Easter Saturday

March 30, 2013

Easter weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year.  To me it means the beginning of spring, the beginning of something new, a fresh start.

We were so lucky to spend that Saturday celebrating with the Paltes, who were gracious enough to open their home to us, brand new baby and all, so our kids would have a place to enjoy Easter.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, sweet Paltes.  You guys are family to us.

We did crafts, ate lunch, played, and held Elizabeth.  It was perfect.

This cookie cake was almost as cute as Elizabeth.  No, we didn't make it, but we were darn good at eating it.

We're disgusting.

Can someone please tell me why I chose to give the kids the blue frosting side?

Blue frosting soaked into the kids' lips and fingers, and they were on one serious sugar high, so it was time for...the EASTER EGG HUNT!!!

So excited!

It was so fun watching four kids hunt for all those eggs.

As usual, the Easter egg hunt was over in a flash, and then the kids got busy opening their eggs to see what treats were hidden inside.

Then everyone was all smiles as we finished our day off with lots of silly playing.

There were casualties along the way, but not to worry, Emily took care of her sister's boo boo.

Sweetest sisters ever.

Elizabeth loved the festivities.

Chris got a burst of energy and decided to throw the kids around the yard.

Addison pleaded with Mark to make her fly.

She won.

Easter egg hunt carnage.

Happy spring!

An Evening Playground Romp

Some evenings a quick run to a playground is necessary to shake off the stuck-in-the-apartment-blues, so we decided to go to our old neighborhood park.  It was the first time we had returned there since we moved away, and I was flooded with baby Dale memories.

When Dale was a newborn, we spent a lot of time at this park.  We jogged, (yes I used to jog), we watched the geese and pelicans, and we daydreamed about the day Dale would run and play there.  It was such a strange overwhelming feeling to be back again.  And this time Dale ran all over the playground, touching everything, playing with as much as he could as fast as he could.  Even better?  He now has a sister.  I smiled widely as I watched my two little ones explore.

Rose spent most of her time inside her "house" playing with her invisible baby.  She kept hugging and kissing it as she cooked it dinner and made its bed.

It's good to be back.

Mini Birthday Celebration

With all our going back and forth between Kansas and Colorado, we missed Emily and Addison's second birthday.  So once we returned to Colorado, we had our own mini celebration for the girls.  Dale and Rose also couldn't wait any longer to meet baby Elizabeth.  Of course before you can have any kind of party, you have to play furiously with every toy in the vicinity.

Play!  Play!  Play!

Then sweet little Dale requested to hold Elizabeth.  There is something so completely wonderful about a child holding a child.  Such beauty and innocence.  And Dale did an amazing job.  He was gentle and loving, and he told me he wanted one of his very own.

My heart completely melted.

Then it was party time!  Whoop whoop!

Elizabeth could barely contain her excitement at the party.

We opened presents, played with stickers, acted silly and made cookies.  It was like toddler heaven.

Little Artists

Both kids have been creating great masterpieces.  Here's a few good ones:

"Magic shooting gun rocket" by Dale.

"Dragon" by Rose.

Elizabeth Grace

We've been busy.
And here's why...

Welcome Elizabeth Grace.  We cannot even express how happy and excited we were to be among the first people to meet, hold, and love on this precious baby girl.  So as you can see, this mama blogger has been super busy staring at her best friend's new sweetie pie.  (And taking a million pictures of course.)  Don't worry, the Rice kids have been busy playing away, and I'll be back soon to show you what they've been up to.

P.S.  Yes, Elizabeth Grace is pure peace and perfection.

P.P.S.  If you're interested in seeing my bestie, her kiddos, and occasionally mine, go HERE.

P.P.P.S.  Yes, I'm available to hire.  (wink, wink)

Snowy With No Chance of Meatballs

March 23, 2013

Dear Snow,

Look, I know I've always told you how pretty you are and how much fun you can be to play in, but enough is enough.  I'm kind of over you now.  You make my legs turn red and my nose run, and although I enjoy a good shovel workout from time to time, I'm done for a while.  So could you please retreat to the mountains where you belong?  I promise we'll come visit you soon enough.

Love, Wendy  xoxo

It was downright frigid this day, but Daddy insisted we go play in the snow, because he is out of his mind.  There can be no other reason.

Daddy searched the town high and low for a sled but came up empty handed, so he bought a new inner tube to ride on instead.  Dale was so excited to see it come to life.

We gave it a good shot, but the hills weren't quite steep enough, and the wind was shockingly cold, so we headed back home where all the sane people were sitting on their couches under blankets.

In one last attempt to keep us all in the cold, Daddy gave us his best snow angel.

The kids were dumbfounded as to why their Daddy was lying in the snow.

Dale went ahead and did his own snow angel.

Rose, however, would have none of it.  She's one smart girl.

Waiting For Daddy

The weather has been so snowy lately, that I had to plan our next drive to Colorado to fall in between snowstorms.  We made it safely into town, even though Daddy was in a whole different state.  What to do?  Color, of course!

Dale's pictures are becoming quite odd.  They are very machine-like and every line has a purpose.  He is in a sense building his drawings, if that makes sense.

Can you find the "kiss" on the page?

This picture depicts space in the sky with some sort of machine coming down out of it.  The white creature on the bottom right is a friendly ghost.  I snapped these photos before Dale was done drawing, but in the bottom left corner of the picture appeared a green "bad" ghost.  If you ask Dale what the center machine part is he will tell you it is "a secret."  Lots of pictures are secrets nowadays.

Notice Rose playing with her figurines in the background.

Since Daddy wasn't around to play with, Rose played with all his stuff instead.  She really liked his KU hat and knew she looked super cute in it.