I was lazy about taking picture over the 4th so Amy was nice enough to email me these.  Our 4th of July continued into day 2 where we did a little BBQ, kicked back and relaxed.  The kids made a tree swing and did a few crafts.  It’s nice having them old enough to sit for any sort of extended time to do an activity.

We sat around and chatted as the kids did their thing…just another sunny, San Diego day.  The shade we could find brought welcome release from the heat of the day.

Keeping with Easter tradition we decorated eggs this year the day before Easter.  Nana and Papa were here so they got to share in the fun.  Little did I know that Easter egg dying is one of Nana’s least favorite activities.  Sorry about that Nancy!  Of course with the move and all I hadn’t checked my vinegar supply and was a bit low.  After a few improvisations we managed and found ourselves successful.

The kids enjoyed themselves and we only had one spill.  They actually seemed to like the eating part the best…yolk and all!

We decided to leave our old house with a bang and do our 2nd annual Easter Egg hunt a week early.  It was empty.  After a few muffins and some juice we were set to go.  The kids went in waves looking for the eggs.  The backyard has plenty of room so it didn’t prove difficult hiding the 390 eggs.  Let’s just say each child came out with plenty of eggs filled with all kinds of goodies.

We played some old school sack and relay races.  I actually decided to stay with the same games from last year.  Why not keep the games a tradition as well as the hunt itself?

After all was said and done the kids got to relax for a little bit and enjoy their spoils.  A HUGE thanks goes out to everyone(you know who you are ladies!) that helped move, bake, decorate, and buy all of the Easter goodness that was.

Side note: I know I have fallen out of the blog-o-sphere…this is due to lack of internet as well as some random crazy things happening.  It will all unfold eventually…BUT, I’m back with more stories to tell!

The Greek blood that runs through my veins is dangerously laced with a little Irish.  This might explain my occasional temper flair-ups as well as the auburn highlights I have through my hair.  Two of my brother-in-laws (I won’t name names…Matt…Joe) teased when I first met them that I was a bit of Irish Half and Half-concisely put, I suppose.  That is neither here nor there so when St. Paddy’s Day came around this year we decided to have a bit o’ fun.  Poor Annie was shocked to find the toilet water green and consequently refused to use it.  Hudson went on a hunt for Leprechauns right then and there(Later in the day, Hudson did begin questioning the validity of leprechaun existence.  I responded with a, “What do you think?”).  The green milk sealed the deal for Annie.  Leprechauns must be about.

Now the idea for the cake was courtesy of my friend Amber -thanks!  It wasn’t too hard to make, but if you ever try it, I would recommend using two white cake mixes not one.  There wasn’t quite enough to spread the layers evenly.

Either way, I hope your day was magically delicious!  As a side note, how many of you actually know what, Erin Go Braugh, means?…just curious.

Roses are red; daisies are white;
Valentine, you make every day a delight.
Violets are blue; daffodils are yellow;
Valentine, you make my heart jiggle like Jello!

By Joanna Fuchs

I love you Will!!…Forever!

Mom, Dad, thank-you for letting me pause my life for a few weeks to enjoy a swirling vortex of fun and excitement. Thank-you for not laughing too hard when I showed up in flip-flops; transforming your living room into a huge playroom to keep the kids beyond happy; Brian and Casey thank-you for giving endless piggyback rides; letting us help you with homework; giving up rooms and playing mountains worth of games.  Heidi and Shane thanks for letting us be with you and for bringing Colson.  I could still just eat him up!  For those of you who read this, thanks for listening while I practice for the day when I win my first Oscar.

Hammond’s Candy was a highlight of our Denver trip. It opened in 1902 so it will be celebrating 90 years this year.  We took a tour of the factory to see how they make the candy canes and other sweet treats.

Brian thought he could mess around and not pay the price.  I took care of it, probably with way less grace than was required.

My sister Heidi, Shane and her little guy came out to visit too!

The conclusion of the tour dumped out out into the store.  It looks like Sea World isn’t the only place where they try to ensure you don’t get out without buying plenty of things you don’t need.  They sure are delicious though!

Annie was very overwhelmed by it all.  I loved watching her.

Their little delivery truck made me feel huge.  How much bigger have the people gotten over the last 90 years?!

So we got a little competitive with the gingerbread houses…and yes, Heidi and I are on the same team.  What happened to, “United We Stand?!”

Hudson joined the girls team after awhile.  He just wasn’t impressed with what the guys had to offer.

From the Gingerbread House:
Naomi: “Lily, you’re not talking about muffins here, this is a gingerbread house from scratch, this is hard. Remember childbirth? This is harder.

It looks like the boys are 0-2 at our house.

With the holiday snow calling my name, I bundled the kids up tightly and took them to the park behind my parents house.  Hudson was doing some wicked tricks.  Whether they were on purpose or of the accidental variety, Will managed to catch some of them in photo form.  In the above picture, my not so little, little brother, Brian was sharpening his camera skills.  To be quite honest, I was shocked that Hudson was able to clear the jump and my brother without a scratch!…And yes, Hudson did land on the sled, right side up.

It was a chilly 11ish degrees, but still well worth the effort.

Will did some splicing here.  Both images are Hudson!

Casey, my other not so little brother

Brian put down the camera for a little to see how he compared.

After a while, Hudson decided that he could take on bigger, more dangerous things with grandpa(i.e.-the Scout sled).

The holidays found us in Denver this year.  Upon arriving, we found that things were gearing up to be the perfect Christmas.  The flight in was great and flurries began a few minutes after we touched down.  We got nice, fat, snowflakes, Christmas Eve as well as Christmas.  It got so cold outside that the top layer of snow was glittery(beautiful for looking at and lousy for snowballs).To top it all off, my mom made a call to Santa a few days before Christmas Eve.  Annie loved the baby doll.  She even tried to name it baby Colson after her cousin.  We explained that Colson was a boy and she should probably choose a new name, but she was not interested.

Hudson on the other hand had no interest in Santa.  This was our third attempt to peel him from me.  The idea of a present straight from the North Pole didn’t even loosen the grip.  Either way, Santa did bring him the Spiderman yo-yo he was hoping for.  That is actually the only thing he said he wanted for Christmas this year.  And to think Santa took a special trip to hand deliver it.