Happy Easter 2014

At the last minute, we decided to run to the ranch for Easter.

 Here is our before church photo-Kyle was with us at the ranch but I did not get a photo of him.

 Thursday before Easter, Gunnar had his egg hunt at school that morning.

 And a little party in the afternoon! This is G and his friend, Drew.

 A little party treat. Gunnar even ate a raw carrot, which shocked me. I guess he was in the bunny rabbit spirit.

 The big kids had Good Friday and Monday off for Easter break. On the way to the ranch, at one point, Gunnar was using two electronic devices. He was actually looking back and forth at both! My boy is such a great multi-tasker.........and yes, that is ridiculous.

When we got there on Friday afternoon, we helped Cita and Big Dad clean out the swim tank. We found two frogs. On Saturday, Nana came out and we ate lunch with everyone, including PeeWee & Cindy and Dawson. That afternoon, we dyed eggs. Five dozen to be exact!!!

 We love a good craft.

 I think Slade dyed one egg. He's too cool for eggs. Punk.

 Gunnar never bothered to change out of pajamas the entire day. Punk. He loved hunting him some eggs!!!

 Finley and her egg loot. I love some good ol' hard boiled eggs. Don't even think that we use plastic round here. Real eggs, baby!!!

Finley hid eggs for Gunnar. Gunnar hid some eggs for Finley. He was very excited to hide them for her-he ran all over the yard!!! It was a most pleasant weekend!!!

Smart Happenings.......

My little Smarts have been busy lately!!! 

Finley went to Coronado cheer camp. This is Finley and her friend, Bailey.

Finley & Gunnar with the mustang after the performance on the last night.

This was Finley's group teacher-she was so sweet and such a cutie!

The mustangs even performed really silly dances.

Another sweet Coronado cheerleader. They were so good with the little girls.

We had to take Slade to a football party that had been delayed from the winter. It was way across town, so Finley, Gunnar, & I decided to stay close instead of driving all the way home. We found a Bahama Bucks and decided to partake in some snow cones!!!

 Finley had bubble gum, G had orange, and I had coconut. Yum!!!!

Can we please discuss the fact that my son is going to JR HIGH in August?!? I think I've just been avoiding thinking about it, but it is here. Kyle and I had to take him to a welcome night at Irons. I actually felt really good about it. Everyone loves the principal and the school is very nice. Big, but nice.  Slade is actually very excited. He is my happy go lucky child. He just takes everything in stride. I'm so glad he is like that. He is excited about all the classes they offer. He was also thrilled about the fact that the cafeteria offers Chick-fil-A sandwiches at lunch. Football and Chick and friends. What else does an eleven year old need??? 

Here is his choice sheet. For the electives, he picked athletics and then chose band. He is not really my musical child, so I asked why he picked band. He said that he would rather play an instrument than sing or paint! LOL! I don't see him loving choir. He thinks he might want to play coronet. 

In other news, Finley lost yet another tooth. 

Sunday afternoon ice cream sandwiches with Emma.

This boy has started swim lessons. Lots to tell about this. I will have to blog about this one all on its own. Let's just say I have a little fish on my hands.

And the best thing about swim lessons.......someone was actually tired. Mind boggling, I know.

Once per month, we have half days at the big kids school for teacher inservice. I keep our little friend, Logan on these days while his mom works. We went out to the shop and played in the mud. Mud and snacks and sun. It was great!!!

Slade and Kaleb rode the golf cart around and hung out. Finley went with Jennifer and Emma to the mall. I had a handful of boys all afternoon!!!

If you have never given brussel spouts a try, you might now. I bought fresh ones, cut off the stem and cut them into fourths or sixths depending on the size, Then I cut some bacon into pieces and sauteed it all in a little olive oil and lemon pepper. OH MY!!! So good, and so easy!!! The pic is not so great, but then again, I am no food photographer. They were very yummy-take my word for it!

Spring Break S'mores

 Marshmallows are just better when........................
roasted on a fire,

 with your grandma,

washed down with red Kool Aid,

 at the creek,

 with a fluffy dog,

during Spring Break. The End.

