Before & After

We've had a little bit of work done in the backyard over the last few months. This past Monday marked the completion of the project, and we are quite pleased. As testimony, we've spent more time in our backyard over the last few weeks than we have in almost two years of living hear. I'd say that makes for a great investment!

Pile 'O Pics

Don't you just love looking back through the pictures on your phone. Normally, mine aren't very good quality, but I truly enjoy the random moments of our daily activities that might not otherwise be captured. Some examples from the past few weeks....

Last Saturday morning was spent in the doctors office.  Little Miss had pink eye!

Frances styling in the front yard.  Notice the shoes, the purse, the keys!  And her cute terrycloth one piece.  Snagged at TJMaxx for $8.  Thought it would be great for slipping on over her swimsuit this summer.

Several weeks back, while at Dauphin Island, I took these pics of the girls playing outside at the Estuarium.

We gathered some neighborhood friends for a lemonade stand early this week. 

And finally a few pictures of the new playset in our backyard. There are still a few more projects to complete, but the kids have already logged tons of hours playing on it!

A Hoppin' Good Time

I couldn't help but post a few pictures from Easter! Gotta love these sleepy heads gathering up the carrot trail the "Easter Bunny" left behind;)

This little bunny was a bit later waking up, so her brother and sister were extra excited for her to see her Easter basket!

 

After church, we made our way to Pops and Tula's house for our Easter lunch and egg hunt.  It was picture takin' time, and let's just say the cooperation was slim.  This picture wasn't too bad...

It's easy to snap a shot when they are preoccupied or if you have one that's extra willing....

 

But let's just say getting a family picture or a cousin picture was close to impossible!!!

So, let's hunt eggs instead.  No complaints there!!!

The Reason for the Season

Have I mentioned on this blog before that I LOVE Easter? Maybe, a time or two:)

Yes, I love Peeps and bunnies and all things spring. But what I truly love most of all, is the opportunity to focus on Jesus and what he did for us (yes, all of us (John 3:16)) on the cross. And how His resurrection from the grave was proof of God's acceptance of Christ's payment for our sins. Now that's a reason to celebrate!

Now, for a final recap of Spring Break week...

Walker and Kathryn hung out with Pops yesterday morning while Frances and I went to Bible study. They took the camera along to document their time together.

In other news, Miss Frances was given the opportunity to paint her own waffles. She actually did really well with the paint brush! And we experimented with a different type of painting tool--the PEEP!

Finally, the kids have been begging to dye eggs. We decided to try something new this year and use Kool Aid. No vinegar involved, simply add water! It was quick and easy, and although our eggs are a bit "spotty," I think it had more to do with anxious little hands than the egg dye! They were very proud of their creations, and that's all that matters!




He is not here, He has risen! Luke 24:6

Let the fun begin!

Spring Break '12 is in full swing around our house. We started the week off right with a beach trip to Dauphin Island. Our fun in the sun ended with a quick dash to the doctor to see about Walker's ear. The pain literally had him in tears all.the.way to Mobile. One ear infection diagnosis and trip to the pharmacy later, and he was good as new.

That was yesterday. Today, Kathryn woke up with pink eye! Nothing like being sick on Spring Break! We've not let a little sickness slow us down, as we've decided to make the best of our week with lots of fun "at home" activities!

This morning, we painted waffles! Toast the waffles slightly and paint away with a mixture of food color and milk. Once your little Picasa is finished, stick the waffle back in the toaster to brown just a little bit more, and enjoy!
























I, of course, found this idea on Pinterest along with lots of other lovelies...like dinner tonight (photo by Kathryn)...

Chicken Ranch Tacos

Except, I didn't really follow this recipe exactly. Recall, our oven is broken:) So into the crockpot went the chicken, with 1 packet of taco seasoning, one packet of ranch dressing mix, and one can of chicken broth! Serve with taco fixin's and some pinto beans. Delish!!! (On a side not, I really wish I served the chicken on tortillas. Hello, chicken soft tacos.)

Kathryn also captured a picture of her sugar egg. Yes, both of my five year olds created sugar eggs at school. Have I mentioned their teachers much have the patience of Job?!? Can you imagine doing this with 8-10 four and five year olds assisting you? The thing is they turned out precious!




































In their boredom, I mean spare time, the kids also took pictures of their babies. This is Walker's turtle, and the next picture is me demonstrating to Frances how to take a picture of Minnie!





















































In this last picture, Kathryn captured me trying to sneak in a little reading this Spring Break. On the Kindle, All Over But the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg.

We'll check in with some more updates as the week continues to unfold:)

Caps for Sale

The 4 year olds at Kathryn and Walker's school put on their Spring Play today. It was remake of the book Caps for Sale. Kathryn was a cap peddler. Here she is all smiles after the performance. She did an awesome job!
























Telling the monkeys to "Give us back our caps!"
























Our little monkey! Walker did a great job too!
























And this one...let's just say, she made it through Walker's class' production, but we escorted her down to the nursery for Kathryn's class. There were just not enough lollipops to keep her quiet;)

March

Considering the lack of posts recently, you would think we've been sitting around twiddling our thumbs with nothing fun to document on ye old blog. On the contrary, life has been very full as we've transitioned from winter to spring this month of March (or maybe from spring to summer, considering we didn't have much of a winter and it's already in the 80's)!

Perhaps, the biggest event this month has been some home improvement projects that are underway on the outside of our home. Rotten wood has been replaced with vinyl, new gutters have been put in place, and the biggest news of all, a new tree house/playground is in the works!

This was a view outside our back window yesterday! They had to take down our back fence just to get this monstrosity (a concrete truck) in! Needless to say, the kids (big kids, me and Matt, included) are very excited. We've still got a ways to go, but it's nice to see progress.

























As for the kiddos, this has been the month for birthday parties. We have literally had one or more birthdays each week. We've eaten ice cream sundeas and frozen yogurt, bounced at Kangarooz, and went on an awesome Star Wars adventure. Can I just say I love birthday parties! And my kids do too! The creativity just never ceases to amaze me!

Last Friday, we were visited by Aunt Coco, Daniel, Beau and Papa. Kathryn and Walker had their first at home sleepover with Cousin Daniel and surprisingly they behaved quite nicely;)

This weekend, the Tew family will converge on Dauphin Island for a little get together. Thought I would pass along the menu items I'm bringing:

Bow Tie Pasta Salad

Cheese Slaw

Scotcheroos

Which brings me to my last point...our oven also broke this month. So we've been very creative with what we can cook either on the stove top, in the microwave or in a crockpot! That's the main reason, I chose the recipes above. They don't require an oven. Plus they are really yummy. You should try them too!