Easter Weekend

The week before Easter was a tough one.  It rained for most of the week and then I had a really tough day with the boys on Friday.  It seemed as though nothing was going our way and I just needed a break.  So when there’s nothing else to do we resorted to throwing the boys in the tub with the finger paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It started fantastic. The boys were having fun. Then….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…things started to get a bit slippery.  Finger paint turned into belly paint…face paint….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

….and brother paint.  I think you get the idea.  The fun all ended with a very colorful bath.

 

Moving onto Saturday…

On Saturday morning, we went over to Shoepfle Gardens and did an easter egg scramble and took a nice walk around the park.

 

  The way it works is no matter how many eggs you have in  your basket, you turn them in for a goodie bag. Then there are 3 eggs with a golden coin for which you get a special prize.  Joey was happy with his 3 eggs and to watch the madness.

 

 

Peter was all in – scrambling around picking up every egg he saw. Do you see him in the crowd?

 

On our walk I must have taken 30 pictures of the boys together and this is the only one where their faces are both up. It will have to do.

For those who are wondering what Joey likes to do – I have one single answer – play hockey. Everywhere we go he seeks out a stick and a ball. Today it was a stick and a rock. About every 20 steps he would set down the rock swat it around and bit and then pick it up.  Yesterday in the kitchen it was a strainer and an onion.  Uncle Dave must have really taught him some tricks he thinks he needs to practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After nap, Daddy and Joey took advantage of the warm afternoon and put together his birthday present (Thanks Landis’ – we love it!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The table was filled with water and then the boys took a ride to the beach to fill their buckets with sand. Yes, that is shear terror in Joey’s eyes.  Peter is actually a rather good driver of the gator, but try to tell Joey that. We figure it’s only a matter of time before Joey gets it and jumps in for a ride by himself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last but not least….Sunday

Not a whole lot happened around here yesterday.  It was an overcast day so we stayed inside and watched a lot of hockey.  We all opened our easter baskets from the grandma bunny and took long (much needed) naps.  The picture of Joey is blurry because he is doing his happy dance, which involves a lot of stomping and arm flapping.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for the long post. I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Now I have to stop procrastinating and get some work done. Happy Easter to everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shoe Snap

If your child is anything like mine once you get to any location you ‘make yourself at home’. This usually entails discarding your shoes (and sometimes socks) at an undisclosed location to mom and then running free and wild. (Most of the time we’re happy he keeps his pants on.)

Anyway, the other situation in which we have often found ourselves is taking a walk on the beach and entering at one location and exiting at another wishing we had not decided to leave our shoes at the entrance. Hmmm…what to do.

So after much pondering this is what I have come up with.

I call it a ‘Flip Clip’ (but am not settled on that name yet).

 

 

It’s a decorated clip that can be placed on a waistband, bag, or whatever you might have. You simply undo the snap and wind it around whatever might be flying through the air at the moment and snap it back together. Then clip it on and off you go.

I would love to test it on family and friends to see if my idea has any traction. If you’re interested in trying one out let me know and I’ll send one your way. Who knows maybe you’ll see me on QVC someday Or maybe just on the beach not holding 3 pairs of shoes while the boys throw rocks in the water – that would be good too!

200% Boy

After a rough day yesterday, the sun came out today and the boys found the one mud puddle in the front yard.  Sometimes you just have to let it happen and clean up the mess. They were so happy. Sticks rocks and mud. 

A visit to Grandma’s

This past weekend we traveled north to Manchester, MI to visit the Cencer family and celebrate the engagement of Tim and Sarah (sorry for the lack of pictures of the two of them!). We got to see Dave and Anna and also Uncle Tim and Aunt Nancy as well.

 We hadn’t seen Dave and Anna in so long that they brought presents for the boys! Sunday had to make sure they were puppy approved. Joey enjoys dumping out all the blocks and filling the wagon up again. I think this will be a perfect outside wagon once the weather gets better. I’m sure it will be full of sticks and rocks in no time.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday afternoon, Joey woke up from his nap before Peter so we brought him upstairs. Well, it didn’t take him long to casually creep over to a present he saw standing against the tv stand. He slowly carried it over to daddy on the couch and very sheepishly began opening it up. We all just watched and smiled during the whole process. He must have spotted it earlier and waited for the right moment to make the attack.

 

 

 

 

 

 He then spent the next 20 minutes enjoying Peter free play with his new Noah’s ark boat. For those of you who know Joey, you wouldn’t be surprised when every animal roared (including the turtle).

 

 

On Sunday afternoon, we quickly squeezed in some easter

egg decorating before Dave and Anna headed home.

“You see uncle dave, you have to scoop it up just right.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                       “ I got this one Grandpa – you like blue egg salad right?”

 

Mommy made little scuba eggs.

Spring time

Oh spring time you are teasing us with warm days only to turn cold again. Please send the warm wind and sun so we can all play outside!
This weekend was fantastic! It all started on Saturday when the boys helped daddy build new shelves for the play room. Maybe a few less toys will be scattered around the house now (I doubt it, but if I don’t have hope I have nothing).

We also were blessed to have some great friends share their fire pit with us. Peter insisted on giving it a try. Now we just need some chairs and not so much wind…

And what would a warm day be without a visit to the beach.

 

 You feel that belly – that’s sunshine and fresh air!







Peter quickly returned to his ritual of throwing rocks into the water.





Peter made sure his brother got in a few throws too.








Rock hunting

Catching up

Here is the promised bike riding video….

And Joey…


Out for a cruise                                                    Of course everything needs a good taste.


One of Joey’s favorite activities is sucking on open markers his brother leaves lying around. This was a particularly smurfy moment.











Helping with the dishes




  Strapped in for my first hair cut.










My first peanut butter jelly…..

            ……and my first red onion. huh?

I love the Mountains….

I’m not so sure where Peter is getting the music in his head because I’m with him all day. So after dinner tonight when he went into the kitchen and started singing ‘boom deada boom deada’ I had to wonder a little. I checked the computer and we don’t have the song – so I downloaded it and sure enough he piped right in.