Easter

Adaley had been asking for weeks when Easter was so she could wear her pretty dress.  Then she figured out that her birthday was after Easter, so she had been a little impatient waiting for the holiday, thinking we'd be celebrating her birthday right after.

We decorated our eggs the day before Easter, and the girls loved it!  Of course we had to boil 2 dozen so everyone would have ample eggs to decorate, so we had eggs for days.  Thankfully Steve likes the boiled eggs.  Yuck!

Brooklynn getting seriously creative

 Ady just loved the colors but didn't want to wait long!

 This is the first year we actually had colored eggs.  Usually they get dipped in so many colors they all become a nice shade of brown.

The girls woke up Easter morning to some baskets and some eggs to find.  Luckily we found all 2 dozen, so no rotten eggs behind the couch for us!

 They sure don't mind smiling when they get to wear fancy dresses!

 We went to Steve's parents' for brunch and another Easter egg hunt.  Thankfully the weather was beautiful, so we could hunt outside (and get some good outdoor pics).

 Family pic of squinters (oops)

 With Magra and Papa

 She's not afraid to run in a dress.  A competition is a competition.....

 Sunday afternoon we went to mom's for a big family gathering with all the cousins!  The girls had a blast playing together.

All the cousins (still can't believe not a single boy in the group)

 Getting serious about their egg hunting!

 And they're off!

Spring Break!

It's not always easy for Brooklynn to hear about our spring dates to the zoo or the botanic gardens, so I promised her she'd have an unforgettable spring break planned by her!  We mapped out our week, making sure to hit her favorite spots.  Although mom was pretty exhausted by the end, it was worth it all to see her enjoy a week off with her sisters, friends, and us.  I better soak up these spring break moments before she'll be off hanging with her buddies the whole break!

Monday we met our neighbors at the Thornton Rec Center for some swim time.  The girls loved the wave pool in their tubes.  Ady and I just watched the chaos from afar!

On the dock for Tuesday was a pleasant day at the zoo with Papa Jeff.  It was packed, but we raced over to feed the Lorakeets before they were too stuffed to eat.  Brooklynn managed to get her nectar cup stolen twice!

As if that wasn't enough, we met the Lewis family at the Colorado History Museum, and Brooklynn's BFF Adilan tagged along!  I was just proud to survive taking 4 girls to Denver!  I managed to get them all across Broadway in the snow with no injuries.  Success!

Daddy played hookie on Friday so we could swim, again.  Brooklynn can never get in enough swim time!  The girls had a blast at the Broomfield Rec Center - racing down the slides, chillin' in the hot tub, and tubing in the river.

Later in the week the weather finally warmed back up just in time for Steve's work's Easter Egg Hunt.  They hadn't done one in years, so the girls were excited to finally go to a big hunt.  The turnout was impressive, but that didn't keep the girls from getting down and dirty and grabbing those eggs!

All done!

There was even a special appearance by the Easter Bunny .  Surprisingly Ady wasn't scared of him and actually enjoyed him!

*The big girls were really questioning the bunny this year, and frankly, Steve and I think the "bunny" is just ridiculous!  We had to break the news to them - just a person dressed in a costume who doesn't come to our house.  So they were funny trying to be sneaky to not tell Ady and felt like they had some top secret info.  Now if we could find some way to off the bunny the holiday would be much more enjoyable!

Monday it was back to school for both girls, but they were ready, and frankly, so was I.  I absolutely love having all 3 of my girlies together, but it's tough!  It's a lot of work!  So I'll enjoy these last couple months before summer and the tough times.

Boo Boo's Birthday!

Steve and I have been looking forward to the day we can do a simple birthday party at home where the parents drop off their kiddos, we order pizza, play games, and call it good rather than rent out a place and spend a fortune.  We figured the 7th birthday would be a good start.  To make it easy we invited all the girls in Brooklynn's class for a Saturday afternoon party.  Brooklynn wanted an art theme, so I bought some canvases and setup our painting party.  How hard could it be to instruct a simple painting to 7 year-olds?  Little did I know........

We had 10 girls total and our "little" party turned into quite the production (doesn't it always?)  Steve assembled the easels (made out of donated pizza boxes - thanks to Pinterest).  I sewed together some easy aprons with the girls' names, and we made some paint brush Rice Krispies treats.  This would be easy peasy!  Four hours with 10 girls on a snowy afternoon would be a blast!

The cute little 1st graders soon turned into drama queen, emotional, screaming monsters running through our house.  The painting was fun, but it was difficult to instruct them all at different levels with the short attention spans.

All in all the owls turned out cute and the kids had a fun gift to take home.

After our pizza it was on to games.  The biggest success was the doughnuts on a string.  The kids had fun watching each other and the powdered sugar made it messy and even funnier!

Our innovative group that figured out the floor was much easier!

Cake time!

Present time

All I can say is that we were both ready for a drink and bed right after.  Brooklynn had her best bud, Adilan sleep over, and it was easy compared to the craziness we endured that afternoon!

On her actual birthday we all went to have lunch with Brooklynn.  It's always fun having lunch with her and having all the kids want to sit with us!

Then we went back to her class to hand out treats after they sang to her.  She absolutely loved it!  I know last year her teacher didn't make a big deal about birthdays, which I completely understood, but it was nice to see her really bask in the joy of the celebrating.

That night we opened gifts and went out to eat at Red Robin.  The girls picked out these hats at Target and wear them constantly!  Gotta love the Fedoras!

Brooklynn attempting to get every present in the picture and look cool doing it!

Dessert time at Red Robin!

Our "little" 7 year-old

The next weekend was our family brunch party.  Brooklynn was so appreciative of all her gifts and it was fun watching her read all her cards!

 Birthday "Turbo" snail cinnamon roll

 Always so goofy

Brooklynn's Favorites
1.  Toy - Barbies
2.  Food - Mac & cheese
3.  Activity - drawing
4.  Movie - Turbo
5.  Color - pink
6.  Subject - Math
7.  Book - If Mom had 3 Arms
8.  Sports team - Rams (duh)
9.  Place to go - school (ahhhhh)

When I grow up I want to be a singer, artist, dancer, or teacher.

Height - 4'2 (85%)
Weight - 57 lb (76%)

We love you Boo Bear and you still amaze us everyday!