Easter 2013

Easter weekend started off with coloring eggs, what else?  My boys are at that age, again, when it's nearly impossible to get them all serious for a picture.  Didn't we go through this when they were toddlers?

 Easter morning, bright and early, the
"Easter Bunny" (we know who you are) hid ALL 48 colored eggs in the backyard for the boys to find.

 He also hid Easter baskets in the house, which was actually quite challenging for some.  The "Hotter, Colder" game had to be played to find a couple of them.

 I'm not sure what Landon was up to, but at least there was no Easter grass in his basket.  I banned that stuff this year - good riddance! 

After church we headed up to Centerville for the Annual Cousins' Egg Hunt hosted this year by Aunt Laurel. Since my boys are too old for public egg hunts (they are too old to be allowed in), and I don't really like them anyway, we all look forward to this event.

Isn't Dallin handsome?

Cameron is such a good guy.

This is what the moms did - took pictures and looked pretty.  (I hope Laurel doesn't mind my stealing this picture.  I just love pictures of me and my sisters.)

 This is what the dads did.  Well, at least THIS dad - typical.

 All the egg-hunting cousins.

 Okay - now this picture is a story in and of itself.  There is a lot going on here.  First of all, I have to mention how proud of it Landon is.  At first, I told him how "fancy" it was with all the Eddington meaning to the word.  He sensed my sarcasm and his face fell.  I had to quickly turn my words around and give him the praise he was hoping for.  Apparently, since we only have ONE Easter decoration, he decided to make one for me at school.  He told me that he doesn't want me to just keep it for one year then throw it away like I did to the plastic spoon snowman he made in 1st Grade.  Hmm - what to do, what to do?  I've got a feeling that I'm going to have to keep this thing for a while.  Maybe it should join the scary pipe cleaner rabbit - interested, Laurel?  Or, maybe I keep it and give it to him when he gets a home of his own.  His wife will love me for it.

 I do love Easter.  It is one of my most favorite days of the year.

Spanish Dance Festival - 2013

There hasn't been a whole lot of picture taking around here lately.  So, when I saw a cute kid in a BIG hat, I just had to get a shot.  Not to mention the girl on his arm (snicker). 

 Cameron, on the other hand, was like a statue the whole time.  He never smiled and was a stiff dancer.  At one point I had to wonder if the boys were told NOT to smile.  I think he just needed a big hat.

Landon's Reflections Contest

As a parent I have never made my kids participate in the Reflections Contest at school.  However, last year Landon's teacher had the whole class submit a literature entry.  Landon ended up winning a trophy and was so excited about it (no picture and no blog post - lame mother that I am).  

So, when they announced this year's contest, Landon wanted to enter SO badly.  He thought about the theme, "The Magic of a Moment" and thought photography might be fun to do.  He took our little point and shoot digital camera out in the yard and took a lot of pictures.  In the end it was hard to choose just one, so he decided to make a collage.

 He took pictures of 4 different types of plants in various stages of growth - bud, flower, and "done".  This is what he wrote about his project,
"The moment is magic because it can show a cycle of life like a human. the bud is like being born, the flower is like grown up life, and dead is when it ends.  But, the plant keeps on going.  Each moment has its own beauty."

After turning in his project, he could NOT wait until the awards assembly.  He just HAD to know if he was getting an award again this year.  I kept telling him that there were a lot of students and that not everyone can win every year, that just because he won a trophy last year, it didn't mean he would win again this year.  But, lo and behold, he DID win again this year.  He won first place in his age division for photography and moved on to the multi-school level where he earned an "Award of Merit" (a feel-good way of saying, "Thanks, but you aren't moving on to the next level.").  Landon was SUPER proud of himself and so are we.  He says he's going to enter Reflections every year.  

Christmas Eve/Day 2012

The annual "Picture by the Tree".

This year we did something new - made gingerbread houses (from a kit, of course).  Three of us worked on one house, which, of course, became a contest.  It was actually kind of fun.

