Here I Yam... both of us

So I always dread taking the end-of-the-pregnancy pictures, but always make myself so I have a pic for the baby's album. Of course pictures add about 20 pounds right...? There's no way around it, I know, I'm pregnant and am supposed to look like this, but for some reason, it's still a shock to see a picture of myself - even though I look in the mirror every day, for some reason, pictures are worse. I don't even think my belly looks that big, as Bee says, I'm just big all over. She asked me one day why pregnant ladies gain weight everywhere and not just in their belly. Ya, WHY? So in case you are wondering if there is anything you can do for me... YES. Please pray I'll have this baby anytime. I know three weeks is a lot to ask, but dang, she's in my ribs, my rash itches like crazy, my hands are swollen and hurt and besides, I just can't wait to meet her!! Other than that, I don't think I need anything. Well, maybe diapers. You can never have enough of those. And pink blankets. Grandma Linda and possibly Mama Bear are going to come over on Friday and help me make some girly receiving blankets, and then we'll be set. I don't actually have a bed for her either, but that's an insignificant detail. First baby has to have a bassinet AND crib set up 3 months before they are born. Baby #5/8 is fine on the couch, a drawer, the floor. Wherever. One day we'll kick Lemur out of his crib and bring in his big bed.

I am frustrated with myself because I left my camera home this afternoon. We had Family Home Evening at 5:00. We decided to start having FHE on Sunday afternoons because #1. All 7 critters are here on Sunday evenings most weekends, and #2. Zookeeper has to work on Monday nights now. SO, we started today. All the critters were pretty excited about it. Steelhead and Martin helped Porcupine make gooey chocolate chip cookies, everyone helped clean up dinner and get ready, Bee prepared her lesson after church and the scripture critters got their scriptures ready ahead of time. It was so much better than the rushed FHE's we've recently thrown together and gotten over with on Monday nights before I had to work. It was awesome. The only bad part was that Lemur was sleeping for the opening song, and it's such a riot to sing Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam with him there... he LOVES that song and we sing it every FHE for him. We sang a sedated As I Have Loved You instead tonight. Anyway, we had the pre-planned scriptures, prayers, and Bee gave a great lesson on the Atonement and then Hunter was in charge of the activity. He took us to the River to go for a tromp - I say tromp instead of walk, because Hunter does not stay on the path - he tromps through the weeds and bushes and blazes his own trails.... the critters all follow him. I actually stayed in the van and talked to Mrs. Fox on the phone, I didn't really feel like tromping. I do wish I would have taken the camera though, it's starting to green up and I could have gotten some great shots. Oh well. Porcupine and Monkey got back before the others, so I did throw the football for them for a while. It was a nice FHE and I hope we can keep up this new tradition. P.S. The gooey chocolate cookies were to die for! I think I posted the recipe once, if not, e mail me and I'll give it to you.

Build-A-Bear Date

For MONTHS now I have been promising the girls I would take them to Build-A-Bear at the mall. They have been saving their money and looking at the website, planning what to get, dreaming... CAN'T WAIT!!! ... and then there's me. I hate the mall. I hate shopping. I know, I'm a girl and I'm supposed to LIKE doing that sort of stuff. But I don't. I never have. Probably never will. HOWEVER, I have 2 girls and I'm not about to drop them off at the mall by themselves and I KNOW Hunter would never take them, so I got myself all psyched up for the day and finally took them to the mall. We were going to do it right after Penguin's birthday, then the holidays were there and the mall is way too crowded for me. Then after the holidays we bought the house, moved, were doing projects... I could always come up with SOME excuse NOT to take them. But finally I decided that if I didn't do it now, I'd have to drag a new baby with us too, so we went on Saturday morning. Wow, the girls were so excited!!

Of course we had parked about as far away from Build-A-Bear as you can get, so we had to walk forever to get there, but we finally found the store. The girls had a blast looking at all the cute clothes. They had gotten a bear and one outfit from Grandma Linda 2 Christmas's ago and have been wanting to get more clothes. I thought they would each buy a new bear, but they knew they wanted to spend their money on clothes... what clothes to buy was the question.

They checked prices, coordinated colors, looked at shoes and accessories.

They even tried on some of the outfits.

Okay, so I'm a sucker. I let the girls pick out a bear for their baby sister...

They got to push the foot pedal while the guy stuffed the bear. They also got to put a heart in the bear - actually 9 hearts, one heart for each person in our family that loves baby sister.

Then they gave the bear a bath.....

