Bye-Bye snow...HELLO SPRING!

Today was wonderfully warm. So after church, to celebrate the beginning of April Vacation, we put a tent up on the back porch. The kids are loving it. I don't know if you can tell in the photos but they have some pretty static hair from going in and out and bouncing around inside. I think we may need to start camping this year. The girls are really excited about a camp fire.




And here it is...our very last bit of snow. Farewell, we hope we don't see you for several warm wonderful months!

Cake Class Take 2

So this is the result of my second cake class. The girls got to dictate the colors. The pink one is a fondant with "lace" technique. And the chocolate drizzle is a "ganache". The super cool part about the chocolate drizzle bit is that after you drizzle it, you can put the extra into the fridge, let it firm up and THEN use it for the center of a truffle. Or, once it has firmed up in the fridge, it can be whipped to make a yummy filling or a frosting. SO COOL and YUMMY too!

Name That Painting

I'm in a group show at a local gallery next month and had to submit an image for the publicity that's going out. I haven't settled on a title for this one yet, as I can't decide if the escorted pear is coming or going. 

Possible titles so far:

"Is THIS your boyfriend?"

"We found him ma'am, down in the cucumber section."

"Come with us, just a few questions."

"I told you not to wait up!"

Feel free to suggest titles in the comments section.

Special Person Night

Kayla's school had "special person night" today. The cool thing about this night is that it isn't about the students, it is about the "special person" in THEIR life. So, I asked Kayla who her special person was. I told her it could be anyone and we would invite them to go with her as her "Special Person". Without even batting an eye or being given any sort of prompting, she declared, "Cassidy is my special person." And so, today I accompanied KK and Cass to K's school so that Kayla could share her school with Cass. It was sooo very sweet. Cass let Kayla lead her all around the school (same school Cass went to, so even though she was familiar with it, she let Kayla take the lead). They stopped at the clay and built a little farm for some plastic animals. Their favorite spot was in the science area where they explored a basket of shells with a magnifying glass. Their other favorite location was the dramatic play area which is currently designed to be a flower shop. It was a very special time to be a mommy. My girls are best friends and prefer to be with each other. They very rarely do things without each other by choice. So cute. So VERY cute.

My creative girls...

Cass got modeling clay from the Easter bunny. This is the creation that the girls made recently. It is a garden. Complete with snails, flowers, trees, grass and other fun little details. See if you can find something familiar.

The cousins come for Easter

We love having Family close by...well, close enough that getting together on Holidays and Special Occasions actually *IS* possible. To celebrate Easter, the Good family came to visit. We were all so excited to have everyone here and the kids had been talking about it for days. The cousins attended an outside egg hunt...that was freezing and a bit more competitive, but Whitney got the hang of things and collected several eggs. KK only scored 2, which had her a bit upset. Fortunately we were prepared at home and had another egg hunt downstairs in the play room. (Which is only slightly warmer then outside.) Amy brought beautiful purple tulips, THANK YOU.

My new hobby...

So I've been wanting to take a cake decorating classe for a while. I have a friend who is a professional and agreed to teach a 4 hour class on Saturday night (and another one next week). We learned borders, flowers, leaves and basic cake assembly. And THIS is what I made....





...Okay, so they aren't AMAZING, but they aren't bad for a first time. And the frosting is SOOOO yummy!

Happy Easter!

From our Family


Cass


KK


Brogan AKA "Demo" short for demolition....if you've seen an 18 month old boy in action, you can appreciate the nick-name.

Easter Outfits....

The photo shoot started so cute....we got this....

...and this....

Before Brogan expressed his desire to be done by spitting....

...and it quickly spiraled onto this....

...ending like THIS.


Gotta love those REAL Life moments caught on film and recorded for the sake of History and the eventual bribe aspect.

Close encounters...

Brogan loves the bunny from afar....and decides to approach....


He assesses the situation up close and personal....


...and determines that it is NOT safe!


Everyone else loves the bunny. For B. it was just torture.

It's hip to wear shades!

Turns out Brogan loves to wear sunglasses...ALL the time. The girls have a rather extensive collection that he discovered one day. So far, Brog's very favorite are the pink and yellow ones he is rockin' in the first photo. When he puts them on he declares, "So Cool!" He only does this with the pink & yellow set. All the others just get a half-hearted, "Cool."
Don't worry, we are already investing in some more "manly" pairs. I have a feeling the "So cool" pair will be sticking around though.

Coloring Eggs...

I live with a family of artists, which means something as simple as coloring eggs takes on a whole new meaning. I wish it were as uncomplicated as placing an egg in a cup full of dye for a few minutes. But we have to actually PAINT them, as Kayla is demonstrating with such concentration. Cassidy is happy to present a finished product.

A breezy day at the park...

The snow on the playground is finally gone and there's no better way to celebrate then to brave the lingering chill in the air and go to the park. It was cold and breezy but that certainly did not detour the kiddo's. They made the best of the snow free surface to get out some extra energy and welcome in Spring the way all little ones should. We are looking forward to many more days at the park....hopefully they will be significantly warmer.