A Few of my Favorite Things...

One of my favorite things about spring is all the beautiful flowers, especially tulips. I went ahead and planted a bunch of tulip bulbs last fall, and I've been so excited to see them coming up the past few weeks. The tulips and I had a photo shoot today so I could share how pretty they are. I'm especially loving my walkway, where I planted purple phlox and purple tulips (and yeah, it probably doesn't make sense to do all this in a house we're renting, but hey, it's a lot of fun!)

Phlox and tulips

I really love these purple and yellow ones! All the variations of tulips are so interesting.

Easter

Fair Warning Disclaimer: A Bumload of Adorable Pictures Below

We had a great Easter this year (even with having no family around). We started the weekend on Saturday, when we took the girls to the annual Easter egg hunt at the cemetary by our house. Then we colored Easter eggs that night. Sunday was a little busy, with all the Easter stuff and Conference and friends coming over for dinner, but it was a really beautiful and fun day, so I didn't mind. Here's a little trip down memory lane:

The girls showing off their haul at the egg hunt. They were pretty excited opening all the eggs to find the candy and toys inside.

With the Easter Bunny. I was pretty surprised that Makayla got this close! (And is it just me, or does that Easter Bunny look like he's about to spew a few rainbows?)

Me and my girls. It was a LEETLE bright.

The Potion Master hard at work coloring her Easter eggs.

That egg dye is pretty powerful stuff - Kylee started transforming into the Hulk before our very eyes!

No, this isn't a Christmas picture that accidentally found it's way into the Easter picture file. Let's just say we had a lot of honorary Easter bunnies this year! While we and the girls greatly appreciated it, I was a little concerned when Kylee told Jenicca that the Easter Bunny didn't think she was quite as good as Santa thought she was this year, since she got more toys for Christmas. :) Each of the girls also got an Easter basket from our next door neighbor.

Easter Morning

The Easter Bunny thought the girls would look extra cute with sunbeams on their heads.

Oh my goodness, can you believe how cute??

We took the kids over to the cemetary that morning to take advantage of all the pretty flowers and trees blooming.

Yes, Kylee came up with this pose by herself. Supa' Star!

EGG-specting our newest little chick in just 2 1/2 months!! (And yes, I let this picture be taken just so I could write that)

Let it snow....AND SNOW....

Well, it looks like I've been a right old slacker, haven't I? I'll go ahead and blame it on pregnancy, like I do everything else. Anyway, I figured before I put up the Easter pictures, I'd better catch up on the winter pictures. This winter was long and dreary, like always, and it certainly didn't go by fast enough for me - in fact, if it wasn't for Kylee being in school, I probably would have parked my behind at my parents house in Florida for a good long time. However, we did have some exciting snow storms in February that broke up the monotony a little bit. In a 2 week period, we got a little over 2 feet of snow, which is more than we usually get ALL WINTER here. The kids loved it, I endured it, and Brian hated it (bless his poor little only-snow-shoveler-in-the-house heart). Here's some pictures to show how we survived.

Brian shoveling after the first snow storm. This was back when he could actually smile about it. We got about a foot, and we thought THAT was a lot! The kids ready for their first sledding adventure

Brian created our own sledding hill out of our back porch steps. The kids LOVED it!

Brian also created a "snow cave" for the girls out of our patio table and chairs. The entrance to the cave was under the chair right behind them. Holy cow, did they love that snow cave! (Are you seeing a trend here? I have just about the most creative husband ever!) Peeking out the entrance of the snow cave. This is not a picture of Makayla right after she biffed it in the snow - she's simply enjoying her favorite snack - fresh snow licked from the ground.

However, this IS a picture of Makayla right after she biffed it in the snow. Exhibit A: the snow pile Brian made in our backyard after the first snow storm (made mainly with snow from our driveway).

Exhibit B: the snow pile in the backyard after the 2nd snow storm (we figured we couldn't keep dumping the snow over the fence into our neighbor's yard!). This isn't even as big as it got, and it ended up being a great sledding hill for the girls.

Enjoying some yummy hot chocolate after one of our snow adventures. THE END.