And finally decided on an outfit for the bear - pink bear is her name, until baby sister is old enough to name her. Then (sucker) Zookeeper bought a recordable device... I am going to take it to my next Dr. Appointment and record the baby's heartbeat... take it back to Build-A-Bear and they will put it in the bear. Then we can pus the button and hear the baby's heart beat... can you say sucker!??!!!!! (Hunter big time rolled his eyes when I showed him the bear, the recordable device and then about passed out when I told him how much it cost.. but hey, this is also the guy that bought our baby a chainsaw when he was 8 months old... and how much did he spend on that thing?!!!) :)

Of course every trip to the mall has to end with an Orange Julius! yum! Okay, I have to admit, it wasn't THAT bad going to the mall with the girls. I have never taken them before, and I don't think they have spent much time at the mall with their other parents, so everything was new and fun and exciting for them. They were happy and cheerful and excited about everything, and very fun to be with. I still hate malls, and I probably won't take them there very often, but maybe every now and then. They are already planning on saving up their money to go again, and they thanked me over and over and over for taking them. When we got home they built a ward robe for their bears clothes out of cardboard. It is complete with hangers and drawers and shelves for the shoes. I'll get a picture of it after they paint it. It ended up being a very fun morning - and would have been more fun if it wasn't so uncomfortable waddling around the mall. I should have gotten a wheel chair, but even I have some dignity, although I think the girls would have loved pushing me around. Also, next time I think we'll go to Cold Stone Creamery after instead of getting an Orange Julius... have you bought one of those lately? They were almost $4.00 each - for a small! (and it wasn't as good as the ones I make at home). Okay, so here's my challenge to you. Go and do something you have been dreading with a good attitude, and maybe it will turn out to be... sorta enjoyable. Ya never know! It's all in the attitude!

The Green Room

We finished painting Steelhead and Monkey's room last week. I (Zookeeper) got two coats of clear varnish on the window trim and then Friday night Martin put the carpet tack strip down.

Porcupine and Monkey helped me with the carpet pad. Martin later helped finish it.

Saturday morning Hunter went and picked up a HUGE piece of carpet from some friends. When the Extreme Makeover came to our little town a couple of summers ago, a business donated some nice carpet for the volunteer tent. They rolled it out on the pasture and hundreds of volunteers walked all over it. It was then rolled up and put in someones barn for a year. Then a lady in our old ward finished her basement and an apartment down there for the missionaries. They were going to use the carpet for the apartment and then decided it was too dirty and too much of a pain to use, so since then it has been sitting outside under a boat. Long story short, they gave it to us. Hunter and our buddy had to use a tractor to load the 35 foot roll of carpet onto a flatbed goose neck trailer. Hunter brought it home, pushed it off the trailer, unrolled it, then measured out enough for the two bedrooms and cut them out. The really dirty stuff we just threw away, but the two pieces big enough for the bedrooms, we just put out on the grass, vacuumed and shampooed. They cleaned up really nice and dried out fast in the spring sunshine. Before we returned the shampooer we used the upholstery attachment and shampooed the second set of couches that Hunter bought for $100.00 from a guy at work. They are microfiber couches and looked like they had water splotches on them - they had dogs so I wonder if it was dog slobber? Yeah. Anyway, Hunter shampooed them and they look great now!! If you need anyone to find you a good set of couches for $100, better talk to Hunter. He found us 2 sets in a week!!! Wow. (we now have a big blue couch you can HAVE) Mrs. Fox - get a shampooer for your couches, it seemed to work fine. I also hurried and shampooed the family room carpet before he took it back. I should have moved the furniture, but, well, you know... anyway I didn't but just shampooed around them. It looks better than it did.

Saturday night another friend came over and showed Hunter how to lay the carpet. They worked for a while and then the carpet tack strips started coming up. Martin had glued them down with hard as nails glue, but I guess because the old carpet had been glued, the surface was uneven and when they stretched the carpet the tack strip just pulled up. Hunter made a quick trip to Lowe's to get some more tack strip and spent the rest of the night hammering it in and stretching the carpet - finally getting done about 1:00 a.m.

We BBQ'd some hamburgers and had a simple dinner for our friends who helped us with the carpet. ( had to work for 4 hours Saturday night)

The critters were all tired, but still wanted to watch a movie Saturday night. I'm not sure the couches were dry yet, but they sat on them anyway.

Montessori Moment

I gave Lemur some pennies in a small bowl (probably 20 pennies) and a small penny bank.

