Happy Easter!

Easter began for us during our last visit to Buckeye, where Mimi bought some easter eggs so Ry could practice hunting. All it took was one crack of the egg to realize candy lives inside, and she was hooked. As soon as I saw her eyes light up I knew Easter was going to be a ton of fun this year.

We kicked off the weekend by attending an Easter event at our gym. They had a bounce house, clowns, and, of course, the Easter bunny! When the bunny first walked in, Ryann was very interested and even walked up to check him out. 

But it didn't take long for her curiosity to turn into uncertainty:

Then came the "save me, daddy!" face:

But lucky for us, the clowns were super friendly, so she took to them a little better.

still a little unsure

oh, they make balloons! sold! 

But that scary bunny kept walking around so we didn't stay much longer. Plus, the event was from 1-3pm (NAPTIME!) so we had to get Ryann and Daddy home for their daily snooze.


Later that evening we dyed easter eggs for the first time. Ry loved it! Her favorite part was licking and blowing on the finished eggs to make sure they were dry. (They weren't - she just doesn't seem to mind vinegar water).

But soon it was time for bed. Although we all had so much fun dying eggs we had to get to sleep so the Easter bunny could come visit! And what a great Easter morning it was. Ry loved looking through her basket full of treats, books and a stuffed animal lamb, and she set some records finding all the hidden eggs around the house.

After eating candy for breakfast (hooray!) we got dressed and left for Fort Collins where we spent the rest of the day playing with Porter and Mason, and friends Cam, Christie, and Connor. Look at the peanut all dressed up. She's such a ham.

By the end of the day Ryann had become an egg-hunting pro. 

We had such a great weekend. 


I'll leave you with the following video, which was taken after the candy sugar high kicked in. Mason was jumping around with Ry's bunny ears on and she thought it was the funniest thing in the world.


We hope you had a great holiday with your friends and family! xoxo

Ry's 2nd Birthday

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the wonderful response and support I received for this blog. The first entry was fun, as I'm sure all future postings will be. So thanks for your kind messages!


Next, I'm due to give an update on Ryann's big 2nd birthday. Her actual birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, so we didn't get too wild and crazy on the 22nd. But she adored all the phone calls, and it while we would have loved for all our family to be here, I must admit it was fun knowing that each time the doorbell rang there was a man standing on the other side with gifts in hand. (I just love signing for a package!)


I also laugh because every time Ry has a birthday (ok, ok, its only been 2) I get a phone call or text from someone reminding me where I was on that day in 2009. This year Enna texted me exactly 2 years after I finally had my epidural and I smiled just thinking about that lovely drug and how it changed my life for the remaining 16 hours of labor.


Back to Tuesday - we had a quiet dinner with Mimi & Papa, Skyped with the cousins, and opened some presents. A good kick off to her upcoming party. 

Please can I open one more?

Fast forward to Friday night. I have all my supplies for Ry's cake ready to go and can't wait to get started. Except for one small problem. Our kitchen drain decides this would be a good time to back up, leaving the kitchen out of commission. Lucky for us, Papa & Grandpa Dale were here (perhaps 2 of the handiest men we know). Alas, 4 hours, 3 trips to Ace/Home Depot, and 5 beers later my kitchen sink is still toast. 

So the next morning the guys rent a 50 foot snake from Home Depot, but even that won't do the trick! Still, I'm committed to making this cake and nothing is going to stop me. So I start baking away, doing dishes in the upstairs bathtub as I go.

A few more nail-biting hours pass and my prayers to the plumbing gods must have paid off because in walks Vladimir the Plumber with a 115' snake. (I feel he deserves a super hero title). Please note that it is now 2pm and the party is at 3. So while Vlad snaked, I iced.

Approximately 30 minutes later I had a working sink and Ryann had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday cake!

And the rest of the day was wonderful. Ry was spoiled with gifts and loved eating all that cake. Clogged sink and all it was a perfect 2nd birthday party.

And check out that hair! It only took 2 years, but that's one heck of a ponytail, don't you think?