He is Risen!

 We began our Easter festivities Saturday morning, with a visit from the Easter Bunny-who successfully charmed the children.

Good Easter Bunny.

  Shortly thereafter we hosted an Easter brunch full of fanciful fixings and one eggstravagant egg hunt (featuring not one, but three!!! cash-filled golden eggs).  We had thirteen kids and 6 adults under this minuscule roof.  Creating a happy (and maybe slightly frenetic) chaos. 

The Littles. 

The Bigs.

 The Happy Hunters.

 Sunday was beautiful.  The sun was shining and the Spirit of the season abundant.

Unfortunately I was singing in the choir (not by choice...I'm not that selfless), and had to run out of the house extra early, allowing only seconds to shoot the kids in their new Spring stylings.

 That evening we had the missionaries and another little family over for our Easter Dinner feast, then ended with a sweet lesson describing the beauty and majesty of The Resurrection.

We are a lucky lot.  Us humans here on earth.  Loved unconditionally by a Father in Heaven and a Big Brother willing to sacrifice His own life so that we may all be joined eternally as a family together again.  

Indeed, we are one lucky lot. 

Madness of March

Purging my iPhone:

 Ryder finished up his first season of basketball (#5).  He seemed to really enjoy it.  And scored at least one basket every game.  We'll deem that a success.

 The house has made very, very little progress.

But, still, the builder does just enough that I don't shoot him in the face.

 There were more days with snow on than ground than not.  

 This is inexcusable.

 Ryder's all-wise father introduced the kid to Rob Zombie.  He will now listen to nothing else.  

Which I find slightly creepy.  But apparently not creepy enough to actually do something about it.

 He also fell down the stairs on a Friday morning and emerged with a gnarly looking arm.  I sent him off to school anyway. 

 I had a busy day.

Then the school nurse said he had a gnarly looking arm, but I should wait a day to have it seen to ensure the gnarliness remained.

It still looked gnarly on Saturday so I took him to the pediatrician.  She said it looked pretty gnarly and he should get it x-rayed.  The father spent the next 4 hours at the ER wherein it was determined the gnarly looking arm was just that and simply needed a couple more days to return to normalcy.  We'll count that as a roundabout obnoxiously procured blessing. 

 Also, I nearly managed to blow the house up.  During a no-sleep/no-shower stint.  I don't do well exhausted.  Somehow in the chaos of creating dinner I had wrong appliances resting on wrong-turned-on burners, and the result was a crackling, stinky, gooey, bomb. 

 Pretty awesome.

And speaking of this house.  It is so small.  And I so often feel claustrophobic, certain the walls will swallow up all of the toys and vomit plastic pieces all over my shoes that are shoved in 14 different closets and then they will revolt and trample me to death.

But this house.  That is so small, is also so magical.  When there is happiness it here, it pervades every surface.  Laughter reverberates and cannot be escaped.  Cheerfulness is contagious in this little cottage.  I feel the giggles.  Literally, feel.

 No matter where I am standing or sitting or laying the mood of this home melts into my soul.  

  And so, while I am anxious to actually hear quiet and sequester the sour, I will always treasure our months in this place.
 The kids school turned 100 years old and they celebrated with a Decades Day.  We picked the 80's.  Naturally.  Wherein Linley was convinced no one would ever wear their hair in a high side pony.  Upon me telling her that I in actuality regularly wore my hair in a side pony in that blessed decade, she proclaimed, "You lived in the 1900's??  No wonder you're so old!"

Thanks kid.

 Baby beauty had her six month check-up.  Not remotely close to being on the charts for height (sweet, beastly baby), nearly 18 pounds (86th percentile) and her sweet, teeny tiny little head ranked in the 34th percentile.   That's my girl.

 Many, many movie nights were had as is it still mind-numbingly cold.

And finally, more numming on this delicious little lady.

Not a bad way to spend a March. 

Dye Job

 We all know I don't lay awake at night dreaming of dying eggs. 

More accurately, that would be the stuff of nightmares. 

 But, the good father in this house insists it imperative.  

                                                            And so, dye eggs we did. 

 Without the insistor.

 Because he had to be elsewhere.

 Fancy that.

 That said, it went flawlessly.  No spills, Eden slept through the duration, and the house was full of  happy little bunny babies to boot.

 So maybe next year I won't require as much convincing (doubt it!!).

 Now if only I could round up some time to get me a dye job....  

Holy Six!!!

 Somehow six months have passed since the birth of this beauty.  And I honestly cannot wrap my tiny little head around it.

 Six months!!! 

A fact that is suffocating me in sadness.  

 This was an interesting month wherein she ceased rolling and sleeping.  

The rolling part...angelic. 

The sleep part, obviously much the opposite.

 But that has since been rectified.  And determined she likes the 5:30am hour.  And she is stubborn.  And I am way too smitten.

 But I mean, those cheeks.

Someone figure out how to bottle this baby up, STAT.  

Pretty please. 

Ridin Derby

They see me rollin'

They hatin'

 Patrolling they tryin to catch me ridin dirty

 Tryin to catch me ridin dirty...

 Sometimes I rap.  And it's awesome. 

The End.

A couple weeks ago Ryder legitimized his place in boyhood.  

He ranked 5th of 12.  

Not bad for his first time and only discovering the derby date one week prior.

That said, there was much sadness and despair.  Befuddled by what went wrong when he had done everything right.  Determined for a marked improvement next year.

Ryder was a little disappointed as well.

 Ladies and gentlemen, your future.

Howwwl Wonderful

This weekend marked our fifth anniversary of Great Wolf going- and it will go down in history as one of our favorites.  

We convinced awesome friends to join us, increasing the enjoyment for the children and the adults alike.

Which is extra remarkable, because I forgot some key items.  Like my camera.  And a stroller.  Again. I'm pretty sure I forgot more, but I can't remember.  

And that's my life.

Luckily cell phones suffice in adequately capturing memories, and my arms are completely capable of cuddling my baby for eternities.  

Plus, eliminated was the opportunity for me to baptize my camera.  By immersion.  Because, let's recall, that has happened. Twice.

Lemonade. 

The Robinson's made for great company.  The kids were off happily playing, the adults were happily conversing, and ample slide-time was enjoyed by all.

Tess continues to prove herself as The Adventurous Child.  This was the first year she was tall enough to ride the Toilet Bowl, and she couldn't get enough of it.  It's a little refreshing to not have to resort to bribery and the pulling of teeth.  

However, she also got lost 800 times.  

There is no winning.

This year also found Linley tall enough to ride every slide.  Except she refused.  I managed to get her to go down the Double Barrel Drop with me, wherein she repeatedly screamed with clenched fists and eyes closed, "I am never doing this again" the entire ride, and ceased to speak to me for hours after.  

And then there's Ryder.  It may have taken five years, but the kid can finally say he loves every single ride.  

And that is just plain awesome.

There's not much else to say.  It is such a pleasure seeing my kids in complete heaven.  Playing with friends, feeling confident and big and responsible and even a little bit reckless.

And it is so rewarding to experience all of that while indulging in grown-up conversations and a little splashing adventure of our own.

Good Times.

Good Friends.

Good fun.

One great little getaway.