Favorites

Some current favs.......

Hope in a Jar.....Let me just say that this face lotion is so so so great. It has a neutral smell and absorbs quickly and is so soft. I love this stuff so much. Downside.....it's really expensive for lotion-well to me anyways because I like a good bargain. It just hurts to pay for it and therefore I only have done it once. I splurged one day and I was not sorry at all. I was scraping that jar till the last drop was consumed.

CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion. In my search for a more affordable face lotion, the dermatologist that I went to last week recommended this. It's $13 and I had a $2 off coupon. That price made me much happier. I used it last night and I really like it. It has no smell, which I love. It absorbed but my face still felt soft this morning. I'm using the PM for both morning and night but they also have an AM with sunscreen that I plan on getting this summer if I continue to like this. I'm not a fan at all of wearing lotions with sunscreen but it has to be done. Protect your face-we aren't 18 anymore!

Tangle Teezer. If you would like to avoid the morning and night debacle of your middle child screaming and crying while you brush her hair, run to Sally's and get this brush for about 8 bucks. Your sanity will thank you for it. I use it now, as well. We own three of them.

Lipton Raspberry Instant Iced Tea. My momma let me in on a little secret. I needed a non-ice cream (gag) punch recipe for the shower I had at my house. This is my mom's go-to punch recipe and it's simple. Dissolve one cup of this instant tea in 2 cups of water. Add 2 liters of gingerale. That's it. Simplicity at its finest. You can also use the peach or lemon flavored tea but raspberry it the best. It is so easy, it would be great to serve at basically any party.

Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette. It is really difficult for me to express my love for Urban Decay eye shadow. It is the best eye shadow. Ever. I have palette 1 & 3. They are fabulous. 3 has pink hues and they are gorgeous. This eye shadow goes on like silk and doesn't leave your eyelid. Try it and you will never go back to anything else. $52 and worth every penny and lasts, oh, FOREVER.........You are getting 12 shadows. That's less than $5 per shadow.

Sanibel Reversible Pendant Necklace from Stella & Dot. My friend gave me this necklace for my bday over 18 months ago and I wear it all the time. It comes in silver, too.

You can flip it over and this is the other side. You basically have two necklaces in one.

Land O Lakes Saute' Express. I haven't tried it yet but I'm really thinking it's gonna be yummy. You can just saute up your chicken and there you go. I've been looking for low carb options and since butter is on the list, I'm thinking yes to this. There's several flavors. And really, who doesn't love a little cube of butter?

Stevia in the Raw. Well, I did it. I made the switch. I got off of Sweet & Low because my research has found that his is better than aspartame, succrolose?, and other things I can't spell. This doesn't have the after taste like so many sweeteners. I don't do sugar either so this is what I put in my tea. I like it now. It took about a month but it has become what I prefer. Now, my Diet DP addiction has been a tricky little issue. I am slowly starting to ween off of those, too. I do not drink them every day. It's a sad sad sight at 3pm each day when I get the "I need a Diet DP/some fizz or I will chew off my arm" but I'm making it.  Diet drinks are a drug!!!! I need a Diet DP support group.

Happenings.....

Really we've been busy, but since I'm too lazy to load the photos from my phone or camera this morning, here are a few pics that were on my computer....

 This girl can rock some leggings. She is cute in anything, really.

 We went to a PTA general meeting where Finley sang and Slade received his 1st Place UIL medal. Gunnar ran into Saylor-she is in his class at school. They thought it was so funny to see each other somewhere else besides school. Gunnar had to go hug her.

The boys posing with a load of Kyle's trees.

 Group photo!

 King of the hill! Nothing screams cool dude more that a jacket with a monkey on it that your mom made you wear.

 One night Kyle told Finley to go feed her dog. She designed her initials and a peace sign out of dog food. The art classes are starting to pay off.

Slade was helping with a VERY VERY VERY EXCITING project that we are working on in our backyard!