A Beautiful Easter 2014

My Grandma C always said that if it rains on Easter, it will rain for the next seven Sundays.  I'm not sure if she was making it up or not, but whenever I keep track, it usually proves true.  And for some reason, it usually rains on Easter... but not this year!

Easter 2014 was one of the most beautiful Easter days I can remember.  Temps in the 70s, no wind, and plenty of sunshine.  We celebrated Easter with Frank's family a few weeks earlier, so we had my family over for Easter Sunday.

We are bad people and didn't go to church on Easter.  Honestly, we attend church regularly, like every week, but on Easter, attendance soars to approximately 10,000 people (you read that correctly), and it's such a hassle to navigate that kind of a crowd.  Plus, I needed to cook.

So we did Easter baskets quietly with the kids as they woke up.

Dinner was at noon, and I used my Grandma K's china, along with some beautiful pinkish-purple tulips as the centerpiece.

What?  Your sister-in-law didn't make a bunny-shaped veggie tray?  Mine did!  This little guy was the runaway hit of the dinner!  That's veggie dip in the middle..blame my poor photography if it's difficult to see.

We had the standard ham and sides.

After lunch, we had an Easter egg hunt

and we played outside

And we ate lots of candy.

It was a beautiful Easter Sunday!

What We're Up To

Long time no blog.  So what's been going on around here?


Some brotherly snuggling before nap time.

Train-track building with Uncle Brian and Caleb at Grandma Donna and Papa Mike's

Lots of microwaving... oh, wait... the microwave died.  

Saturday morning cartoon-watching in pajamas

Learning to climb and/or move the step stool to get where he wants to go

Charming his way out of new messes resulting from climbing

A birthday!

And enjoying the nice weather with lots of bike-riding

and mowing!

Carter's First Haircut

Last Saturday we took Carter for his first professional haircut.  I've been snipping at his hair for a while now, but it was really time to let the pros handle it.

Frank made an appointment for both him and Carter at the same time.  If you look closely, two chairs back, you can see him.

Funny story:  since our children's hair place closed, I've just been taking Jacob to the same Cost Cutters that Frank uses.  The last time we were there, the stylist looked at the kids and asked if my husband also got his hair cut there.  After I said yes, she said, "I thought so.  Those boys look just like him."

Anyway, back to Carter.  I was expecting a big fuss and lots of swatting at the stylist because that's basically how Jacob's first haircut went.  I tried to set us up for success, though, and we brought his blanket, which he calls his "Bee."  We also gave him a sucker before the haircut.  Plus, he liked the little zoo animals cape they put on him!  (I look like I'm wearing a graduation gown, but whatever...)

He wasn't totally sure about it...

but some combination of the Bee + sucker + zoo animals cape worked and he was a docile little dude.

We saved a lock of his fuzzy little hair, just as we did with Jacob.  Another milestone for the books!

Five on Friday

I don't usually do link-ups, but I had some time today and was feeling inspired by the beautiful spring weather.  Plus, we survived Carter's five-day stomach virus.  Cheers to Friday!

{One}

A few weeks ago, I was itching to see some green grass or flowers, so Jacob and I made a little terrarium.  I think he might be my gardener.  He likes watering the plant, and I think it gives him a sense of accomplishment to watch it grow.

{Two}

As summer approaches, my thoughts turn once again to self-tanner.  Normally, I just use Jergen's Natural Glow, but recently I've heard good things about Tanwise.  It's only $9.49, so I might give it a try.    

{Three}

As much as I love getting new clothes for myself, I love getting new clothes for the boys even more, and Easter outfits are my absolute favorite.  Jacob has been asking for a hat to wear for Easter, and even though we aren't going anywhere- and may not even go to church that day!- he can still dress the part.  

I bought him a hat and tie from Children's Place that he can wear with either a white shirt and jeans or a chambray shirt and khakis, all of which he already has.  

 I am playing the matchy-matchy game for as long as I can get away with it, so I picked up this newsboy cap for Carter.

Our store didn't have much selection for little boys, so I'll have to order Carter's tie.  I'm thinking I'll go with the bowtie version of Jacob's tie.  

{Four}

Because we were finally able to get outside and play and because the sky was so blue, here are a few pretty pics of the boys:

{Five}

As a reward for surviving this week, I'm grilling a Porterhouse steak for Frank tonight, and I baked a cake. TGIF!

Water Park Getaway

For the past few years, we've taken a mid-winter weekend trip to a waterpark.  This year, though, we were really hesitant to commit to booking a little getaway because Carter is at a bad age for water parks.  (And also because Carter is, well, Carter.)  However, when a great two-night deal came up through one of Frank's friends, we decided to pull the trigger, and our family stayed the first night while Frank and his college friends stayed the second night.

Last Saturday, we headed up to Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort and Lodge in Utica.  Our villa was huge!

We stayed in the room with the two double beds... and the deer head light fixture, yikes!

There was also a second bedroom, which was actually probably the master, with a jacuzzi.  We didn't even touch this room, since we wanted to keep one bedroom clean for Frank's friends the following night.  

After arriving, we headed down to the waterpark.  Now, the only issue I had here was that unlike where we stayed in previous years, which was a hotel with a connecting waterpark, we were in a freestanding villa, which meant we had to get completely dressed to go outside, get in the car, drive to the waterpark on the grounds, and get changed.  That doesn't really sound like a lot, but when you're wrangling swim diapers and kids with wet feet and winter coats it would have been a lot easier if it would have been in a connecting building.

Jacob loved the waterpark!

Carter did not.

He did warm up to it somewhat; and I was able to get a few shots of everyone playing.

For dinner, we went to a little pub in downtown Utica.  The town has quite a few wineries and boutique-type stores, but it is tiny.

The next morning, we drove around the area a bit and waited for Grizzly Jack's indoor amusement park to open.  They were doing renovations to the amusement park and several attractions weren't operational, but of course, the ones that were, Jacob had no interest in.

This is about as close as he got to the bounce house!

He did decide (after getting in an out of a long line twice) to do the trampoline bungee.

Once he got all hooked up, they discovered that he was too little for the bungees, so they unhooked him and just let him jump like a trampoline.

After this, it was time to say goodbye to daddy, who was staying at the villa to continue the weekend with his friends.  Honestly, Carter was a handful the whole weekend, and I was ready to get him home.  I'm hoping he grows into being a better traveler by the time we take our next vacation!