I showed him how to put the penny in the slot. After he had all the pennies in, he brought it to me. I took the bottom off so he could get the pennies out and just left it off. (that part of it I didn't think through) - Montessori says to have the "work" all prepared for them so they do not have to have adult interaction/interference while they are working, it distracts them. If they want to show you their work, that's fine, but she doesn't want the adult interfering with their work.. It's okay for them to explore and try the work a different way - as long as it is safe (if he's putting the pennies in his mouth - of course, interfere).

He tried another way - pouring the pennies in the hole instead of putting them in the slot.

It was time to put the work away when he started making a mess. When the child uses the work inappropriately, time to put it away. Don't make a big deal out of it by hollerin' and yellin' or threatening the child, simply say, "it looks like you are done with your work. Let's put it away." And help them put it away - even if they cry and throw a fit about it. You can also say, "you can try again later."

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I have been thinking about why my classroom ran so well with 12-16 2 1/2- 3 1/2 year-old-children, and why it doesn't always run so well with one 2-year-old at home. Here are some random thoughts:

* At school, it was my job to train, make "work" and enforce the rules. At home I forget that it is my "job" to do the same thing for Lemur and I get more into my "work" (transcribing, cooking, cleaning etc) and let things slide. Of course we are all busy and can't play teacher all the time, but some things I've tried to remember lately are:

** Don't threaten - your child will soon learn you don't mean what you say. When you say something ("it's time to clean up your toys,") mean it. Help them clean up their toys. Have them help you.

** Follow through - when you tell the child to do something, if they choose not to do it, help them do it.

** The less you talk, the better - children become "adult deaf" when we yap at them all the time. The tune us out. Say something, then act. (I know, it's hard to get up off the chair or stop cooking dinner to help the child go potty instead of telling them 5 times to "go potty!" but it'll be worth it.)

** Lots of positive reinforcement, but be careful not to praise too much. Instead of "you are such a good girl" tell your girl WHAT she is good at: You put your laundry away so nicely! Look how neatly you set the table. Wow, you got yourself dressed!

** When you show your child a new "work," do it without talking. Make it a magical moment. Quietly do the work. Move Slowly making exaggerated movements. For example, when putting the pennies in the penny bank, I picked up a penny, slowly held it in 2 fingers and moved my hand in a big sweeping motion to the penny bank, slowly putting the penny in the slot. Then I said quietly, "wow..." (BIG SMILE from me and Lemur). I repeated myself 2-3 times, even though Lemur was excited and wanted to try it himself.

** Have a specific work area. In my classroom the child could do their work on a rug (big carpet square works good or small child's blanket or a small weaved-type or braided rug), a table, or at a certain station - water table, sand table etc). This works great at home too. It confines the work to the certain area so it doesn't get spread out all over the house. When the child gets the work off the area, quietly say, "our work stays on the rug/table." Lemur has found out that if he throws the work or takes it somewhere else, it gets put away. I've been doing this the last 2 months and he knows to keep it in his area. I do not always use a rug, but I'm going to try and do better - he does keep it in the area he is working though, or I put it away. Of course this does not pertain to his toys in his bedroom, playing outside etc. it's just the special "work" I make for him when I need a little time to get something done.

I gave Lemur some toothpicks in the little bucket, and an empty jar with a plastic lid on top that has holes in the top (anything would work - like a spice container that you shake the spices out of). I showed him how to put the toothpicks through the tiny hole into the bottle. Notice how the bucket is on the left, the container on the right - left right pattern is good for their brain. This is a great exercise in fine motor - finger strengthening.

HIS success may not look like what MY success does. Don't forget, we are PRODUCT oriented, they are PROCESS oriented. He was so happy to have the toothpick in the hole! Later he figured out how to shake it and get them out. He did this over and over and over. (this is one to stick in the diaper bag for church)

Look Whose 2!

Birthday Boy having breakfast and opening Grandma's card. Lemur was born at 9:10 a.m. and weighed 6 pounds 10 oz. He sure was scrawny! Not anymore though. He got over all the bumps of starting out and is such a healthy, happy boy!

Birthday snack on the deck. He sat out here munching pretzels for about 20 minutes enjoying the sunshine. We had a nice day together. We ran over to the Elk Family's house to use their fax machine (can't get mine to work at our new house!) and Cow Elk gave Lemur a John Deere Tractor and a new outfit! He carried that tractor around all day with him and kept showing it to me and driving it all over the place. He loves it!

