Easter

I know this Easter post is a little late, but I forgot these pictures were in my camera. Chance hijacked the camera and took all the photos instead of me and I think that's why I forgot.

I didn't forget about the weekend though. We had a really nice time even though it was one of those very quick trips. Kent took us for a wagon ride on Sunday and the clippity-clop of Bob and Tom put Maggie right to sleep! She slept through the four-wheeler ride too...man was she tired.

Thank you Grandma and Hodgson for a very fun Easter!

FAB FIVE...PART DEUX

I received my beautiful handmade gift from my beautiful friend Jessica on Saturday night...and I am so happy! She made me these darling wood blocks with letters and little paintings on them that you can use to spell out a million little messages. What a cool idea!

There are about 20 blocks in the set with letters or paintings on four sides. On the top there is a reference number which is used with a little "cheat sheet". The cheat sheet has tons of phrases on it with the corresponding block number that will be needed to spell it all out. Does that make sense? It's not complicated, but sometimes when I try to explain things people look at me like, "huh?".

I absolutely love this sweet gift and I love the idea of the "Fab Five" game. However, (not to make you feel guilty or anything) no one...NO ONE... responded to my Fab Five post. Do you not want anything handmade by me especially for you? Are you not crafty so you don't want to have to do anything for 5 others? What is the deal people?

Since no one responded to my original post (although you still can, there is no time limit), I am going to make something for Jessica. I gotta make something for someone! I love handmade stuff...it's my favorite.

FAB FIVE!

Green Park number 5
Originally uploaded by quiquemendizabal

OK! So this is how this works...The first 5 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!

2. What I create will be just for you.

3. It will be done sometime this year.

4 . You have no clue what it will be...a crocheted afghan. A ragamuffin garland, a mini-quilt. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure. ;-)

5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

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 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!!Oh! And be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it.

Guess What Time It Is...

squashed
Originally uploaded by Lucy Crosbie

Chance bought loads of seeds today and we've been dreaming of gardening for a few weeks now. It's getting warmer and we're itching to get out in the dirt.
It's going to be a huge garden this year and as you know, we've tons of ground...and we love to share!
If you want to garden with us please join in!
If you want a bit of ground to call your "own", just let us know.
If you want our extra produce, awesome.
If you want us to plant something special just for you, we'd love to.
If you want to can with us, we would love nothing better.
Hooray for Spring!

Sarah's 7th Birthday

I don't have any baby pictures of Sarah readily available, so this one will have to do. I'm not too disappointed though because this happens to be one of my all-time favorites of her. Can you believe how much she's grown? I sure can't.

I don't know what present she had just opened, but she seems happy with it.

I have to tell you that I really like this girl. Not to be confused with "She's my daughter and I love her". Although that is true as well.

But she is also someone I really like. She is bright and funny and very kind. She can also be thoughtful and helpful. She also has a split personality, just like her mommy!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Maggie in Pigtails

I think these pictures speak for themselves.

I just don't know why it took me so long to put her hair in pigtails.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

We had a lovely Sunday today. It started with the kids letting me sleep till nearly 8:30! If you know my kids then you know that this is almost unheard of at my house. (Right Aunt Maggie?)

When I did get out of bed I made our usual Sunday breakfast: pancakes with homemade syrup. Next week we go back to 9:00am church so pancakes will be our usual Sunday lunch!

Then I bathed the kids one by one. Except Davis. I let him shower on his own. It was a real spa day with a nice long soak in the tub and manicures and pedicures and massages!

Church was short today and when we got home daddy had burgers and fries ready for us. Then jammies, half a movie, s'mores, the other half of the movie and bed! I love Sundays (and Tuesdays) when we can all be together. I always feel so.....content! What a happy life.

365/1

I got to babysit my nephew Connor for a few hours this evening while his mommy and daddy went out for a Valentine's Day dinner. He is the sweetest baby! He is super easy to take care of because he hardly ever cries. And look at him...he is a creampuff! Man, I'm in love with that kid!

And speaking of being in love...how could you not love this little hippie/flower child. What you don't see in this picture is that she is wearing nothing but a diaper. She's a nudist. But if you had nuddies that cute, you'd probably want to show them off too. I know I would.

Canada Geese

I love that Canadain Geese consider Idaho to be "south" for the winter. We were working outside yesterday and heard honking from overhead. Instead of looking up though, I looked down at Maggie to see her gasp slightly and look around for the source of the noise. I didn't point them out though, they were too far away and getting further. There will be lots more opportunities to show them to her.

Arthur and George

by Julian Barnes

How about a book review? I read this book back in November of 2008, but I remember it pretty well so here goes.

Arthur refers to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. You know, the guy who wrote the Sherlock Holmes stories. George refers to a man who Arthur meets somewhere around the middle of the book. The story takes place in Victorian England and chronicles the growing up years of Arthur and George. They come from quite different backgrounds and as the story is fairly accurate, it is quite interesting.

Then George is accused of a crime which he did not commit and by and by, Arthur becomes involved in trying to prove George's innocence.

I won't ruin the ending completely. I won't tell you if George is found innocent or guilty but I will tell you that the ending left a lot to be desired. I wanted something much more dramatic. In hindsight, I should have known it might not be what I hoped for. It really happened and sometimes real life just isn't as exciting as fiction.

It did leave me curious about Sir Arthur, and at first I intended to seek out more books about him, but the curiosity quickly faded and I opted to move on to more fiction.

If you enjoy historical fiction, or are a Sir Arthur fan already, you may enjoy this book. But if you're looking for a good story (with a good ending), keep looking!

Baby Maggie

Photo taken October 21, 2007