And one more because I really like how the video goes with the music, enjoy.

Easter Sunday

Going Private

Hi Readers! I am pretty sure there are about ten of you. But, since I am being fairly specific about our whereabouts these days, and we're not living in the big city of Los Angeles anymore, I will likely be making our blog private over the next few days. Please send me a message through email or facebook or leave a comment if you'd like to be an invited reader. You'll need to set up a google account to sign in with if you don't have one already. Thanks!

Easter Weekend, It was a Busy One!

We spent Easter weekend with our New Jersey Family! Our uncle, aunt, and three cousins arrived late Friday night so we could start our festivities early Saturday morning! We started with a local Easter festival where there was a trick-or-treat style parade. The kids and their baskets made up the parade as they moved from table to table collecting candy, small toys, and coupons. I think the kids got more than they do on Halloween, and good stuff too. For example, one table had cadbury eggs and another had chocolate Easter bunnies and another was giving away bubble wands for free! Kent and I are pretty strict these days about allowing the kids to consume high sugar treats, so we just might have Easter candy until Christmas. Ha ha. But seriously. We just might. It was pretty cool though. There were two free jumpers, pony rides, games, and a sack race. I think our little cousins were quite pleased with their introduction to our little town.

Saturday evening, we took them to one of our favorite places, North Beach! The girls had fun wading in the water, collecting shells, and playing in the sand.

When we all woke up Sunday morning, we found that the Easter bunny had found us way out here in Southern Maryland. Funny thing is, we found our usual new toys in our baskets, but they seemed to be lacking in the candy department. Hmmm . . . The Easter bunny must have talked to Mom and Dad on that one. Then we had an Easter egg hunt, and guess what? No candy in our eggs either, just stickers and silly bands and pretty hair accessories. Hmmmm. . . Madeline wasn't super excited about these changes, but I bet our pediatrician and dentist will be.

After the baskets and egg hunting, Madeline and Grandma headed out to church at Maddie's request. She came home fairly traumatized by some play where the Easter Bunny was chasing Jesus. I still haven't figured that one out yet, but she cheered up pretty quick with a trip to her favorite place, Brownie Beach. Yeah, yeah, we were there a-gain. We like it. It's like our new backyard. Plus, Madeline got a raft in her Easter basket, and she was ready to try it out.

We took Leah, and she had a blast. I love to see all the dogs tearing around, fetching, and swimming off leash. And Madeline has had some success with fossil hunting, so we did some of that too. Did we mention, our friend Ryan from LA was here with us too? We had a house full of guests, just how we like our holidays.

We headed home for some Easter dinner which included a honey baked ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, and I made Grandma Shirley's zucchini pie recipe which I tweaked with a whole wheat crust and additional veggies along with some broiled asparagus. It was delish!

Then Monday morning came, and we made a quick trip to our local park so that our cousins could burn off some energy before making the long trip back to Jersey. We sure had fun!

More Springbreak Fun

Before Madeline's haircut, we went (you'll never guess where!) to the beach. Yep, we spend quite a bit of time in the sand. We like it.

Look what we found in the surf!

Madeline gave Sophie and I gorgeous, and I mean gorgeous, manicures and pedicures. I went with sparkly blue and Sophie chose an array of fabulous colors.

Locks of Love

Madeline has wanted to donate her hair to Locks of Love since last summer. Finally, after months and months of waiting, her hair grew long enough. She needed a ten inch ponytail minimum, and I think she ended up donating close to twelve inches of her hair. It was very exciting, and we all love the new do!

More Spring Break and a Little Vent :)

Madeline's spring break has been really nice. It has been relaxing not having to wake up and get her off to school by 8:45 am. Very, very nice. Usually, my girls wake up between 7:30 and 8:00, but they (not me and Leah) have definitely been pushing 9:00 over the last couple of days. Again, very, very nice. So, in addition to quiet coffee mornings overlooking the bay for me, we have enjoyed a couple of really warm days, like 85 degree days, to go to the beach, and (drum roll here) in bathing suits no less! Yaaaaahoooo!

Now let me talk about our bathing suits and other summer clothes for a minute. When our stuff arrived from Cali, Kent and I were mentally distracted with #1. Where were the people we hired to unload our truck? Oh, yes, they never showed up, and I spent hours on the phone with our credit card company as a result, and #2. Will all of the things we own fit in the space we leased???? So, as Kent and our truck driver carefully and strategically placed each box and item in the jigsaw puzzle that is our storage space, we didn't put a lot of thought into what we might need to get to over the next few months. Poor, poor planning on our part.

Well, every time Kent or I or the girls need something, whether it be spring/summer clothes, bathing suits, slippers for slipper day at M's school, interview shoes, or car titles, we head over to storage to get something, open the door, move a few things around, realize it will take hours and a hired hand to actually find the box we want, move everything out and then back in, we reluctantly go to the store and replace what we need. Then, we ask ourselves, "Why did we pay to pack, move, and store our stuff if we are only going to go out and re-buy what we need?!?!" It is a frustrating and expensive cycle we have found ourselves in. Chalk it up to "live and learn" I guess? . . . But, I flew across country with a suitcase, one suitcase! A girl needs more than that for winter, spring, and soon to be summer!!!

Ok, back to spring break. How great is it to have two beaches in walking distance from your house? Even if you have to buy new summer dresses and new matching bathing suits for your kids, one shouldn't complain, right? I mean, really, just because I am unemployed and buying the same things I am paying to store in a storage unit, I really shouldn't complain, right? Well, LOL?, maybe?, just a little? Then curse yourself, repeat cycle, and go to the beach.

Annual Easter Eggs

We colored our eggs last week. I was impressed with the colors we ended up with; they turned out quite bright without a lot of soaking time. :) Grandma Connie and Daddy ate most of them for breakfast and lunch over the last couple of days, so hopefully, we will color a new batch with our cousins tomorrow. Speaking of cousins, they are supposed to arrive tonight around midnight. The girls are very excited and think they will still be up, but we'll see about that . . .

Madeline and the Plate

Sophie's Turn

Here's Sophie in action. I think Grandma was the most excited one. I think if I hadn't been there to hold her back, she might have trampled the poor 3-5 year olds in an attempt to fill Sophie's basket to the brim. :)

Egg Hunt

We started off Madeline's spring break with an Easter egg hunt. The girls were a little disappointed that the eggs weren't actually hidden but just scattered in the fields.

There were thousands of eggs, but with hundreds of kids, each hunt lasted about three minutes. Sophie was with the 3-5 year olds and Maddie with the 6-8 year olds.

Double Rainbow!

Saturday night we saw a full rainbow and a double rainbow. It was very cool!

Hail, Thunder, Lightning!

Hail!

Madeline and I love a good thunderstorm, Sophie, not so much.

Another Afternoon Beach Trip

Friday afternoon, we scooped up Maddie from school and headed to North Beach where fun on the beach is still free. After Memorial Day, some of our favorite places will cost money, boo.

Low Tide

These are pictures from an after school beach trip. It was warm enough to get wet! Madeline was especially impressed with low tide and amazed by how far she could wade out into the water.