Bangs Are Back

It's true. My student stylist, Kylee, told me so. Bangs are making a comeback, and I want to do all I can to help.

Family Togetherness

Last week was wonderful! Michelle, Marshall, Aaron, Jen, and Christopher all came to visit! I feel so lucky that I married into this family. They are loving, accepting, and hilarious. We had a great time playing games, golf, and eating lots and lots of food. Can't wait for the big reunion in August!

Michelle trained us in the art of Disc Golf a couple of times. It was really fun! Much more challenging than regular frisbees. Michelle bought several discs just so we could learn to play. I made sure to keep mine clean by throwing it into the water as often as possible.

Auntie Shells gave Kate this little Care Bear/Bunny and it has become her new best friend. She eats and sleeps with it, and carries it all over the place, giving it occasional little kisses. It's so precious :)

Marshall keeps climbing the ranks of Kate's favoritism. He has definately surpassed me and now only competes with Dad and Grandma for her affection, often coming off champion. His secret? Muscles. Yes, Marsh's muscular arms seem to be able to push Kate on the swing for hours on end, and continually lift her to look over the fence at Grover.

Poor Christopher and Michelle, totally unaware of the two enormous lizards above their heads, poised and ready to attack.

This was such a great day!! We went out to eat at a Thai restaurant, but that's not even the best part! Aaron and Jen announced that they are expecting! I'd have to agree with Christopher that the world may not be ready for so much cuteness. But ready or not, I can't wait!

Easter Egg Hunt II

Grandma and Papa Tingey hosted an Easter egg hunt for their 2 favorite grandchildren, Kate and Darin. Darin was an old pro, and this being Kate's 3rd hunt in one week, she finally got the hang of it. I was chosen to be the Hider of Eggs. I put a lot of thought into my egg-hiding, taking into consideration their age and attention span. I'd like to think I was tough, but fair.

HAPPY FACE!!!

In her wisdom, Grandma put a single jelly bean or rock in each egg, so there really wasn't as much candy as it looks like in this picture. Good thing too, because jelly beans turn Kate into Mr. Hyde. Luckily, we haven't seen any side effects fom the rocks yet.

Road trip

My mom and Kate and I drove to Utah to surprise Travis and Jacqui for their birthdays! Kate was a super trooper. A little beer in the bottle will do it every time!

Cool thing #1 introduced by Uncle Travis: Root Beer

I guess the only complaint I have about hanging out with my family is that they are always so serious. Sometimes I wish we could loosen up and just be a little goofy.

We went to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant and had a good meatfest. Then we went back to Greg and Jacqui's place to eat cake and open presents. My mom and I got to try out their sweet tandem bike!

Cool thing #2 introduced by Uncle Travis: Nose Picking

We had a blast, but it ended all too quickly and we got back on the road the next morning. Luckily we had Kate's weird faces to keep us entertained.

ZOO EGG HUNT!

The week before Easter there was an Easter egg hunt at the Zoo. Kate and Shae participated in the "2 years old and under" hunt, which mostly consisted of overly aggressive moms shoving each other and stealing eggs from little kids. (ok, it wasn't quite that bad)

In the pre-hunt excitement, Shae did warm ups and tried to explain to Kate the purpose of it all.

Kate never really got it.

Minutes before the start of the hunt, various moms eyed the competition.

Mrs. Stratton looked particularly determined. You could have cut the tension with a knife.

Well, I didn't take many pictures of the actual egg hunt, because it was rather embarrassing. The first egg that Kate saw completely captivated her. She dumped out the contents and studied it intently, while all the goodies around her vanished! The humiliation of it all was almost too much to bear.

Luckily, Shae demonstrated his level of commitment to Kate after she gave him a significant look and he immediately dumped his entire bucket into hers.

The Petting Zoo

There was also a petting area at the zoo that day with lots of little animals waiting to be mauled. Kate and Shae gave these sleeping kids a few pokes, but got bored when they didn't wake up.

Kate hugs...

a rabbit

a hedgehog




a goat

and a Shae.

Barbecue Crashers!

Mike, Kate and I decided to tag along to a barbecue my parents had with some friends. We brought Kelsey and Shae with us and had a ton of fun!

Shae has mastered "The Lean".

By far the highlight of the evening was throwing rocks into the pond. This never got old.

Mrs. Stratton explains the rudiments of rock skipping to young Shae.

Shae and Kate got in some good pre-Easter-egg-hunt training by putting a plastic egg in this pot and then looking at it.

Dad's my favorite because...

He throws me high!

He swings me high!

And he lets me hold his foot.

Ode to Dirt

There she is! My plot of dirt. Freshly tilled and... plotted? This is my first garden ever, but thanks to my garden coach (Frances) I just might fill a cornucopia or two! Things have finally started growing out there (apart from the weeds). I never thought I would be so excited about peas.

Adventures in Potty Training

I bought a little potty so Kate could get used to sitting on it. Last week she made her first tinkle in it! After which she promptly stood up and let the rest out all over the floor. We aren't really potty training her yet, more just giving her opportunities to go if she wants to. Well, tonight we gathered in the bathroom as a family to give her one such opportunity. She sat on the potty while I made encouraging "psssssss" sounds. Finally understanding what we wanted her to do, she proudly said, "Psssssssss!" We love our funny girl!