Sidewalk Chalk

This past Thursday and Friday (April 11th and 12th), it snowed between 6 and 8 inches here.  Yes, that's right. It's April.  And it's snowing.  We are not happy about it.  A few days before the snow came, the kids and I went out and enjoyed an afternoon with sidewalk chalk.  It was still a pretty chilly day (high of 46), but after being cooped up all winter, we were willing to bear a little cold to get outside:)

(Here's the snow that was left before the latest snowstorm)

Elijah tried the chalk, but he was most interested in walking up and down this little lip in cement.  Very exciting:)

Bella decided to stomp in the snow for a while

And here's what it looked like just a few days later :(

I didn't want to leave you with a picture of winter-y snow, so here are some tulips I bought to bring a little Spring inside.  Here's hoping real Spring is on its way!

Keeping Busy

As we anxiously wait for Spring around here, we've been keeping ourselves busy...

Riding Horses

(Elijah is laughing really hard here if you can't tell)

Reading Books

Playing Ball

Spring Cleaning!

Snuggling with Daddy

Finding some deals!



Watching for wildlife

And being bunnies!

(Love this one!  Bella must be thinking, "He's never going to get these ears on right!")



I've also been trying out some photo editing with the software Matt bought me a while ago.  It's so fun to play around with!  Here's one of the pictures I'm working on for fun:

Original

Edit #1 (cropped, edges blurred, colors enhanced)

Edit #2 (cropped, edges blurred, sepia tone added)

The Sepia tone one is my favorite one so far.  I've got so much to learn but it is so fun to play around with.  If you are wondering, I am using the Adobe Photoshop Elements 10.  If you've used this program, I'd love to hear tips and fun ideas you've used! 

Happy Wednesday:)

Our Easter Celebration

Happy April everyone!  This past weekend we celebrated Easter with our families.  We had a great time visiting, eating (lots!), and playing games.  Not to mention the most important part of Easter, celebrating our Lord and Savior!  I hope you all had a fabulous Easter Holiday.  Here are some pictures of our fun:

Dressed up for Brunch with Grandma and Grandpa M

And rockin' a sweet flower tattoo!

Easter Baskets from Mom and Dad (they also got baskets from Grandma and Grandpa M, Grandma H, and Auntie Erika! Talk about LOVED!)

Dressed for church on Easter morning:)

All four of us

After church on Sunday, we headed to my cousin's coffee shop for our extended family Easter Dinner. What a fun place to have Easter!  We even had old fashioned milk shakes with the meal (I'd show you a picture but we ate them before I could snap one!). 

Bella and Elijah admiring the big 'kids' playing ball outside

I got to meet my cousin's little girl, Khloe:)  She is such a sweetie pie!  Love her so much!

Elijah was very jealous of baby Khloe!  He wants to be the only baby in Grandma's arms!

We got to meet some sweet puppies too!

And try smoothies

Elijah played some music

Then it was off to the park!  It was super chilly outside, but we had fun!

Nikki trying out the twirling chairs!

Ted and Tom trying it out too (those long legs make it tough though!). 

We had such a fun time with our families and really enjoyed the day.  Easter definitely feels like the start of Spring...hoping that means it will warm up soon!  Happy April to you:)