Easter festivities

It was one of the best weekends I can remember having. If I have to include the entire realm of festivities, Christmas is of course my favorite holiday, but Easter still comes in a close second. I love the inspiration for the holiday, and the spring weather and colors put just as much magic in the air for me as Christmas lights. The kids and I warmed up to Easter with some springtime crafts:

Actually, Kjerstin helped the kids make these handprint-cutout lilies while I was running errands for the Easter bunny. Such a cute idea and my heart really did swell up when Ellie presented me with the bouquet and reported back to Kjerstin that I really, really loved them.

Egg decorating and dying (or is it dyeing? looks much less severe) was a must.


Erik's creations included the spider web design (which he achieved simply by banging the eggs on the table--brilliant!), all shades of brown (color indecisiveness), and the one on the right, affectionately referred to as "Daddy." Oh yeah, and I don't know how those two stripes ended up on the dyed eggs, but it definitely wasn't due to Erik coloring in a straight line.


Ellie's proud creations include a self-egg (she even gave it a haircut that she thought most resembled her own) and some classic crayon combos. It was surprisingly easy and not terribly messy, and even a little hard to peel and eat some of them because they were so cute (Ellie and Daddy eggs remain untouched in the fridge).


Here's a project I really thought could be a family affair. I just cut out scraps of green ribbon and orange fabric, sewed them up, and let the kids stuff the carrots. They were interested in stuffing maybe half of a carrot each, so it ended up being another Mom project, but a fun hide-and-seek activity, especially preparatory to the egg hunts.



I'm on that felt food hiatus, but that doesn't mean I'm forsaking felt altogether now! In my mind, these were going to be perky bunny ears, but floppy is pretty realistic, too. Erik's really into wearing Ellie's headbands, so I thought I'd give him an excuse to do it in public. He even wore his ears to church.


This was my big Easter project and I would do a lot of things differently second time around, but for having to make my own pattern (and that included geometry in the wee hours of the night) and following mediocre internet instructions, they turned out well enough. Now we have Easter baskets worth storing for 11 months of the year.

We decided to brave a community egg hunt on Saturday (in the pool, no less), but only because it was divided by age groups and Ellie would be at top agility for her egg hunt. We were more than a little disappointed when we scampered into the pool and discovered that all of the floating eggs were EMPTY...

but then our eyes caught this:

Like the cut-throat, pseudo-Asian parents that we are, we quickly indoctrinated Ellie until she knew nothing but that the golden egg must be retrieved. All the eggs may be empty, but an empty golden egg would leave no room for shame. So, upon the whistle's blow, Kyle half-placed, half-thrust Ellie into the pool toward the golden egg. Our baby girl delivered.

With Erik's help, she also collected seven empty eggs. We were so proud. Especially once we found out that the empty eggs do translate into bags of candies and the golden egg scored us a new soccer ball and t-shirt. Woohoo! Murray Parks and Rec, you did not disappoint.



That night we had the rare treat of going out together on pretty much the coolest date night ever. Our wonderful friends J & C invited us to join them with court side tickets to the Jazz game.

We enjoyed a scrumptious catered buffet before and I brought down to our seats enough desserts to feed the entire basketball team. We were so excited to be sitting so close to the court (all that separated us from the sweaty players was a row of security guards, but we could still smell them).

Everything was great until these four intoxicated bozos sat down behind us and started being all manner of obnoxious, commencing with spilling an entire glass of beer down C's nice sweater, dry-clean-only shirt, and onto her leather boots, and escalating into inconceivably profane threats at J for his very controlled comment on their bothersome behavior.

Here's just a drop of evidence. Above is one of the many empty beer cups those kids cleaned out during the game. Below is some of the damage, but you really can't tell how nasty it was, and you'd really have to ask C how nasty it feels to have a huge cup of beer spilled down your pants to get a feel for it.

This was all very vexing, disturbing, and frightening, as you may imagine, and really ruined the game for J & C. Thankfully, J & C sat somewhere else for the second half and the drunken losers toned it down after half time (one of them commented: "That guy who's [mad] at us totally changed his clothes on us. They both changed clothes! I could have sworn the stripes were vertical. No, no, that's [totally] him, but...") and then Kyle explained that they had traded seats. Wow, really drunk. Really stupid. Really offensive. Really stinky, too. Nevertheless, after the potty-mouth losers left, the game was really enjoyable and even though we were losing the entire game except for the first few minutes, we were determined to make the most of a one-time opportunity and really did love it. It's amazing how much smaller the arena feels when you're on the court instead of in the nose bleeds. Somehow the players looked less intimidating, more real. We felt awful for J & C and what they had to go through, but we're still really grateful they invited us --we had a very memorable time.

