Hippity Hoppity

Easter was a lot of fun this year! I always stress about hard-boiling our eggs. It seems every Easter I spend an hour looking up tutorials on how to boil eggs. Do I put the eggs in and then boil? Do I add salt. Do I let them cool in a pan or immediately put them into ice water?
Well this year I found a pin on Pinterest about baking eggs. I tried it and they turned out PERFECT! I was so confident in how nicely the eggs cooked that I made my first potato salad.
The other eggs we dyed!

Sunday we woke up and hunted for eggs around the living room.
The girls found their easter presents and loved their new camp chairs!

We also found that our house had been "Egg-ed!"
Then we quickly got dressed in our fancy Easter clothes.



After church we headed up to my sister's house for an Easter/Birthday Dinner for my mom. After dinner we let the kids loose :)


After all the eggs have been found we played our traditional family easter game "It's Easter No Stopping." Think Red Rover but with hopping, clothes-lining, strategizing, and lots of smiles!


Then it was a bunny sac race.

Ever since we found out we were having a baby BOY it has seems like Tessa has been drawn to little boys everywhere she goes. After watching Cade and Jedd just sit on this toy she decided to go and pull them around :)
We are so lucky to have aunts, uncles, and cousins nearby to make memories with!

Though Miles May Lie Between Us

Though miles may lie between us
we are never far apart.
For friendship doesn't count the miles
it is measured by the heart!

For a while now I and my former Ricks College roommates have been trying to plan a get together. After lots of dreaming we finally nailed down a location and a date...specifically Bear Lake during Spring Break.
Sadly not everyone could come. There were other obligations and newborn babies but I did manage to persuade three to drive from other states for three days of fun.
Here are the travelers from L-R...Kari, Sophie, and Ranie.


Ranie had promised her daughter that when she was eight she would take her to conference and coincidentally we all had 7-8 year old girls so we decided to make it a mother/daughter weekend or as her Gracie Belle told her friends "Mother/Daughter Girls Camp!"

Here we are with the daughters...Ana, Ashlyn, my Kylie, and Gracie Belle.
*Not sure what kind of face Kylie is making in this picture....apparently this is her "serious face"
and this is her "crazy!"
Sophie also brought her sweet niece Hailey. Can I just say everyone should have a 12 year old to keep an eye on things and keep the peace. The girls were instant friends; playing games, making crafts, and walking hand in hand.

They made a clubhouse out of the trees that back the ditch bank and decided they needed a mascot...based on a stuffed animal of Kylie's....the Running Rabbits.
They came up with an oath or as they call it "a solemnly swear." Ana explained "slolemly swear" means you "really, really swear."

The oath was written on a board and read each time they entered: "The Running Rabbits solemnly swear to never spy or lie or tell about our club. GO RABBITS!"
Then they each signed the members board.And of course they did a little decorating.
The moms caught up, chatted, and talked. It wasn't the greatest weather and it is a little dead at Bear Lake in April, but we did go to the park, and took a walk down to the lake.


And got some ice cream!

It was a great weekend and I can't wait to do it next year with everyone who couldn't make it :)

No FoOLiN'

Just wasn't feelin' up to foolin' this year. Maybe because it was on a Sunday, but more probably because of the small human growing inside me that is draining me of all my energy.
But luckily my kids have the best grandma ever!
She planned, prepared, and pulled off a great April Fools Brinner (Breakfast -Dinner). The kids came dressed in their pajamas and were treated to a breakfast feast with the craziest dinnerware, drinking vessels, and utensils.

Some of the kids gave in and requested a fork but Tessa was a die hard with her tongs!

And Kylie didn't do too shabby with her spatula either!

Of course we ended with banana splits and a fashion show...not because it was April Fools but because that's what we always do at grandmas!

How To...

Make a Leprechaun Trap.
Tip #1: Leprechaun traps are best created and set LONG after St. Patrick's Day....you know when the leprechauns least suspect it.
Tip #2: Contrary to popular belief leprechauns are not attracted to gold, rainbows, shamrocks, or the color green. They DO in fact prefer drawings, fabric flowers, tulle, and Wal-mart fruit snacks.


Tip#3:Bait should include colored pencils, more fruit snacks, and drumsticks.


Tip #4: Four year olds are the best constructors of leprechaun traps.

Dino-Mite!

Kylie had a day off of preschool and it just happen to coincide with when my sister-in-law Karissa and our cousins Jacob and Landon were in town from Iowa.
It was a beautiful day so we headed up to Ogden to Dinosaur Park.


The kids loved seeing all the prehistoric animals,measuring our footprints against theirs,
checking their teeth,
and testing our strength against theirs!

We rode the dinosaurs,
dug up their bones,
and even became dangerous creatures ourselves!
We needed some swing time after that...hey, even paleontologists have to take a break sometimes!

And before we left we had to take a picture in front of Mallory's favorite dinosaur...the Volcanoe :)

Rodent Bones and Butt Crystals

Don't you just love the blogpost title...great name for a rock band don't you think?
Well this post isn't about hard rock at all...it's about those times when your kids tell you something DEVASTATING and you have to try hard not to laugh.
It happened the other day when I picked Kylie up from school. I asked her the usual, "How was school today?" She replied, "GREAT!" and proceeded to tell me how one of her classmate's dad had came and they got to find bones in scat.
Well I taught in the public school system and so I knew exactly what she was talking about. Apparently it is super cool to let 2nd graders dissect owl poop (scat) to find the bones of rodents they have eaten. She showed me a little baggie of grossness but I really didn't look too hard because I was disgusted...I mean driving.
Then she went on to tell me how they "made crystals." Wasn't sure if they made, them found them or what. I didn't have time to inquire into the crystal mystery because Kylie went on to tell me that a boy in her class said one of her crystals looked like a "butt."
I told her boys are gross and they just like to say inappropriate things. She said she thought the crystal looked like two eyes but then the rest of her classmates confirmed that her crystal looked like a derriere.
Well that was the end of the story as we headed into a store to run errands.
Later that night, after Kylie was in bed, I saw that both the bones and the crystal bags were laying on the table. I went over myself to inspect. The rodent bones were in fact disgusting...if you look close you can see a little jaw bone with teeth...gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Then I found myself laughing because in rummaging through the bag of crystals I found the above-mentioned crystal...
AND it does indeed look like a BUTT!
BUTT don't tell Kylie :)

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Dear Winter,
We appreciate what you have to offer in the way of snowmobiles rides and sledding, but recently we have been approached by Spring with her weather perfect for scooter riding, popsicles, and park play.
We'd like you to leave now.
Sincerely,
The Nelson Girls
p.s. It's you not us!