Spring Crafts and Easter Hostess Gifts

We've been working on some Spring and Easter crafts around here.  Here are a few of our projects:

Painted Daffodils

The activity I found online used egg cartons for the center of the flower, but we just used cotton balls.  Find the original activity here.

Easter Egg Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting dyed green, Cadbury mini eggs

Flower Pinwheels (found here)

I also made a couple Hostess gifts for my family who is hosting Easter this year.  I found some pretty cute, simple ideas online.  I decided on the two below!  I hope they like them:)

We bought a white mug, used a permanent marker to write the first letter of their last name, then baked in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees to set the ink.  Then we planted some chives and added our tag!

I found this recipe here, and they are so simple and delicious!  Rolos, pretzels, and pecans.  I called them Pecan Thumbprints.

Tonight we are attending a Good Friday Service at our church, and this weekend we are celebrating Easter with the family.  Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Family Fun

I know I've been complaining about all the cold, snowy weather and that fact that Spring STILL isn't here...but I need to look at the bright side, we've been having lots of fun around the house!  Here are just a few adventures we've had lately:

Dance Party!

B has some sweet moves:)

Go E Go!

Tasting Icicles...the kids thought this was the funniest thing ever!

Celebrating a friend's birthday!

Happy Birthday Asher!

And just playing with our friends:)

This picture just makes me smile

So even though we are ready for some nice weather, we've been making the most of our time inside.  Hope you are having some fun adventures of your own:)

Cheers-to your health!

(that one's for you Brenda!)

Well Hello There:)

Look at what my sweet and thoughtful husband surprised me with the other night....

The Spring Trench I was raving about here! 

Isn't he just the best?! 

And by the way, he recently started a new job that takes him away from home a lot more.  We are missing him so much around here, but we are so thankful for a great husband and father that provides for us. 

Thank you for all that you do, Matt.  We love you:)

Dear Spring

Boy oh boy do we have Spring Fever around here!  Bella and Elijah are so so so ready to be outside running around and playing in the warm sunshine.  I am ready to plant a garden, take the kids on walks, and grill out.  I want to sip iced tea, lay out in the sun, and wear sandals again!  I want to hear thunder again! 

Anyone else have kiddos that are going stir crazy?  Shouting and singing at the top of their lungs because they don't remember what 'outside voice' even means??  Yikes, do we need some fresh Spring air! 

Where are you Spring???

Dear Spring, please come soon!  We miss your warm temperatures, your bright flowers, your green grass, and the start of everything fresh and new! 

Hoping that you are able to make it through these last few weeks of snow and slush...and remember, Spring is coming soon! 

10 things I love!

And here you have it...10 random things that are making my day brighter!

1. International Delight Iced Coffee in Mocha flavor.  Oh my goodness, talk about deliciousness in a glass!  (and it's way cheaper than buying an iced mocha from the coffee shop every day!). 

2. Wonton Tacos.  Amazing, healthy, and easy to make.  Can it get any better than that?  Here's the link to the recipe.  You're welcome:)

3. Getting mail.  And I don't mean email.  I don't mean texts.  I mean walking out to the mailbox to find a card or letter.  There's just something special about a handwritten note.  Have you taken the time to send one lately?  Have you received one lately?  It's just the best!  (And a special thank you to my Grandma who has sent me TWO letters recently!  What an awesome lady!). 

4. This new Spring trench from Target.  So cute!  I want it!

5. Sweet deals on Photobooks.  That's right, just ordered my photobook with pictures from our cruise from my favorite photo print site, shutterfly.com.  I got the book for FREE and only had to pay shipping!  Score!  I am currently waiting (impatiently) for that bright orange package to arrive.  And you can imagine my excitement as you've already read #3 above:)

6. Afternoon Tea and Pepperidge Farm Milano Double Chocolate Cookies. Perfect snack for a quiet break and a good read.

7. Bible study time with the kids. We have been memorizing a verse from the Bible each week, along with reading some Bible stories and coloring pictures of scenes from the Bible.  It's such a great way to connect with God daily.  Our current verse is "You are kind and forgiving, O Lord." Psalm 86:5. 

