothing if not a professional!)

Once again, Josh didn't want his picture taken, so he tried hiding behind Tess.  Punk.

Tess enjoying the one egg we helped her find.  (We're not big fans of 11 month olds full of Easter candy.  We're pretty mean like that.)

I'm not sure why Josh looks so upset here - probably because I'm taking his picture.  He was pretty excited earlier because he had found a golden egg!

More good egg hunting.

We were all pretty tired after the hunt, but a good kind of tired.  It was a great Easter!

Thank You, Pinterest!

The other day on Pinterest I found an awesome activity for toddlers: spread a layer of baking soda in a baking dish.  Put some food coloring in a couple of cups of vinegar.  Add a dropper.

Viola!  Instant fizzy fun!

The child played for over and hour and didn't even make that big of a mess.  Miracle.  By the end he poured the rest of the vinegar into the pan, making a rather large and very satisfying fizz. 

We will definitely be doing this again!

Rice Crispie Treat DEATH MATCH Trial Recipe: Cadbury Mini Eggs

Look what I had in the kitchen today:

Oh merciful heavens.  Lance I luuuurrrrvveee Cadbury Mini Eggs.  They are so divine.  The extra-crispy shell and the yummy chocolate put them above even peanut M&Ms, and those are my all-time favorites.  (Or maybe it's peanut butter M&Ms.  No - wait - coconut M&Ms.  Okay, I love all M&Ms. All the time.)

I decided to make the ultimate sacrifice and use these in my next rice crispies DEATH MATCH recipe.   I chopped up the mini eggs, adding half to the rice crispies and saving the other half for the top.

I had to wait for them to cool.  Then I had to wait for Josh and all his friends to finish lunch.  (Because no way was I sharing this goodness with a bunch of little kids who wouldn't appreciate them the way I would!)

Finally!

Verdict?  Pretty dang tasty, my friends.  Pretty dang tasty.  The shells add an extra-pleasing crunch, and the chocolate is slightly melted and thus extra yummy.  But are they worthy of ETERNAL FAME AND GLORY?

Maybe.  The problem is, while they're really good, I don't know if they're special or interesting enough.  Plus, I'd have to buy several bags of the mini eggs and stash them until the reunion; would the stash actually last that long?  Doubtful.

On to the next recipe!

It's Hard to Find Good Help

Tess likes to help empty the dishwasher.  Pantsless. 

She also likes to make sure each item is spotless and clean.  By putting it into her mouth.

Dinner, anyone?

Tess Plays "Outside"

Tess is still not a big fan of sitting on grass.  Or dirt.  Or concrete.

But she is a HUGE fan on sitting in the screened-in porch and watching all the kids run around the back yard.

 

Having a few toys to play with sweetens the deal.

Just look at those chompers!

I'm only too happy to let her play 'outside' as much as she likes!

Conference Flowers

This weekend was General Conference, which I love.  It's always such an uplifting weekend.  (I was going to say peaceful, but with four wild kids at home?  Nope.)

During conference I like to keep my hands busy.  That way I don't fall asleep.  Not the talks aren't awesome and inspiring!  But you know how it is - you sit down and start to listen and you feel so calm and the voices are soothing and the next thing you know you've dozed off for 45 minutes.  Oops. 

In-between feeding and entertaining children I made some felt and fabric flowers.  Tess and I are going to wear some of them for Easter next week - I just haven't decided which yet.  Would it be too cutesy if we wore the same flowers?  Hmm... something to ponder.

Oh - I also made bow ties for the boys.  Aren't they awesome? Every little boy needs a polka dot bow tie at some point in his life. Lance is totally jealous I didn't make him one.  (Actually, I asked Lance if he would like me to make him a bow tie or neck tie.  Would he wear it if I did?  No.  No he would not.  Spoiled sport.)

Anywho, what do you think?  Any orders? (Too bad - the next session of conference isn't for 6 months.)