Easter morning the kids were not even mildly interested in seeing whether or not the Easter bunny had paid them a visit (I think because Mish and I were actually the ones to put the bunny-luring carrots on the porch and place the kids' Easter baskets out, poised for getting goody-packed)...

...but the mention of treats finally enticed them to investigate and indeed, the Easter bunny had been generous enough to fill their baskets with craft supplies that I already wanted (for crafts I plan to do with them). That Easter bunny is so sharp, I tell you.

Erik quickly complied to donning his new Easter ensemble ("new" meaning snagged off consignment store clearance racks, of course), but for Ellie, it was an ordeal.

Grandma Larsen may be the only one who remembers this dress because I bought it in MN when Ellie was only a couple months old. For some strange reason, Kyle resisted this purchase at the time, as if purchasing outfits 3.5 years in advance isn't endearingly prudential. It was $6 and, at the time, I was sure it was the prettiest dress in the world. Finally Ellie fits into some 3T clothes, and I had been waiting for this moment, so when Ellie slipped it on and then immediately off, declaring it "itchy and hurty," I was more than a little disgruntled, but not at all deterred. An embarrassing amount of bribing, coaxing, threatening and sweet-talking later, plus consenting to putting a white t-shirt under it to counteract the itchiness, I present you with the Easter vision I've dreamed of for three years:

Mish and I put on a thorough Easter feast (that I naturally neglected to photograph until we had boxed up most of it) which included ham with homemade glaze, mashed red potatoes, carrot souffle, deviled eggs (Kjerst brought some, too), fruit salad, green bean casserole (compliments of Noe & Mark), homemade rolls (compliments of Kjerst), strawberry swirl cake, and black-bottom-cherry-cheesecake. Yes, it was as good as it sounds.

We ate until we all looked pregnant (j/k guys) and then decided the kids hadn't consumed enough sugar and put on an Easter egg hunt around the living room. They were all plastic eggs so it's okay if we keep finding them in the coming days. Kyle and I also gave the kids "My First Old Testament Stories" picture board book. We read a story from the Book of Mormon one every night before bed and Ellie has all the stories memorized (I kid you not, and I mean verbatim) so it was time for a fresh set. I've loved teaching them about the resurrection over the past couple of weeks and preparing for this Easter in spiritual and temporal ways. We were so grateful to spend it with friends and family, and look forward to extending the holiday into this week when we'll celebrate with the Williams'!

I also want to give a shout out to my dad who turned one year older yesterday. All he got from me was the coordinating of a speaker-phone birthday song rendition and a couple hours of lively conversation, but that was no indication of what the man actually deserves. He is as kind, caring, wise, and lovable as a father could be, if not more. He has been the anchor of my understanding of manhood since I was a child, which is why I think I was able to marry so well. I have only ever seen him be an unselfish and devoted husband and father. He is the father every girl dreams of having, and I love and appreciate him more and more all the time. Happy birthday, Fa.

Christmas came early this year...

Or at least that's how I feel every time I open our linen closet door and behold the beautiful stacks of fabric delivered to my doorstep last week. Actually, it was a carry-on suitcase busting at the seams with all the fabric I bought in China and that I hadn't glanced at since our return to the US. It arrived with other requested items from Ma and Pa's from someone in their ward visiting UT. I appreciate the lamp, the glitter glue, and of course the CHAIRS, but ooo the thrill of sorting through that fabric gives me tingles every time. (Is this what it's like to have an unhealthy obsession? Lots of people stay up late fantasizing about fabric, right?)

In other news, I finally accepted the possibility that Erik will continue to grow hair throughout his life and consented to have Kyle give him his first trim ever. (Hmmm, is it just me or do most kids go through this before they start on solid foods? I swear me and Kyle both have real hair... why can't our kids sprout any more of it???)

The "Before" --embarrassingly shaggy, I know

We tried to avoid the old bowl-cut trick, but there's really not a lot of fuzz to work with so... but I for one think he looks really cute and a lot like his Uncle Bryce did with the bowl cut of his youth.

(Yes, those are pink ballerina pajamas Erik is wearing. If I recall correctly, Uncle Bryce also wore girls' clothes, and he turned out just fine.)

I hear from Kyle's mom that Kyle used to be a regular old prankster come the first of April, but I guess being married to me has drained all the zest and creativity out of him cuz the last joke he played on me was telling me he'd just given himself a mullet haircut and then showed up at my door and turns out he hadn't. That was while we were dating. I didn't yet realize the significance of mullets in Kyle's concept of humor, so it wasn't a "haha" joke for me, but I did actually fall for it. Anyway, Kjerst and I thought we'd get into the spirit of the holiday and made April Fool's Day sushi-- K for her students and me for Kyle, of course.

