spring things

This week I'm super thankful for the Higerds. Having four littles makes it a bit difficult to hang out with just any family. There is a certain level of uncontrolled chaos that you become accustomed to once you reach the number four. There are just so many of them needing something that you often live just meeting need after need, putting out fires, preventing injury and just dealing with a lot of noise. And that overwhelms most people that aren't used to that level of crazy. When I hang out with Mari, I feel totally normal, totally accepted and in a weird way, completely relaxed in the midst of pandemonium. (Thanks spell check. I would have thought it was spelled like panda.)

Since we live in California, we can enjoy both the snow and the beach in the same season. Obviously we love us some Higerds so we invade them as much as possible. Recently we went to the snowy mountains as Addie and Angus call it. Probably Dora the Explorer's influence. Dan came too but I didn't get any pics of him. Sorry honey. Love you.

Then Friday, we planned a beach day/sleep over at the Higerds'.

They had an Easter egg "hunt" at the park down the street the next day. There were two eggs with a winning ticket in them. Out of like 200 kids Winter found one of the two winning eggs.

I love that these two are still besties. 💜

Wendy sent the kids presents and Easter eggs in the mail that she instructed me to hide all over the house for a hunt Easter morning. She also insisted I take a video and send it to her which I did because I always do what Wendy tells me to do. It's like she's still the boss of me. That's okay. I don't mind. It was nice having something for them on Easter morning. Mya is still finding eggs in the house that nobody found. It's the gift that keeps on giving. I guess I'm just a really good hider.

I've never done baskets. I'm still recovering from Christmas. And I don't really talk about the Easter bunny. Lying to the kids about the Elf on the Shelf and Santa is enough dishonesty. Addie asked me if the Easter bunny was real the other day. I sighed and replied, "No sweetie. But don't go telling kids that okay?" She nodded and continued playing barbies.

Every Easter I always promise myself we are going to pick out our outfits on Saturday, complete with matching shoes, hair accessories and necklaces. Of course this has not happened once in the history of Easter for me. This year, we all picked out our outfits 20 minutes before we headed off to church. Addie insisted on what is still her favorite dress in the whole world. It is red and sparkly and is unmistakably a Christmas dress. She threw on some bright pink flip flops to complete her look. I convinced her to change her shoes. Oh and she also wore some pastel multicolored leggings since it was a little chilly out. I begged her to take them off. But she shouted, "Mommy they're Eastery!" And they kind of were.

Mya and Winter wore matching little pink and purple dresses with little animals on them so they were cute and appropriate. Only Winter paired her sundress with black ankle boot heels with rhinestones on them and thick white socks. "Some people wear white socks with black shoes," she said when I suggested a nice pair of sandals. I wasn't even close to being ready so I didn't argue.

It's hard to let the girls dress themselves every single day of the year and then take away their freedom to have a semi cute Easter pic. Props to you all for putting forth the effort needed despite efforts from your very opinionated children. Mya looked great because she very much values my opinion for some reason and Angus was super cute because he still lets me dress him. (So does Dan for the most part) So two out of four kids is better than none I guess. I really wanted to get a pic of the 6 of us and totally failed. Sorry. It may have been subconsciously on purpose. Still no pic of Dan unfortunately. I promise to include you next time honey.

Here's one of Angus doing his Easter egg hunt dance with his buddy Becket. Angus calls him Bucket. But that's still not as bad as Anus.

We went to my Aunt Janine and Uncle Doug's for a family Easter party. Always a wonderful time.

This is my brother Michael guarding the door so the kids don't see where the eggs are being hidden. He was nearly trampled. 

TJ's recommendation of the week: Rice crackers

If I would have planned ahead I would have recommended something Eastery... or at least with eggs in it. But this is what I have. These are the best little crackers. They are super crunchy and pair well with cheeses of all kinds and any dip Trader Joe's carries. They are bite size too. Probably a little bigger than a quarter. If you were to make the OK sign with your hand, that's the size. Not the thumbs up cuz that doesn't make sense. 

Happy Tuesday/Wednesday!