G-ma D...

I may write the same words over and over again about the people in my life on this blog. Truth be told, we are one lucky family.  From every aspect of  life, we are blessed.  The people in our life are amazing and I can't repeat enough how special they are to us.  I want my kids to read this years and years from now and remember the relationships they had, even at a small age.  I have a TERRIBLE memory and documenting is my way of connecting to my thoughts and my life. 

This woman pictured above rocks.  She is a rock.  She is one of my rocks.  She is the constant to my madness.  She is a teacher.  She is my teacher.  She is my daughters' teacher.  She is a listener.  She is my listener.  She is my daughters' listener.  She cares so much about her family and their well being that she will go miles and miles through it all WITH you.  She stands by you.  She stands by me.  She stands by my daughters' and my husband.  She stands by her family (all of us).  That is powerful and for all of that I am grateful!    

Oobleck..

The other day I decided to do a science project with the girls.  It's a rather simple recipe of corn starch, water, and food coloring.  It is called Oobleck from one of Dr. Suess' books.  Harper was totally into it.  Liv not so much.  She had a funny questionable face the entire time she was mixing and getting her hands dirty.  She wanted her hands cleaned and sat in a pile of books while Harper went to town mixing colors and eventually flour.  She even got to take over sis's bowl so she was in heaven.  We learned about what happens when you mix red and yellow together too.  The great thing is that it kept her interested for over 30 minutes. 

Spring has Sprung..

 and so has some of our garden.  The most growth has come from the green leafy vegetables we planted (lettuce, kale, and swiss chard).  The beets are looking good too.  Some of the others are slackin.  The entire garden was full of clovers.  We spent last weekend making our plot look pretty amd nourishing our growth. 

This is my first experince truly gardening.  I don't come with a green thumb so I am always learning tid bits about this new hobby.  We are both equally excited about it.  We were like high school kids on our first date excited when we were scanning the area trying to find our rows.  Then there it was, nice little rows full of our future home grown food.  It feels good to be out there working our tales off.  It's very peaceful.  Pretty awesome!   

Livy Jade...

This littlest peanut lights up my life.  Both the girls are the light in my life but in two different ways, and that is a beautiful thing.  This girl has a spirit about her that puts herself on the map yet she shys away (just like her sis) around new people.  I must attest this to her developmental age yet when around her familiar faces she is a hoot.  She always asks for your hand to walk around and it doesn't just have to be down the stairs.  She is self sufficient in her play and could spend lots of minutes in a pile of books or trying on hats, shoes or clothes.  She adores her big sister but has her own voice in the mix.  She is such a lover and grabs my face with both hands to give love.  She gives love on her own time yet doesn't perform on request.  Her big brown eyes are full of thought and she verbalizes what she needs to say when she needs to say it.  She LOVES to lay in sis's bed at night before bedtime and would love to stay there all night.  She gets a little upset when its time to move from "cuddle song time" to her own spot.  She says " I lay down" meaning she is content laying in sis's bed.  It melts my heart because I remember the feelings of wanting to sleep beside my sis and feel that comfort.  I can still say that I always yearn for my big sis's comfort.  She is one amazing little sister and she just fits perfectly into our family.  So amazing!!!!   

3.5 years old (ish)

WOW!!!  I can't believe it, this little big is 3.5 (ish) years old.  Where has the time gone?  She has grown into an amazing little person.  She is a true lover of life and soaks up every new experience in front of her.  In fact, she thrives on new experiences.  She isn't always sure about the "people" involved in those new experiences, but she adapts and breathes in every moment.  I love to watch her explore and engage in her surroundings.  I feel this sense of peace watching her.  Her being is so refreshing and I love the moments that I allow myself to soak up every inch of her self.  She is worth every second of parenthood.  There are tough moments that test every inch of my being, but then I hear her say "I can do it all by myself(s)" (emphasis on the more than one self) and my heart sinks into soaking up every minute of her being.  As her mother, I am learning how to be a better mother everyday and she teaches me that.  For that I thank her!

G- pa Frank

The girls have this grandpa wrapped around there finger.  Grandpa Frank absolutely LOVES his grand babies.  He is the kinda guy who keeps to himself and who is quiet in nature and therefore doesn't outwardly express himself likes his wife (grandma Cindy;)  I know that he adores the girls because he shows it in simple sutle ways, just his style.  We are lucky to call him grandpa!  

Easter Day 2012

G-ma Cindy & G-pa Frank joined us at the lake... 

The gardners checking out our clover weeds... looking for chance of growth

 Like Mother, Like Son

 The Greats joined us for Easter:)

 We hunted for eggs and baskets filled with tons of goodies...

 Imagine 2 crazy:) grandmas in on the egg hunt...

 the girls were bound to be spoiled...

 showered with love...

 snacks...

 and gifts!

 We fished for a couple hours...

the water had yet to be let into the lake and so the fish weren't biting like we would have liked but there were a lot of laughs and simple time spent together.  You can't ask for much more than that if ya ask me!

Easter Eve

Is there such a thing as Easter Eve?  For us Easter eve consisted of dying eggs and hanging out together at the lake.  A very relaxing evening.  The usual immediate family was there plus Jaime & Ben who have really have become family.  Liv wasn't much into the dying of the eggs so instead she tried on shoes, hats, and read with Aunt Shannon.  "The Good Life"...thats where we're at:).   

Easter 2012

 All signed in and ready for the egg hunt

Waiting patiently for the fire truck siren to tell us to start the egg hunt

 A quick pic with the bunny himself

 Eating chocolate (a first for Liv)

 Proud of herself for hunting the 5 eggs

 Visiting the Veteran Memorial right by the courthouse where the egg hunt was. 

Grandma pointing out my Grandpa Leland's name

 1st sign on our "take pictures of me by all the signs we saw" adventure

 jumped out of the car to get a quick pic

the last sign when we got back to the lake:)

The Saturday of Easter weekend Grandma and I took the girls to an egg hunt in town.  It was a quick egg hunt where each kiddo could hunt for 5 eggs.  There was a drawing at the end for raffle prizes which we didn't win.  Harper was stoked to eat ALL of her candy from the eggs.  Liv held onto the same piece of chocolate for like 30 minutes.  By the time we were back at the lake she had melted chocolate all over her hands and face.  We had a nice little outing to start the weekend.