It's our Christmas Eve tradition to open one gift as a family.  The gift will always be a game that we learn and play that night.  This year's game was a fun one.

Christmas morning before all the real fun begins...

  One of Landon's favorite presents.  In fact, it was probably the most popular gift among all the boys.  With the boys getting older, there aren't as many toys Christmas morning.  The Hot Wheels track was something to put together and play with all morning.  It was hard to tell who enjoyed the track more - the one who actually got it, or the big brothers.

 Dallin has gotten older and harder to shop for.  But, he is still a good kid and easy to please.  A high school sweatshirt still brought a big smile.

 Cameron had been eyeing this Nerf-type gun and was really hoping someone would give it to him.  His day was made. 

 Jayden got a lot of baseball related items, as well as this gift card maze from Grandma Visnaw.  He took great pride in being able to solve it with minimal effort when others were stumped.  What a fun way to make them work for their gift.  

Jayden also got suspenders, which he promptly sported with his pajamas.  What a goofy kid.

 The aftermath - the bigger the mess, the better the Christmas, right?

 Later that day we headed up to Centerville to spend time with family.  Laurel and Doug had quite the spread which included Laurel's Gingerbread Army - delicious.

 I love this picture for a few reasons - my brother is crazy and I love him, our sweaters almost match, and it was while I was still feeling good.  Let's just say that I didn't have to worry about all those extra calories I ate on Christmas, after all.  Hmm...

The kids look forward to their "second Christmas".  Grandma and Grandpa were so thoughtful to still have gifts for the grandkids, even though they were halfway around the world.  We missed them.

 Christmas Day is one of my most favorite days of the year.  There's nothing better than seeing "Christmas smiles" on kids' faces - no matter how old they are.

Merry Christmas!

A Little Bit of Blackmail

If you think only preteen girls like One Direction, here is proof that preteen boys do, too:

I think I can use this to my advantage someday...

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that I usually don't document.  And, this year would have been no different if my sister hadn't taken these great pictures.

 This was our first major family get-together at my parents' house without them.  We had to manage the food and all the details all on our own.  Laurel and Doug did a fabulous job hosting with great food and super cute decorations. 

 Of course, the kids enjoy spending time with cousins just as much as the food.

 My assignment every year is the pies - I'm not sure why.  This year I tried making the crust instead of letting Pillsbury do it for me.  I'm not sure they turned out all that great, but I'm going to keep trying and one year have it perfected.

I look a bit guilty in this picture - must have been my 3rd piece of pie.  

 With Mom not being there, we all had to step up.  Even Jeff (in the background) got to work and did all of the dishes - what a guy!

Apparently, Jayden enjoyed the pie - bad crust or no.

 After a nice, big dinner, we got the chance to Skype with my parents in the Philippines.  It was so fun to "see" and hear them again as well as their surroundings.  They are surely missed.

 Not only does Thanksgiving mean family and food, but it also means time to get serious and plan "Black Friday."  As Laurel pointed out in her blog post, Dave had a system with the ads and you would get the evil eye, or worse, if you messed it up.  He takes this seriously.

Thanks, Laurel, for letting my hijack all of these pictures and for taking them in the first place.  I'm a picture-taking slacker.

Snow Day - Finally!

After a really dry winter last year, the kids were delighted to see several inches of snow from our last storm.  They were even MORE delighted when the snow was mostly still there on a Saturday, which meant they could go sledding!

 In fact, Jayden got a sled for Christmas last year, and it still had the BOW on it - an indication that it had been a long time since the boys had been able to go sledding.

 From all the grass showing through, you wouldn't think that there was that much snow, but the snow was pretty wet, the ground was still pretty warm, and this hill was VERY well-used.

This is the ONE picture of my ONE ride down the hill.  I wiped out a second after it was taken.  Nice.

And, of course, being boys they had to find the best jump.  And, of course, they had to tweak the jump to make it even better.  

After getting their fill of sledding they built forts and started a snowball fight.  We literally had to drag them home - they didn't want to ever leave.

What a handsome angel.