Easter 2015

What a beautiful day to celebrate our risen Savior! The Easter Bunny stopped by our house. I suspect he will always come by here no matter how old the kids get...also please note that he usually leaves a little treat out front for Brian and me. What a sweet Easter Bunny!

 We had some special plates and napkins for our nutritious breakfast of doughnuts and candy.

 Once again, I insisted on a picture in front of the door holding the Easter baskets. I wonder how many more years I can talk them into posing for me.

 After church and lunch, we had a fun little egg hunt. We didn't even have to try to convince the older ones to join in because they knew there was money in some of the eggs. I would hunt too if they'd let me!

 

 Here are a few action shots!

Happy Easter!

BB: Before the Break

We are just coming back from a week off of school enjoying Spring Break. Lots of pictures are headed your way including Easter and a big ol' crazy trip we took during the break. Today, I'm just catching up on pictures from before the break.

Claire and I went to see Cinderella with some of the girls in our family. We all enjoyed it (except Claire thought it was a wee bit boring at times).

 Claire and I had some extended girl time because the boys were camping.

 This fellow spent some time relaxing.

 St. Patrick's Day came around so we ate some green pesto pasta in honor of the holiday.

 Our family helped serve with the IHN ministry in our community.

 Rita's had their usual free ice on the first day of spring. Mama likes free, so we took ourselves on up there.

 Claire went to a birthday party for a friend where she got to ride horses. Oh. my. goodness. She fell in love. When she was in Pre-K, she rode a horse and loved it back then too. This time, she was begging (BEGGING!) to take lessons by the time we left. She's still working on her daddy about that little request. (Public Service Announcement: Horse back riding is an expensive hobby. In case you didn't know. Ha!)

 She's definitely a natural!

Giddy-up!

39: Reasons I Don't Like Green Beans Edition

I'm continuing my 39 Series with a little silliness today! I hope you enjoy my 39 reasons I don't like green beans. So in no particular order, here we go!

1. They are slimy.

2. They taste awful.

3. They stink.

4. The texture is frightening.

5. When you take a bite, a little bean might pop out in your mouth unexpectedly.

6. They are stringy.

7. They are yucky. 

8. They aren't pizza.

9. They aren't chocolate.

10. They aren't fried (I can kind of tolerate a fried green bean if they are skinny and have plenty of dipping sauce. I still don't like them though.)

11. They stink up the house.

12. They stink up the neighborhood.

13. They stink up the world.

14. They make the food that touches them horrible.

15. They are gross.

16. They are despicable.

17. They make me sick.

18. They make me gag.

19. I mean really gag.

20. They are the worst food in the world.

21. They are the worst food in the universe.

22. They are dreadful.

23. They are appalling.

24. They are horrific.

25. They are horrendous.

26. They are repulsive.

27. They are altogether unpleasant.

28. They ruin the delicious fried onions in green bean casserole.

29. They grow in a pod.

30. They are a type of kidney bean. 

31. Kidney beans are gross too.

32. Just not as nasty as green beans.

33. But almost.

34. I looked up green bean in the dictionary, and they are described as slender.

35. I'm not a fond of slender.

36. Because I am not.

37. It also says they are immature. Ha!

38. I can't associate with immaturity in my food.

39. Because (based on this list), I am very mature.

Snow Days!

The snow has arrived...and it's not leaving! We went through all of January and part of February with zero snow. I was seriously about to give up for good. Then all of the sudden, here it came! Lots and lots of snow. We were out of school every day last week. Then we went to school Monday, and we haven't been back since.

The kids have LOVED playing outside almost every day with neighborhood friends.

We also had to finish up a science project last week. Have I ever told you how much I hate science projects??? Yes, hate is a strong word. And yes, it fits in regards to science projects. Ugh!

Somebody had a bath. He hates it! And yes, he would want me to tell you that hate is an appropriate word choice. Just look at his face...it says it all!Q

We made cookies from scratch when the temperature was below zero and too cold to play outside.

The snow is really pretty, and I'm so thankful for snow days!

Valentine's Day 2015

We had a fun, family Valentine's Day at home. Our Valentine breakfast consisted of yummy Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We also had a delicious dinner and made some Strawberry Brownies for dessert. They were easy and delicious.

A Quick Trip To Charlotte

A few weeks ago, Brian and I made a quick overnight trip to Charlotte. We mainly went to pick up some things from Ikea and to look for some other furniture pieces. However, by the looks of this post, all we did was eat. Ha!

We definitely had to make a stop by our favorite little place in Charlotte, Cajun Yard Dog. I didn't take a picture of all of our food (GASP!), but this is the spicy pimento cheese appetizer. So good! Brian eats the beets...justsoyouknow.

We also found a really delicious little Italian place. It was highly rated online, then my friend in Charlotte (Hi, Betsy!) recommended it.

The pizza was great! We also had the lasagna. I can't get that picture to turn, but trust me...it would taste good upside down and sideways. Delicious!

Now, let's talk about these meatballs. Everybody, and I do mean everybody, talks about the meatballs at Ikea. We were tired of hearing about them, so we gave them a try. Eh...they were just ok.

Here's my only picture that's not food or furniture pieces I was pondering...my cute little Brianaby standing next to a huge map. I have been in love with this map for a long time. I just can't seem to find a wall big enough in my house to make it fit. Maybe I should hang it on the ceiling.

Even though we seriously ran ourselves crazy from store to store (and clearly restaurant to restaurant), we had a great time spending time together.  We also came home with some new furniture pieces that I love.

January Highlights

Back in January, we had some really mild weather. So off to Gatlinburg we went! We had a lot of fun just walking around and being outside.

Parker also went on a youth retreat in January with some friends. Here is a picture my friends sent me from one of the morning sessions. Can you tell he was tired???

Claire spent some time cooking with Nana.

We had some family over for the Super Bowl. The girls (and Silas) mostly just ate and talked in the dining room.

The boys enjoyed watching the game!

January seemed to go by in a flash, and now February is almost over too!!!