Kyle doesn't enjoy any of your standard breakfast foods (cereal, fruit, waffles, oatmeal, French toast, etc.) but he'll eat rice at any time of day and under any circumstances (like, even if he's just finished a huge bowl of rice, I'll offer him some rice and he'll say, "Oh, goody! I love rice!").

We could not stop giggling while we prepared the fruit roll-up/rice krispie treat/gummi worm/syrup (that last one was just for good measure) sushi rolls. We really thought we were being hilariously clever, except for that it was of course an idea we stole out of a magazine. Still, Kyle wouldn't know that.

And then wouldn't you know but he didn't even utter a single guffaw when I brought him his delicious breakfast in bed. I think he was genuinely disappointed that I hadn't made sushi (and rice!) for breakfast. The kids liked it, though. At least they can take a joke.

Guess what?! I made my first friend in the condo complex. Her name is L and she has three adorable little boys, C, H, and R. I noticed her at stake conference a few weeks ago and felt compelled to try to make her my new friend. But she was probably in a different ward. Come to find out she's in MY ward and she actually approached ME to have our first conversation and the next week invited ME to go to the aquarium. Yay. I think it's my turn to initiate a get-together now, right? It's been a while since I've had to make a friend, and it's just like dating but even more weighty. Not eternally, I guess, but if L's oldest boy C likes playing with My Little Ponies, that's going to make my life a lot easier.

I only took these two crumby shots at the aquarium because every school in the valley decided to do a field trip at the aquarium that day so most of the time we were trying to keep our children from getting trampled or stolen, but we did get an annual pass so Sharkies, you have not seen the last of us...

Anyone ever wonder what came of all those highfalutin' pretensions at becoming a felt food goddess? Maybe not, but either way, the following is all I've completed (mind you, it's been a few weeks), and since making any food that's not flat as a hake requires real skill, creativity, or purchasing an expensive pattern, this is all the kids' pantry gets for now.

The kids were almost impressed when I presented them with green eggs and ham, their St. Patrick's Day gift.

Cheese pizza (booooooring!)...

Or supreme pizza!

Spinach-stuffed ravioli (hee-hee, that's only because the batting I use came from Kyle's pillow and happens to be green)

Tri-color bowtie pasta

Grand-slam breakfast

Pb&j

Meat & cheese sandwich (double the meat and cheese and hold the onions)

Wow, why did I take a close-up of my tacky hand-stiched crust?

Crackers and cheese were the most time consuming because all 10 crackers needed a zillion knots to get that dimpled look

And the kids' favorite item of all is the only one I didn't make. My machine kept jamming when I tried to run the foam through, so Kjerst slaughtered her machine putting the grocery bag together for me. Thanks, man. I haven't gone "green" yet, but I'll definitely take paper over plastic.

I also finally got around to making a baby wipes "clutch" and changing pad for moi. It was very simple and not time-consuming, and now I can wipe my baby's bum "a la mode." (Um, that means "in-style." I wasn't referring to adding a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream to the scene.)



Until three more people (I'll wait to get five before I commence on the gifts) try to weasel an apron out of me (thanks, Ie Li and Sara, although I have a few more personalized gift ideas in mind for you than aprons) --see previous post if currently confused-- my crafting will now be used to spiff up my home. Curtains, organizers, throw pillows, the works. If interested in crafts, stay tuned. If interested in kids, I'll try to throw in a pic of them next time, so stay tuned, Grandma. If interested in neither, what are you doing on my blog anyway?

FREE GIFTS!

I hope that title snagged the attention of some who might otherwise browse over my postings. =) I signed up for this deal in an impulse to get free stuff off Na's blog... and now I'm stuck making five gifts in order to get one... but hopefully the only people who will comment are ones I'm already making gifts for anyway. But if not, well, let's face it, I don't mind making things at all, and you might even like what I make for you. Okay, here's the cut and paste of it all:

OK! So this is how this works...The first five people to respond to this post will receive something made by me for you. My choice made especially for you. Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:~

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Tiff's adendum: pfaw! You better darn well like what I make you!)
2. What I create will be just for you.
3 It will be done sometime this year. (Tiff: ummmm, hopefully much sooner than later. It's not good for me to give myself such easy deadlines.)
4. You have no clue what it will be... it may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure. ;-) (Tiff says: Yes, but of course it will be WAY cooler than an article on cleaning your face before a masque. And cooler than a poem. Or at least cooler than a poem I would write. My nephew Ian's poems are worth something, but I think anyone would prefer my aprons over my poems.)
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. (Tiff says: But I'm really not that creative so it most likely won't be anything but something cute I copied off the internet from a truly creative individual.)
6. I will send it anywhere! It doesn't matter where you live!

The catch? The catch is that you must repost this on your own blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. The first five people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!!