Boys will boys, Girls will be girls-- Most of the time

As the classic sayings go 'girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice'. And boys 'snips and snails and puppy dog tails'. Being a mother of two boys and then a girl I have seen that over and over. I'm not sure why boys love blue and girls love pink, boys love cars and guns and girls love flowers and princesses. I don't know how this happens, but I do know it's true. I remember people telling me that even if you didn't give your son a gun to play with he would eat a bite off his cracker/piece of bread and make one himself. Well, Kate proved she was a girl all over again this week. She took a bite off her cracker and looked at it and exclaimed "Mom, it's a blowdryer!"
But since she has brothers, she can still play guns. Here Tyson taught Kate how to defend herself against Bradley (she has part of a giant easter egg over her head as a shield).

Hunting at home

We had our traditional living room/dining room hunt. I had to set some ground rules this year due to the age discrepacies. Tyson had to get eggs above his waist and Bradley above his knees, Kate - free for all.

Easter Sunday

Unlike Saturday, Sunday it poured. We didn't get our traditional family picture in front of the house, but a few shots to remember the occasion. We had dinner later that afternoon at the Hatch's.

On the Hunt

Kate could've gotten more eggs, but she didn't want any of the wet ones (they were ALL wet, we're talking about a Seattle morning). I had to help her along before she got excited about it.

The kids had fun at the annual Stillwater Greens (our neighborhood) Easter Egg Hunt. It couldn't have been a more beautiful morning. This was the third year I have headed it up. The kids separate into three groups and hunt for about 400 eggs in different yards (we had about 30 participants this year). Then we have doughnuts, hot cocoa, and cookies. It was fun to meet some new young families in the neighborhood.

Easter on the Horizon

March 17th
The kids decorated a Bunny Hutch as part of our Family Home Evening last night.

Kate's new look

March 11th 2008
Because life is never boring! While I was at the gym... Kate and Bradley did this. When I walked in the door and gasped, Rick said "I was just thinking that something looked a little different. I was devasted until Tia said "it could've been worse." I thought REALLY? Since then I have heard many stories of child hair cutting experiences-many of them worse. (She'll be wearing a hat for Easter)

Happy? Birthday Bradley

March 9th 2008
We celebrated Bradley's birthday with Grandma Hoyle, Great Aunt Kay, the Hatch family, and Brian & Jessica (and Zachary) with dinner, cake and presents after Stake Conference. It was a great celebration. After everyone (except Great Aunt Kay) left..... Bradley's birthday took a turn... (viewer discretion advised. The following pictures may be considered graphic by some!)
We went for a family walk, Bradley on his 'big wheel'. He was daredeviling it down the hill and fell off once, but was fine. Then he turned the corner and on a nice level stretch he ran into a group of mailboxes. He clipped the corner with his head.

Dad, Bradley, and Tyson (official historian) headed off for an evening at the ER. He ended up with two stitches. It will certainly be a memorable birthday!

Mommy's Little Helper

What are you doing Kate? Just cleaning the toilet Mom.
What you can't see in the picture is how wet the bathroom is.

Counting to ten

Last night Kate learned how to count to ten out of the blue. She had only ever counted to four before that. Why do kids always perform for the first time when they aren't dressed?

Murphy's Law I guess.

Alright, here we come

As I was finally studying some other blogs in preparation to finally start my own, what happens? a 'blogging moment'. I've been trying to figure out how I will have time for a new hobby that seems it will take a lot of time--I think I'm on to it. Ignore the kids while you blog, they make a mess, you blog it.

Here is Kate 'cleaning the toilet' and finally yelling "Mom, I need you reary bad. Big water!" The pictures really don't do the mess justice. Her new habit is using the rest of the roll if left unattended while wiping. So much for potty-training saving you money!