Easter

I lost the plastic/candy battle again this year...but at least we went to church!  It was fun watching M toss eggs throughout the pasture while the kids had their backs to the windows.  Only D caught the Egg Hider in the act.  The Pirate followed close on his heels, sniffing each egg with interest.  I had fun imagining him slurping up each egg as it landed.

Ready to Hunt

F Finds an Egg

D figures out the game fast enough. "Egga!"

S found the most eggs, but shared with his sibs.

IJ found the basket of goodies, but the magic is over for him.

D doesn't want plastic...until he discovers candy!

The magic has yet to begin for this one...and IJ can help him learn.

E's Lucky Egg (the Irish flag)

F has a new dress just like E's, only hers is purple.   I knit the top and sewed the skirt to the bottom.  I don't think I will ever sew a gathered piece of fabric to a knit anything ever again!  But I did have fun.  The fabric is too thin to wear without something underneath, so I found that lacy petticoat in the dress-up box this morning.  It looks so cute peeping out over her rubber boots!

E's Easter Dress!

Here are links to 2009, 2010, and 2011.  This is our first Easter without Grandad.  Even before we moved here we spent many Easters with him.  He was the one that inspired (is that the right word?) us to eat all sorts of yummy things and go overboard with buying food.  This year we are keeping our menu simple: ham, potatoes, and salad.  And a shrimp tray.  And pop.  And coconut cream pie...but only one.  And ice cream.  And we had melon and strawberries for breakfast (with a side of candy), but if we would have had more time we would have added Eggs Benedict.  The only reason we don't have a cheese and sausage tray is because I didn't want to buy a "bad" selection and M didn't want to stop at the store on the way home from church.  We hear the first year after a loved one passes is the hardest.  And it was this time of year that Grandad started declining.  I catch myself thinking, "It was this time last year when Grandad went to the hospital for the first time..." or "Last year I bought him lamb, but he couldn't eat it and I had to eventually throw it away."  (sniff, sniff)

Anyway, did we find all our eggs?  We'll never know...because no one counted them!

The Beach

The low tides have hit along with perfect weather, so we headed to the beach yesterday...

The low tides and good weather will be sticking around for a few more days, so I'm thinking we'll get a few more uses out of our Discover Pass! 

Big Backyard

Oh boy are we happy!  Our backyard is so big...and flat!  Here are some pictures of...nothing!

Looking North toward the Cherry Tree

Between the house and chicken coops

The area between the house and coops used to have a little hill that was covered in old tree stumps.  Now a truck can drive through and access the back yard...you know, just in case we ever need to have a septic system installed.

View from the driveway

M inspecting his kingdom

M didn't even take his work jacket off before he was off exploring the new yard.  He immediately replanted one of the fruit trees that he moved before the bulldozer got here yesterday.  As soon as he had his coffee this morning, he was out planting grass seed.  The boys have been very helpful raking and picking up big rocks.  We still have a lot of work to do though...

Ground Breaking Ceremony....Again?

Now check out this dog:

Never Trust a Smiling Dog

He is so proud of himself because he figured out how to climb the cherry tree...when there is a cat in its branches.  He climbed the tree four times, but never reached the cat.

A Good Day

Goodbye trenches in the backyard!  Goodbye ugly stumps between the house and chicken yard!

Something Missing

I remember I put on my socks,
I remember I put on my shoes.

I remember I put on my tie
That was painted
In beautiful purples and blues.

I remember I put on my coat,
To look perfectly grand at the dance,
Yet I feel there is something
I may have forgot— 

What is it? What is it? …

~Shel Silverstein

Just in Time for Easter

Just when chickens start to get boring... we have an odd chick in our collection of frankenbirds and Gold Comets.  It could be a gold rooster...or it could be an Easter Egger!

The Easter Eggers can lay any color of eggs ranging from brown to green to blue.  They aren't really a breed, just a description of a mutt-like bird that has roots with the americauna/aracaunas (the green legs are the tell-tale sign).  Gold Comets are supposed to have only yellow legs (although I did come across a hatchery that said sometimes a roo will have olive-colored legs).

If it's a rooster, it won't lay any eggs at all...and will have to leave the flock.  Five roosters is enough!

Forever Three

I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that F will be four years old in one month.  She just seems too tiny to be a big, hulking preschooler. 

I just can't wrap my mind around F being a preschooler.  She will be the same age IJ was when we decided to homeschool.  I thought that next school year would have three school-aged kids and three little ones.  But yesterday I realized that F will be Pre-K in September!  And we always start kindergarten work in Pre-K!  That means I need to rewrite everything I planned for next school year... and yes, I'm planning next year already!  I'm also nesting and cleaning like crazy, so get out of my way!  I only have two months left to get anything done before I get too big to be efficient!

Was IJ that little and cute when he started his Pre-K year?

I think it may be safe to say yes.  He was pretty cute.  But not in a little girl kind of way...