Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful Easter this year!  We kick started the festivities by coloring Easter eggs on Saturday night.  I always look forward to coloring eggs.  This year I bought the little cups that come with the dye, hoping that it would be a little neater. 

Kamryn drew art on the eggs with the white crayon before soaking them in the dye.  She drew a cat on this one, the Nyan cat (from the app), and Manga on the last one. 

Owen wanted a green monster egg, so that is what he got! 

It was a little messy, but a whole lotta fun!!  We dyed almost the entire carton of eggs this year.  On Easter morning, I peeled them and made a big batch of deviled eggs to take to Nanas.. yummy!

The kids set their Easter baskets out with some carrots for the Easter bunny and we crashed early.  On Easter morning, the bunny left a note leading them on a scavenger hunt around the house to find their baskets.  Kam got a bag of Dove eggs, a Reeses carrot and clothes.  Notice her sock bun.. you'll see her cute sock bun curls later. 

Owen was so excited to get Superhero squinkies, Star Wars fighting pods (aka squinkies), M&Ms and a reeses carrot.  Thank you Easter bunny... you are so sweet!!!

   We had reservation for brunch at a local hotel with my family.  I love these three!!  Notice Kam's cute sock bun curls.. love that method!

Gigi was all dressed up in her Easter hat and ruffly dress looking beautiful and Kam is just gorgeous as always.

Owen loved this fountain and it kept him entertained while we waited for our table.  Take note of the Spiderman flip flops that he insisted on wearing.  He can make anything look cute.

Kam is such a Daddy's girl!

Gigi is the most social little girl and was playing with some new friends she had just made.  They were letting Owen be the monster and scare them as they ran around.  He thought this was Hilarious!! 

Me and my babies. 

The food was so yummy at the buffet.  Who doesn't love all you can eat crab and prime rib!  They also had waffles, omelets and a billion other things to choose from.  We were stuffed!  Liv and Gigi.. love my neices.

Owen with Grandma and Grandpa... Owen thought it was funny to steal my Dad's seat when he got up for more food. :)

After our yummy brunch, we came home and crashed for a few hours.  We talked to the kids about the real meaning behind Easter.  Then I made a big pan of potatoes and devilled eggs to take to Nana's house.  Nana's Alzheimers is progressing and sometimes she gets confused about who belongs with whom.  Like when she asked Carson if he was married to my mom.  When he said.. "no Grandma.. I'm married to Andrea.." she said.. "OH.. that's right.. who's Andrea again?"  Then it clicked. :)  Nana's good friend was there as well and Owen liked that she had oxygen just like him.  There is never a dull moment around my family get togethers!

Owen and Livvy were so excited to swing.

Kamryn was a huge help and cut all the strawberries for my Sister's strawberry shortcake.  She helps whenever she is needed and played with the little ones while we finished cooking. She is seriously the most amazing girl!!

Chris hid a bunch of Easter eggs in the front and backyard for the kids to hunt.  It was a lot of fun and I'm pretty sure Livv and Owen made out like bandits.  Gigi and Kam were super helpful in letting them find the eggs.

When the kids started running out of eggs to hunt, we just snuck them out of their baskets and re hid them.  They had no idea we were recycling eggs and they had fun continuing their hunt.

After dinner and lots of fun conversations, Easter was over.  We drove home, took our baths and crashed.  Easter is one of my favorite holidays for so many reasons.  I am a little sad it's over, but bring on Mother's Day!!! :)

Play

Owen asks me a million times a day if it's time to pick up Bo. "Bo" is his nickname for Kam. From the minute we drop her off, he asks for his "goodbye kiss" and starts the countdown until we pick her up. He just loves her so much!! I know the love goes two ways and she misses him just as much.

Some days they both go straight upstairs and lay in her bed while listening to her iPod. Some days, like yesterday, Owen really wanted her to play. She had a bunch of homework, but still took 30 minutes to have a snack with him and play!

I play with Owen all day... whatever he wants to do.  He has play dates with other guys his age.  We run errands and try to keep busy.  We play at the park everyday and he has a couple girlfriends that play with him there.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, beat his time playing with Sis!!!  He gets so excited and happy!! 

Then he gets silly and starts to wrestle her.  He wrestles everyone, but there is something about the way Kam plays the victim and lets him beat her up that makes it a little more fun.  The rest of us put  up a fight and a challenge.

These two kiddos are the best thing that ever happened to us!! They are the best kids!

After 30 minutes of wrestling, Owen was blue, and Kam was ready to retire to her room to relax before starting homework.  Owen and I sat on the couch and watched all the crazy videos I had stored on my hard drive of the kids.  I laughed so hard at their antics!! 

I couldn't be more proud to be their Mommy!  I can't imagine life can get much better than this!

Bumble Bee Ranch 2012

We were so excited to go back to Bumble Bee Ranch with HopeKids this year!! It is our favorite HopeKids event and look forward to it every year. This was our third year going and it was just as fun as we remembered it! You can read more about our past visits here and here.

The drive up the ranch is relaxing and the desert is so beautiful. We got there just as it started this year and started with the famous old time pictures. I have these from each year and love them so much!

Then we hit up the bounce houses before the crowds arrive.  Owen doesn't know how to jump yet, so he just flips around and sits in one spot as everyone bounces him. 

Kam bounced him for at least 30 minutes and let him wrestle with her. 

When the crowds started arriving, the bounce castles get crazy and we peace out.  My kids were both so excited to do archery.  I'm thinking their sudden interest in "bowd en arrows" has a lot to do with 'The Hunger Games' and Katniss Everdeen.  Kamryn rocked it and hit the target everytime! 

Owen didn't do too shabby with a little help from Daddy!  They have both asked for the Easter Bunny to bring them a "Bowd en arrows"... not gonna happen.  I told them they can save up all their money and buy one themselves.

It was time for the great ranch cookout, but first we wanted to jump on the Hummer Tours before the crowds.  Last year we waited a while to get into a hummer, but it was so worth the wait.  This year, we jumped right on and off we went into the desert! 

This is Owen's favorite part of Bumble Bee!  He loves the bouncy ride, driving through the creeks, up the boulders and on the steep trails.  The giggles are insane and the driver was thrilled to have such an enthusiastic passenger.

We got back to the Ranch and chowed down on some burgers, dogs, chips, and other goodies.  The kids stopped at the craft table as it started warming up outside. 

We ran into so many of our heart friends whom I love so much!  The heart community is amazing and I have made some amazing friendships along this journey.  I wish I would have taken pictures.. what was I thinking?  Anyway.. it was getting hot and the kids were tired so we stopped for one last photo on our way out.

Next year we will try out the rock climbing wall and they had a way cool barrel bull to bounce on.  Horseback riding will probably never happen again with my kids.. they aren't fans.. so we got to skip that this year.

Owen was so exhausted when we left that he passed out before I hit the dirt road. 

We had a fabulous time at the Ranch and I just want to give a shout out to Bridgette and HopeKids for putting this on!!  We are so grateful for this amazing organization and for all they do for our kids.  We can't wait to go back next year!!