Remember Easter?

As seems to be happening more and more, I think we celebrated Easter about five times (back in the spring, when Easter happened.  Ya know).  And I even took pictures at some of those! 

The first was our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  We haven't been able to make it in the past, so it was fun to get to go this time.  They overestimated how many kids would be in the three-and-under hunt, so Camille came away with a bucket spilling over with eggs!  She was pretty pleased with herself, although it led to Ryder and Colton feeling a bit jealous!

Look-- I actually did something with her hair!

It was bright outside, so everyone is squinting at the camera

I need to buy my kids some sunglasses

That's Ryder grabbing an egg out of the bushes

Kendra found one of the golden eggs that got her a big chocolate bunny!

Around the same time was Charlottesville's TomTom Festival.  We headed to the downtown mall to see all the booths that had been set up, and then of course we had to get pizza for the kids, and food truck stuff for me!  I love going to the downtown mall for stuff like this-- we always see friends (and it's not like we're even terribly social people, so that's really saying something!) and it all just makes me happy.  THIS is what Charlottesville is like, not whatever you've been reading in the news recently.

Craig and I are such scrubs here-- I didn't put on makeup and he hasn't shaved.  But I kind of love this picture in all its honesty!

And then on actual Easter we went to Craig's parent's home for Easter dinner.  We hadn't been able to dye eggs yet, so I brought all our stuff so we could do it there.  We thought we could set up in front of their house, so we wouldn't have to worry about spilling in the house.  But it turns out that this is a recipe for disaster-- we spilled more dye than we have in all our other years combined!  But at least it didn't really matter!  But in case you were wondering: using a table is key for a decent egg-dyeing experience!

Dinner was, of course, wonderful, and we all had a wonderful time!

Quite the fashion going on here: Camille is in the same dress as before; Ryder is wearing pajama shorts and his church shoes?  And I believe Tom's sporting duct tape on his shoe!  We're a classy bunch!

So, yes, we enjoyed our Easter!  But next time we'll use a table!!!

The Faces of Ryder

I'm not sure if it's his age or his personality, or both, but Ryder is currently our craziest child.  The other day, he told me to take his picture and this what I ended up with:

What a crack up!

5th Grade Promotion

On the last day of school (yes, back in June), they had a promotion ceremony for all the 5th graders.  I liked that they called it that, since I get a little tired of people having "graduations" for every minor achievement.  We were excited to see Bentley finish up his elementary school days-- that's been six years (more than half!) of his life!

No, I didn't cry when all the proud 5th graders came marching into the cafeteria.  Why would you even ask that???  And seeing that Bentley had actually put on his tie (like I'd asked, but which he'd refused to promise to do) for the occasion.  No, that wouldn't make me cry.  Sheesh!

Unfortunately, they lined the kids up so that that super tall girl was blocking my view of Bentley!  But Craig managed to snap this!

There he is shaking the principal's hand

Here he is with his certificate

Looking properly embarrassed

And then bolting

With his teacher, Miss McQuitty, whom we all adored (and who is also CRAZY tall!)

I tried to take a selfie, but he wouldn't smile since we were at school still and he didn't want to be seen smiling (I guess???)

So I copied his face, instead

Back at home he said he'd smile for me, but instead did this

I love this picture, even if it is slightly blurry

And here we are being super cool.  So.  Cool.

Anyway, it was a proud moment for me.  My little boy here is trying to grow up on me!

Camping with Daddy

Craig hasn't just been organizing our garage, he's also been busy taking kids camping!

It all started with the annual father-son campout.  Craig took the three boys, while Kendra and I planned a very fun evening for ourselves-- painting nails and watching a movie together.  This year the campout was at a farm.  They had a HUGE bonfire-- it was so big and hot that no one could go near it.

I'm just glad no one was hurt...

My handsome boys.  (Sigh.)

Colton takes a few minutes to sit quietly

I *guess* this is a pretty location...!

After that, Kendra declared that it was time for a father-daughter campout.   And we figured she was right, so the next weekend that was free, Craig found a campsite not too far away and off they went!  (But this time I didn't do anything fun with the boys-- I just put them to bed and enjoyed eating ice cream by myself!)

How cute is she?

Kendra loves her Daddy!

They set up their tent near this little creek

Craig's Home Improvement Projects

When we bought our house, Craig decided we needed one of those locker-style benches for the kids to keep their jackets, shoes, and backpacks in.  He set about designing and building it, and it turned out beautifully!!!  We love it so much!

And now it's time I blogged about it, don't you think?

Cutting and painting pieces, and storing them in the garage.  I had to be careful not to hit them when I parked!

Assembling it all...

The top part

And the bottom part attached, too, with the backing leaned against it for show

We spent a long time debating what color baskets to get-- finally we decided that teal worked well with the garage's yellow walls

Then Craig added LOTS of hooks (and notice how he fitted it to the electric outlet!)

And added each kids' initial.  You have NO IDEA how long it took us to pick those letters-- deciding between size, font, and color was too much!!!

Proud Craig!

While he was organizing the garage, Craig also built this nifty little shelf to hold our camping chairs

And he added these baskets to hold various sports paraphernalia (he built the bike rack last year)

And here are the kids actually using their bench!  Success!!!

Having a handy husband can be so great!  Our garage is looking awesome now!