Eastery Stuff 2012

This year was a little more involved than usual for Easter, at least for Amanda and Jared. It all started when we found out about three separate Easter events within reasonable distance of each other with staggered starting times. First stop, the grocery store. We were given doughnut holes when we walked in, to sustain us until the big candy grab. Both Jared and Amanda got quite enough in their bags to keep everyone well sugared for a long time. Then there was a place to decorate cookies, as you can see here. And yes, Amanda got a hair cut in early April. With a third girl on the way, Mom decided it was time to get the female hair situation under control, and Amanda decided the chop was better than the pain of detangling.

The next event was at a martial arts studio. Here's Amanda holding "front position" while receiving egg hunt instruction. Jared wasn't quite sure what to think about it at first.

However, he was VERY excited to have a "master" helping him find eggs.

After the egg hunt, there were more surprises inside, like these special guests of Kung Fu Panda fame:

There was also a coloring contest. Here's Amanda's picture partially done. She ended up winning second place for her age group, with the prize being two free weeks of karate lessons. She approved, to say the least, especially since she has wanted to study martial arts for some time now.

The last stop was the official city egg hunt. There were a variety of activities going to keep people busy until the actual hunt, such as a little petting zoo of baby animals. There were chicks and ducks:

We also found an enthusiastic baby goat, who stood to greet Amanda.

Jared was excited to try out an obstacle course bouncy house. Here he is waiting for his turn to go through.

 

Here are the kids nearing the end of the course.

The bouncy course was fun, but not fun enough to wait in line for again. So, we wandered around the crowded park, checking out fire engines, climbing decorative rocks, and generally waiting for the hunt. About five minutes before, the eggs were scattered. After that, at the appointed time, each child was allowed to grab five eggs. For Jared, it was easy. For Amanda, not so much; lots of grabby kids in her age division apparently. However, it all worked out in the end, considering how much candy they'd already gotten that morning.

And all of that was just on Easter Saturday! Easter morning we enjoyed our traditional egg coloring session. And, of course, we munched on all that candy Jared and Amanda collected the day before. We didn't get pictures, but Dad and Amanda also did some sculpting with salt water taffy, one of the main components of the previous day's haul.

We have yet to do official Easter outfits (although Mom is seriously starting to scheme, what with a third girl coming and all), but we did try to get Lydia and Amanda nicely prettied for the day with what we had on hand. Here's Lydia:

And here's Amanda:

It always snows here in April

As March (and even February) began boasting a few warm spring-like days, someone asked Mom if she thought it was finally spring. Mom, remembering the weather from her previous time in the area, said, "No, it always snows in April here." And yes, Mom felt very sure of herself saying it, so much so that she spent most of February and March informing the Muffins that snow was definitely coming in April. As March ended, though, Mom began to worry a little. What if it didn't snow in April after all? What would happen to Mom's reputation with the Muffins (and to her non existent meteorological career)? But, the weather came through. One day, it was a nice day to be at the park.

The next day, it looked like this:

Hard to believe that only a week or so ago that same tree was white with "popcorn" blossoms (as befits an apricot tree). So thank you, weather. Mom has been vindicated.

March 2012

One of our earliest bits of excitement this month was the morning we saw hot air balloons out the window.
We also got a little bit of snow, and Curtis and Lydia had fun walking in it.
However, the snow didn't last long. For the most part, it's been warm and sunny, like on this day at the park.
Jared pushed Curtis on the swing . . .
. . . and Curtis returned the favor for another child later.
The very next day, however, on the other side of the mountains, Mom got this shot of a place where the snow is still hanging on. Mom got to go to an overnight party here with other moms.
Mom spent a fair amount of time in the basement this month, checking out our "dead" computer collection. She successfully repaired a DVD drive, and she also got this laptop motherboard to run a bit, outside of its case.
A very big little event for the month: pigtails for Lydia!
You may have noticed that Lydia is pretty much always walking in pictures these days. She sure gets a lot of use out of those feet. So, we were glad to see this month that the new muffin in progress has feet, too, like this little foot:
Here's a profile picture of the new baby, a girl:
In other news, Amanda passed level 2 swimming and is looking forward to starting level 3 next month. Also, our summer plans are taking shape, which should make for some more actual news in a couple of months.

February 2012, for the most part

Our first big event for the year was snow. We haven't had any big snows, but the kids have very much enjoyed the little snows while they've lasted, especially Curtis. Favorite activities: sculpting things, making tracks, and eating snow (whether Mom says it's okay or not). And if there's not enough snow on the ground for eating, they scrape it off the cars. Amanda made a snowman during one of the snows, which alas is only preserved in memory. However, we did manage to get a picture of her trying to make a snow angel. Is this really the same kid who complained about snow back when she had to walk through it to and from school last year? Now she waits for snow eagerly and wants to store snowballs in the freezer.






Our next big news: Lydia is a biped! She stands, she walks, she's starting to dance, and any day now it seems that she's going to take off running. She especially likes being able to play more with her older siblings now. "Ring around the rosy" works so much better when you can actually be up before you fall down.



February was a big month for Amanda because she had a birthday and Grandmother came to visit for the occasion. Grandma and Grandpa had us over for a very fancy birthday dinner a couple of days before the actual birthday, but alas, our pictures of that are on someone else's camera. The actual birthday dinner of pizza was significantly less fancy, but the kids liked it all right anyway, despite the expressions the instant this photo was taken.
Mom took Amanda swimming the evening of the birthday, which meant that the other Muffins were in bed when Amanda got around to blowing out her candles (all seven of them). We went past the hospital where Amanda was born on the way to the pool. How times have changed since then! Since her birthday, Amanda has officially passed level 1 swimming, and she is excited to start level 2 next month.
Here is Amanda with her birthday doll from last year (and rather neater hair than on her actual birthday).
Amanda wanted to take pictures of her doll, and they really turned out quite well. How do you like the little feast she made for the doll?


And, last but not least, Dad got Mom these lovely flowers for Valentine's Day. Thanks, honey!

Checking in to 2012

Hello, world. We are still here. Our technology is somewhat on the fritz (except for Mom's trusty Mac, c. 2004-present), but we are all right. We had Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa and New Year's with a bottle of sparkling cider. Now the school people are in school and the homebodies are pretty much just staying home and keeping warm. Lydia has taken a step all by herself out on the open floor. Curtis has appointed himself as the official pusher for Lydia's stroller whenever we actually get out and use it. Jared got a Transformer for Christmas, and so life is good for him. Amanda is busy planning her birthday party (one can never plan these things too early). One of these days we hope to have pictures again, but for now you may rest assured that the Muffins made it safely into 2012.