We got Lemur a John Deere tricycle for his birthday - that's it. We hid it in the trunk of the van until Hunter got home from work - 6:00, the earliest he's been home in weeks. Lemur wasn't sure what was going on.

He's figuring it out though!

Cool new bike!!

I love this pic - having a thoughtful moment - reflecting on his AWESOME birthday!

No candles? No problem. Use stick matches. Lemur even tried to blow them out. I think they burned down to the frosting before he actually blew them out. He at 2 cupcakes... yum!

Lemur doesn't understand why he has to walk in the DITCHES and not up on the HILLS.

We ended the night with a bike ride...

... and 1 little Lemur jumpin' on his bed. Cute, isn't it? HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEMUR! We LOVE you! What a fun addition to our family!

What We've Beem Up To

Berry Parfait:

Combine: 8 oz cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 box of instant pudding. Cream. Fold in 1 1/2 cups cool whip.

In Parfait Cups layer: (unless you are us, and then use a giant cereal bowl and blow the calorie count for the day out of the water)
'Nilla Wafers, cream mixture, berries, 'Nilla wafers, cream mixture, berries.

Indulge.

We have been SUPER busy (as always) but still find time to indulge a little. This weekend I got the stuff to make berry parfaits - found the recipe in Martha Stewart Living at the doctor's office. We broke every rule: We had huge triple size portions and ate it about 10:00 at night. Man were they good.

Here's some other things we've been up to:
* The K-Critters haven't been here much lately because of spring break, every third weekend they are with their Mom, and Easter - their year to be with their mom. We will get them the next 2 weekends, off 2 weekends, (Mother's day and 3rd weekend) and then hopefully back to a normal schedule. We all miss them when they are not here!
* I went to the doctor on Friday: My doc did an ultrasound because I had placenta previa at 25 weeks. That has cleared up, but the baby GIRL is breech, so now we are hoping she'll do a big flip pretty soon. I have had a horrid rash on my ankles for which doc gave me 2 meds: a topical and an oral. The topical doesn't seem to work, the oral makes me tired, so I only take it at night. The rash decided to rebel against the topical and spread up my legs, it is now from above my knees down to my feet... aahhh. the comforts of pregnancy. I have also been swelling up like a water balloon. No, I have not had Botox on my feet, ankles, legs, hands, arms and face. (MAYBE I'll post a picture of moi one of these days). I have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel - any of you ever had that? From the swelling, my carpal is being pinched causing loss of grip strength, aching, tingling, numbness and lots of finger and thumb pain. Again... pregnancy is so fun. 3.5 weeks left, but whose counting?
* All of the critters have been taking the stinkin' standardized tests. The good part is they have not had much homework at night!! We have been doing projects every night instead. I forgot to take pictures, but we primed Steelhead and Monkey's bedroom last week, painted the ceiling white on Friday, and did the walls green Tuesday. It is lookin' good. We combined some left over white paint that was here at the house with about 5 different colors of green (bought 2, 4 were here) and mixed them all together. The color turned out great - picture to come... someday. The critters helped a ton and are getting to be pretty good painters... including painters of hair, arms, legs and feet.
* Martin has helped me fix up my old bed (which was brass colored and white, then it was Martin's bed and it was white, then it was Bee's bed and it was pink) for Lemur. We went back to white since it will probably end up being baby sisters bed some day too. He did a great job on it (pictures to come... someday).
* Hunter spent a lot of time last week and so far this week working on an irrigation system for our yard - which is very spread out. We have almost an acre and the house sits right in the middle of it. The garden, fruit trees, strawberry/raspberry/blackberries/asparagus patch are on one side, and the lawn/flowers are on the other side. He has been to Grovers a hundred times buying pipe, sprinklers, fittings, elbows, T's etc to make it all work just right. He has the garden side almost done. He tilled the garden and he and Martin planted potatoes, pees and onions last night. He has been very creative with where the sprinklers are and how they overlap everything - he even put in a faucet by the garden for me. He also tapped into an existing sprinkler system on the yard side... only to find a million holes and problems. Little by little he is getting that fixed. He is so smart - he amazes me every day.
* We had Stake Conference this weekend. The Saturday session is always awesome. We were only 15 minutes late, because as we were walking out of the house, we found a flood - the new/old irrigation system had another blow out, but Hunter fixed it and we went with mud on his pants - no one noticed but me I don't think. Sunday we got a new Patriarch - a man in our ward who has been in the Stake Presidency for years. He is so awesome. Most of our kids will probably get their patriarchal blessings from him.
* We made a bunch of freezer strawberry jam Saturday night after Conference. We ended that night with home made milk shakes (Strawberry for me, whoppers for Hunter). DO NOT FOLLOW OUR DIET!) I won't even tell you about the trip to Cold Stone Creamery "baby" wanted to make on Saturday afternoon when we were running some errands.... can you say CALORIES!????!!!!
* I've been working from home like a good girl - my job is going great. I really love it. We had to work 4 extra hours last week because of Spring Break in Utah and we were behind. Anyway, I'm so blessed to work from home. Sometimes I don't go anywhere for days and I love it.
* Hunter has been working a TON. All the farmers want their water on YESTERDAY so he has been working 14-16 hour days. Some days Lemur doesn't get to see his Daddy and that doesn't make him very happy. I often let him stay up late if Hunter is going to be late.
* I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but my wrists hurt from typing.