8. Finding and reading new blogs.  Here are a few of my new favorites!  Hello Gorgeous, Eat Yourself Skinny, and Dancing With Ashley. 

9. Decorating for the next holiday!  Right now I am planning out my Easter decorations and finding some fun activities for the kids to complete.  Do you have any traditions or activities you do with your family every year? 

10. These Polka Dot Wedge Sandals from Forever 21.  Aren't they just perfect for Spring and Summer?  Love them!



Hope you enjoyed my list (You may have noticed that a lot of these are food/drinks but I can't help it-I love to eat!).  What are your current obsessions??

B and E update

I try to record what fun/funny/crazy things the kids are doing periodically so that I remember the particualar stage of their life.  So here's a profile of each of them:

Elijah the 15 month old:

-learned to climb down the stairs (going backward), and wants to practice all day every day

-says Mama, Dada, Bada (Bella), Mo (more), Buh-Buh (Bye-Bye) and Ni Ni (Night, Night) and tries to say lots of things we don't quite understand yet:)

-loves picking out his own story for bedtime

-loves reading books all the time

-likes to use my swiffer sweeper to 'sweep' the house

-understands so much and will follow directions that we give him

-loves to run around naked or in a diaper and will play chase with me when trying to get clothes on

-LOVES water-bathtime, faucets, dog water dish, etc.

-has learned to climb onto the ottoman, the coffee table (using his toy car as a ladder!), the kitchen chairs, etc. and loves trying to climb onto anything Bella does

-likes to play with anything with wheels and make truck noises while doing it

-has learned to blow kisses to us.  Pretty much the cutest thing ever!

Bella the 3 year old:

-has a play hard hat that she calls a 'helicoper hat'

-has a doll that she thinks is Barbie (really she's a cinderella doll), so she calls her 'Darby'

-plays make believe all the time

-loves to sing ABCs

-can count to 10 with no mistakes

-makes up random songs with made up words to sing to us

-becoming very independent

-loves playing with friends

-loves going to church

-Prays for her family and friends every single night

-has learned to get dressed all by herself

-is teaching Mommy and Daddy patience:)

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our two little cuties! Here's to the little ones in your life! 

Our Cruise!

It's been a little while since my last post, but I have a very good reason for it...Matt and I were on a Caribbean cruise!  We have been planning it for a while, actually.  We wanted to take a fun trip for our 5 year anniversary (which was last June), but we decided to wait until the weather here was not great and Matt's work was slow.  So I guess we celebrated closer to our 6th anniversary, but either way we had a great anniversary trip! 

We took a cruise for our honeymoon, so we thought it would be fun to take another for our 5 (and a half!) year anniversary too.  We traveled on Royal Caribbean this time, and absolutely loved it!  We left from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and traveled to George Town, Grand Cayman Island, Falmouth, Jamaica, and Labadee, Haiti. It was such a great time to relax, get some sun, and just be together.  We had a wonderful time and can't wait to plan our next one!

Here are some of the highlights from our trip:

First day on our cruise!

Look! Flowers, palm trees and sunny skies!

Formal Night on our cruise

George Town, Cayman Islands

Falmouth, Jamaica

Labadee, Haiti

This is where I will be picturing myself during our next snowstorm!

My handsome hubby:)

Yay for dinner!

Great Anniversary Vacation!  Thanks babe:)

I would highly recommend a cruise as a vacation.  It's a great way to see some beautiful places and travel pretty reasonably.  We loved it!  Next time we hope to take our family too:)

Now it's back to reality.  Work, kids, groceries, and all those everyday adventures.  And guess what?  Easter is less than a month away!  Happy March-hope you  are all doing well too!