I Don't Know

Once in awhile there are these amazing moments (like now) when Carson and Tana are playing TOGETHER in harmony upstairs for 1-2 hours. If, during this time, Hallie happens to be asleep (such as now) I don't really know what to do with myself! I am afraid to go up and see what they are actually doing, for fear that I will throw off their groove. Usually, I know I am facing 2 hours of playroom cleanup for my peaceful moments, and I feel it is worth it. But today, the playroom was already a disaster from our picnic on Friday. (No, I don't clean, nor make the kids clean with my assistance as often as I wish!)

Here's a picture of Hallie on my desk where I can find her several times a day if I forget to close the office door. This is how my favorite mug was broken.

Tired Hallie

Hallie will plop down anywhere with her blankie. Usually when she is tired and grumpy, I try to distract her from where I am doing something (usually the kitchen) for as many minutes as I can get before she comes trudging back to me to throw her arms around my legs and her head between them. The distraction always involves the blankie, because it will assist in keeping her content for longer. Here, I placed her on the zebra, with blankie in tow, and she apparently had no energy to ride.

Teddy Bear Picnic

It's been a boring week here for us following a spring break of snow machining with cousins, running around with dad and irregular schedules. The kids and I have spring fever something fierce. I found myself longing to get out of the house today, but with no where to go! It's getting warm enough to play outside, but there is still snow on the ground and Hallie is not stable enough on it to roam free.

The kids decided to set up a picnic upstairs and this is the scene I came upon. They left out no detail. Baby Alive even wore sunscreen. I love my kids' imaginations!

Decorating Eggs

The kids decorated Easter eggs with their cousins Braxton, Maddie, and Amanda. Aunt Mary, Aunt Kristen, and myself decorated our share of eggs as well. Tell me if you think this is crazy: over 108 eggs were boiled and decorated. I only wanted a dozen - I have no idea what they are going to do with all of those boiled eggs!

Easter Morning

On Easter morning, the kids found that the Easter Bunny had left tracks while munching the carrot they left for him. He also hid their baskets full of goodies and the eggs we decorated, along with some plastic eggs filled with candy. Hallie woke a little later than the other two, so she missed out of most of the action. We managed to make it to the early service at church only 7 minutes late.

Outdoor Egg Hunt in Alaska

Out at Fischer's we had a great dinner and the kids enjoyed (I think) hunting eggs outside with cousins Braxton, Madison, and Amanda (Steve's kids up from MO). Carson and Montana love having cousins! They just wish we had some that lived near us all the time! After our time at Fischer's, we stopped to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Howard. On the way home from there, Carson proceeded to throw up all over the back of my new (relatively) car and me! I was up late cleaning all that up. Lovely. Matt, of course, can't stomach the smell. Carson, of course, wants nothing to do with his Easter candy today!

Look-Alike Doos

Hallie and Grandpa bear amazing resemblance to one another here! Both spontaneous, unedited, on different occasions!