Montessori Moment

The week almost got away from me without doing my Montessori Moment. I have had several with Lemur though. Here are a few suggestions to occupy your young child so you can get something done around the house:
* It must have been red cup week at our house, because I put 6 of 7 plastic red cups in the basket and Lemur played with them for the longest time. He stacked them, put them in a row, put them in and out of the basket, on the chair and on the desk. Amazing what a little guy can do with a few plastic cups.
* I gave him a plastic water bottle - empty, and a few marbles. He LOVED putting the marbles in the water bottle and getting them out again. I also gave him a small pail, he would take them out of the water bottle and put them in the pail. Don't forget to have him help you pick them up when he's done "working."
* When I was dusting the family room, I gave him his own dust rag and sprayed a little end-dust on it. He helped me dust and loved it.
* Bathroom cleaning time... don't forget to let him help you. I gave him his own scrub brush when I was scrubbing, and his own Clorox wipe when I was wiping and we tackled the bathroom together.
* Okay, this is simple and you probably already do it, but Lemur loves it. I give him a piece of paper and a pencil and have him "draw" on the carpet. He LOVES to poke holes in the paper with the pencil. It is a good finger strengthening exercise - pre-writing, and it entertains him for a long time.
This is one of Lemur's favorite "works." He will spend a good 30 minutes playing in the sink. Notice I have everything I do NOT want him getting into, put away - the counter is clean so everything he can touch is okay. I pull our long table bench up to the sink so he is nice and high and won't fall (hopefully). He experiments with water pressure, fills the cup, dumps the cup, fills up other cups, drinks hot and cold water, etc. etc. Yes the kitchen gets wet and so does Lemur, but it's just water, and when he's done it's the perfect time to mop. :)

I should have posted this a week or so before Easter, but hey, better late than never. Give your child a basket with several different colored plastic Easter eggs. They will love taking them apart. Show them how to match the colors - or not, they can just have fun putting them in the basket and taking them out again.

New Couches!!!! Hooray!

Hunter and I have cruddy old furniture. When we moved into this barn I told Hunter I didn't want to put our old junk in the living room upstairs. So we just had a couple of chairs in there for the past 2 months. A guy Hunter works with said he'd sell us his couch and love seat for $100.00!! I was so excited - when we had gone to his house, he had this set in a bedroom and I told him if he ever wanted to sell it, I'd buy it. Hunter brought it home late Monday night and we brought it into the house - I know, 8 month pregnant ladies shouldn't be lifting couches, but hey, I'm tough.

I love how the colors in the cushions match the drapes I found a roarin' deal on at JC Penny!! I love hanging out in our living room now. It feels so cozy and warm and inviting and relaxing.

This mural was in the barn when we bought it. Hunter really likes it, so we left it. It has grown on me. The colors are warm and the picture is very peaceful. I love my red glider and one day I'll get that pink winged back chair recovered. Until then... at least there are hues of pink in the mural - it doesn't stick out THAT bad! (Hunter got home at 9:30 p.m. and was eating his dinner by "the river.")

Here is our entry way to the barn. Hunter got me that cool trunk last year for my birthday. I love old trunks! I got the old window from Mama Bear, took black and white pictures of the critters and put them in it. I made hat racks out of barn wood and had my brother brand them with my Grandpa's and Dad's brand, and then I have just hung random things on them - Hunters bronc ridin' spur, an old rope I found at the Ranch, a bit from my Grandpa's dairy and my Dad's old hat. It might look like old junk to someone else, but it's old junk that I love.

