Easter Fun

Do you remember what you did for Easter this year?

Well I sure do, because I took roughly 1,000 photos that weekend to capture every moment of the blessed holiday.

 And the more photos I take, the less likely it is that I will be able to timely blog about a subject.

 Whoopsies.

 The day before Easter we went to an Easter Egg hunt at the local botanic garden.

Orelia very eagerly sought out the hidden eggs that were filled with stickers, erasers, and other things that parents are disappointed they can't snack on.

Bennett missed the egg hunt photo op with our friends.

 But he soon came running once he spent a full hour in the petting zoo.

 It was nice for Orelia to have a refresher course on egg hunting before the main event.

This guy, however, missed out on practicing since he was too busy petting bunnies and chickens to bother finding any eggs.

 The Easter Bunny hid some Star Wars eggs this year, which delighted Daddy.

Orelia's practice paid off, and she was a pro at egg hunting.

 It was a bit damp and chilly that morning, so Orelia donned her rain boots and white gloves for the occasion.

 Seeing her cheerful face after every spotted egg made for a wonderful morning.

 Bennett was quite sweet about finding his half of the eggs, as well, and his big sister did a great job helping him.

 Bennett was quite keen on the whole concept once he tasted the goodies inside.

 Orelia decided she didn't like Reese's peanut butter cups, so she mostly ignored the chocolate part of the morning.  Her loss.

 Before nap, Orelia and I dyed almost two dozen eggs.  I say almost, as we lost quite a few to cracking in the pot.  Apparently hard boiling eggs once a year does not keep a person well trained for the task.

 Orelia was beyond enthusiastic to play the egg cracking game with the family.

When it comes to bopping eggs together, Orelia is your girl.

 Due to a miracle, she ended up winning the game with the last egg she chose.  That's the face of a happy winner.  (I don't want to imagine what her face would have looked like otherwise.)

We ended the evening with Easter-shaped lollipops that the Easter Bunny was unable to fit into the eggs this year.  Hopefully we will have just as nice of a holiday next year, except perhaps the Easter Bunny will improve her hard boiling technique and lollipop purchasing skills.

4th of July

 We were lucky enough to be invited to a family-focused 4th of July party this year, and we all enjoyed celebrating our wonderful country with some quintessential Americana.

Orelia doesn't understand the sliding part of a Slip-n-slide quite yet, but the water was still fun.

Orelia hardly considers a celebration worth talking about unless her friends are there, and she was lucky enough to have lots of people there to play with.  Don't let this photo fool you, they had a blast together.

After peanut butter and Oreo pie (made by me and Orelia), a second dessert of popsicles was served.

Bennett spent almost the entire party playing with trucks in a sandbox, though he occasionally surfaced to drive a pretend truck with the steering wheel.

This is one happy kid who enjoyed watermelon, hot dogs, and popsicles all evening long.

We are blessed in so many ways, the least of which is that we were lucky enough to be born into this great country.  Where else can you get heart flag sunglasses to celebrate Independence Day?

Side By Side

 There used to be a time in our family when "together" just meant brother was brought along to where sister was.

 He would be held while we read her a fairy tale.

 He would be in a stroller while we walked to Starbucks for a hot chocolate.

 He would be fed purees while big sister ate dinner.

 But now their brother and sister life sees them spending so much time literally side by side.

 It wasn't until Spring that they were truly interested in the same activities, and it first it seemed so novel.

Now I take for granted how much time they enjoy spending together.

They love painting the sidewalk together (sidewalk chalk paint is amazing).

They also love doing chalk together.

Play doh is a big hit.

Bennett loves when Orelia blows him bubbles.

Honestly, one of my favorite times of day is when they say goodnight to one another with a sweet kiss and hug.

There are fights and screaming, but mostly they enjoy living life side by side.

Gymnastics Goddess

As one of my friends describes it, Orelia likes to dress "in character" at all times.

Gymnastics class is most certainly attended in a leotard.

And if one is wearing a leotard, then one must also put on a skirt (keep in mind she has no idea how gymnastics actually dress).

She absolutely loves her gymnastics class every week, and I am so happy to see her eager smiles on the way to class and her elated smiles after class.  I don't have visions of vaults and floor routines dancing in my head or anything, but I am happy she enjoys swinging on the rings and dangling off high bars.

The Fun One

On a very rare occasion, I get to be "the fun one."

The other night, the winds must have shifted, and the fates aligned.  Somehow it was my turn to be the fun one for the night.  (Keep in mind the kids are always fun, it's just that usually one parent watches while the other one creates orderly chaos.)

 Orelia and I chased each other all over the backyard and were somehow fighting over dead flowers and John was providing Orelia with off-color nicknames to call me.

Orelia especially liked not understanding the off-color names, but knowing I didn't care for them much.

Bennett happily enjoyed some pushes on the swing from Daddy, while I waged war as an evil queen against a good princess.

Daddy is unquestionable better at games of chase and superhero fighting, but it was good for Orelia and I to both see that Mommy has some superhero powers too.

A Visit from the Tickle Bug

 A couple of months ago, we were blessed with a visit from my Aunt Ginny.

 Orelia hasn't seen her since she was a year and a half old, but they became fast friends.

Aunt Ginny (or Aunt Gigi to Orelia) has a special way with kids, and Orelia and Bennett immediately took to her.

Orelia especially loved the "tickle bug" and having Ginny read her stories in the special tone only an educator has.  Ginny could even make the insipid Barbie book from the library seem interesting (though she did ask that we hide it, so Barbie didn't make any more appearances this visit).

 My mom and her sister spoiled these kids with lots of love and affection, and life hasn't been the same around here since they left.

 Ginny has a special Caesar salad recipe in her family, and we were lucky to have her make it for us twice.

Orelia and Bennett technically helped make the salad once too, but it may have been heavy on the crouton eating compared to the helping.

Thanks for the amazing visit, Ginny, and we can't wait to see you again soon!  xoxo