Easter Pics

Both girls were a bit exhausted by the time we took these. This was Saturday, and we had gone to a big Easter egg hunt at Thanksgiving Point and were outside for about 2 hours in what I am sure were sub-zero temperatures.

Adele ignored everything in her Easter basket once she got hold of the only thing that mattered in there, a sippee cup. She loves anything plastic with a straw.

These are the "before" pictures as we were leaving for the hunt. They look a little cleaner and brighter, don't they?

Elsa was with Paul on Easter Sunday, so the rest of us spent the day at home hiding from the snow. (Yes, there was snow on Easter, this land is really barely inhabitable.)

Adele's favorite things: Daddy, a blanket, cookies, and a cozy place to relax.

Adele's First Birthday

Yesterday was Adele's birthday...so we got CRAZY!!!!

There was to be a family gathering in Delta, so we were going to seize the opportunity to have a little party for her there while everyone in Ry's family was around, but something came up and everyone stayed home.

Fortunately, Adele's big sister is an expert party planner, and she threw together a last minute bash to end all bashes (in the one year old bash category, anyway).

First we got some wild Chuck E. Cheese's action:

Party guest. Time of their LIVES! (as you can see)

Elsa showed Addy the ropes on the rides.

Just before this pic, Del said, "For twelve bucks a plate, I am tasting the plates!"

Then they stormed the castle

And at home we had the "real" party.

Elsa decorated (she's going pro).

This present is from Elsa. It was the Zhu-zhu pet you will see in the video at the end of the post.

And Ry and I got her one of these.

And then, well, we let her eat cake. Or, we let her something a cake anyway.

If I don't post this, Ryan will. He busted me tasting the frosting when I was supposed to be clearing the mess. It wasn't bad. If you are the sort of person who likes to see a lovely cake obliterated by a baby, click here.

Mom, Grandma,

The cedar chest is fine, and I won't let her crash it anymore. Promise.

Remembering Geography Or Music...

I was taking Elsa to school and I decided to ask her if she remembered anything she learned about St. Patricks Day. Here is the conversation that took place:

Me: What is the capital of Ireland?
Elsa: Washington??
Me: No, it's Dublin. What is the capital of the United States?
Elsa: AC/DC.

Ah, Elsa, you are hilarious.

I Don't Know Which One of Them Started This:

I don't know who the leader is either:

There is some great hip work around second 32 of this one:

She's 11 months old, and finally...

She sits up!!!

Ladies and Gentltemen...My Eight Year Old!

She does not like to hold still and let me take pictures.

How it Could Have Been

At one point in my life I considered (seriously) becoming an elementary school teacher. Sometimes, when I am sitting at my desk at work writing long, boring, technical documents that no one will ever actually read I think, "I wonder what life would be like if I had become a teacher. At the very least, I would get human interaction, I would be doing something noble, and I would be out of here by 3. Not to mention, summers off!"

Then I host an 8 year old's birthday party, to which I insisted she invite every girl in the class instead of just most of them--I don't like Elsa to be "cliquey" and didn't want any one's feelings hurt.

So, three hours of 19 screaming children later, I think to myself, "Nope, life is good. Technical writing is good."

P.S. There are no pictures to post because I forgot to take a camera and even if I had had one, it's hard to be the photographer and do crowd control at a riot. I will get a good shot of my pretty eight-year-old and post it in the next day or two.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Best part of the day for me is having two little girls who love eachother so much!

Adele's Music Video (I Expect MTV Will be Calling Soon)

Here is Adele, doing...stuff. To music.

This really is her favorite song. When I turn it on she always lights up and "dances" so I should post video of THAT. But I don't have any in a format that works. But I did have all of these video clips of her doing other things that I wanted to post someday, so I figured a splice job was a good way to get 'em all up at once before she grows up.

Taking Candy From A Baby

Everyone has always said how bad/wrong it is to take candy from a baby. Have any of those people ever asked the baby what she thinks about it?? Huh? Have they? I don't think so. Because the way I see it, taking candy from a baby is one of the coolest and funnest things you could ever do to a baby.