Lemur and I cuddled up on the couch and read books for a long time. Later we took a rest on the couch with a comfy blanket. Aahhh, that's what life is all about!

Hat Racks

My SIL (Mare) gave me these cute hat hooks. I put together some pieces of barn wood (yes, I have a collection) and made this cute hat rack. I love it, even if it is really heavy. Hunter has tons and tons of hats. I have hat racks all over the barn for his hats. He wears one every day to work and when he comes home he leaves them all over the place. I never know where I might find one. I don't get annoyed by it like I could, instead I think of it as his way of saying "I love you, Zookeeper!" during the day while he is at work and when I least expect it. He leaves these love notes on the bathroom floor, next to the couch, by the wood stove, on the kitchen counter and other random places around the barn. When I find his hats, I smile, pick it up and hang it on a hat rack where he can find it when he needs it.

Close up of the hat and boot.

Easter Sunday

THINGS I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF TODAY:

* The beautiful sunrise! The day was perfect, just as I imagine the day Jesus was Resurrected. The sky was blue, the sun was brilliant, the colors vibrant.
* The critters in their new Easter Clothes.
* The peace of going to church and being reminded of all our Savior did for us. Easter Sundays are the best.
* Easter Dinner: Ham, potato salad (I had to work Saturday night and didn't feel like making Au Gratin potatoes even though I really felt like eating them), green salad, fruit salad, potato dinner rolls, jam and Key Lime Poke Cake.
* The Elk Family who came for dinner and shared a leisurely afternoon with us.
* The critters playing outside. I told them they could get the hammock out, which hasn't been hung up in probably 10 years, and they had a blast trying to figure out the best place to hang it, and once it was up... the best way of staying on it!
* The critters hiding Easter eggs over and over and over again.

Easter Saturday

Saturday morning Mama Bear, Papa Bear and Chamealon were at our house. I should have gotten a picture of them because they always show up at our house and do projects for us and I forget to take pictures. I love it when they come - even if they don't do any projects. Chamealon graduated from BYU-I on Friday. I am SO PROUD OF HER!!! WAY TO GO!

We got up fairly early and got our chores done so we could go to the Annual Easter Egg hunt at the school Martin went to in 1st grade. It is a nice egg hunt with lots and lots of eggs, but not too many people. It's perfect. They always have the same ugly Easter Bunny there who scares the little guys to death. I was actually the Library Board Chairman when we bought that Bunny Costume, so I guess I'm part to blame for the ugly Bunny. The Library Board used to put the Easter Egg Hunt on every year, but last year the PTO took over... I'm sure the Library Board doesn't mind. Anyway, we picked up a couple of critters to go with us and headed over. It was sunny but cool. At least it wasn't raining!

Bee helped Lemur when the Easter Bunny gave the big GO! for the Easter Egg Hunt. Lemur quickly picked up 4 eggs, then tipped his bucket up-side-down and gleefully watched all the eggs fall out. He picked them up and did it again... by which time Bee was going crazy because 'the object of the hunt is to hurry and gather as many eggs as you can before everyone else takes them all for crying out loud!' (tell that to Lemur - he was having a great time with his 4 eggs). He did end up picking up a few more I think. He was pretty excited when I opened one and showed him what was inside... then he sat right down and opened them all up and had to eat one RIGHT NOW!

Lemur shows Hunter all the loot through a mouthful of candy. (I think he ended up with 7 eggs).

The bigger critters were too fast for me to waddle after and take pictures of them hunting eggs, but here they are going through all of their eggs looking for the prize tickets. We always donate the eggs back to the PTO who puts on the event every year, but of course, the critters keep the candy.

Hunter is a pyromaniac. He loves to burn stuff. He has been waiting anxiously for the apple, plum and pear tree branches that he "trimmed" to be dry enough to burn. They FINALLY were on Saturday. He also had a friend bring his branches over here to burn rather than taking them to the land fill. Hunter had gotten up early Saturday morning and gone to this friends house and cut down some trees for him - he and Martin got done in time to be at the Easter Egg Hunt. So much for sleeping in on Saturday!

You may have heard that Hunter pruned our fruit trees with his chain saw. I won't show pictures of that in case you have a sensitivity towards butched trees. Here are some teeny tiny branches that escaped the teeth of his saw. Martin took this picture and I think it's kind of cool.

Bee had a friend over and she dyed eggs with the critters. Political Easter Eggs anyone? I saw several with awfully large political statements coming from our 13-year-old and 10-year-old. What happened to pastel bunnies and flowers on eggs?