Easter

This is my 100th post!  About time. ;-)

Easter this year was wonderful.  I know my kids won't remember a thing, but I got really into it anyway. Partially for them, but also for me - holidays are so fun!

I figured I'd try to teach Matthew the basics about The Atonement and Resurrection.... and by basics, I mean I pretty much told him that Jesus got owies on his hands, loves us a lot, that he went away, and that he CAME BACK and we get to be with our family forever.  The next time he saw a picture of Jesus he said, "Jesus!  Owies on hands!  Oh no!"  Hmmm, pretty sure that that's all that really stuck with him.  Dang.  Better luck next time I guess. :-)

Anyway, as you can see, I made the kids take a bunny ears picture.  I couldn't help myself. And it turned out WAY better than last year's picture:

We saw the Easter Bunny at Walmart!  Free picture!  And good thing it was free since even though Matthew thought the Easter Bunny was incredibly awesome, he would NOT look at the camera.

We colored eggs!  Well, me and Matthew did anyway.  I am not cool enough to deal with the messy disaster it would've been if I'd let Kate participate this year.  ;-)  I got some cheap plastic eggs for Matthew to color on with markers, and of course we also dyed some real ones.

We took the kids on an egg hunt in the neighborhood the day before Easter.  They had different egg hunts depending on the child's age so it was nice that Matthew and Kate were able to hunt with other small kids and babies.

The Easter Bunny visited this egg hunt so we got another pic.... but once again, they would not look at the camera.  :-)

Why are Easter Bunnies ALL so creepy?  Is it that impossible to make a cute one???  Sheesh.

Anyway, the night before Easter Matthew helped me bake up a bunny cake.  He loves helping me in the kitchen.

My counters?  Yeah, I'd like to say sorry and that they're not normally that messy, but honestly.... they usually ARE that messy.  Agh.

On Easter morning we let the kids open their presents (a couple small toys and a book for each of them) and then had to jet off to 8 a.m. church!  I did manage to sneak in a family pic using a timer.  :-)

We had an Easter Feast that evening.  Matthew's favorite part was, by far, the bunny cake.

So glad I got to celebrate with the fam, and so grateful that I get to be with them forever because of my Savior.

Children's Books

When I was a kid, like most other kids, I changed what I wanted to be when I grew up ALL the time. However, I remember that there was a good year or two (which was forever for me!) that I was dead set on being an author of children's books. I even wrote several stories on pieces of construction paper, stapled them together, and illustrated them myself.  (Um, yikes. I have never ever fooled myself into believing that I could be an artist).  ;-)  Eventually I sort of forgot about my passion for children's books, but it has been rekindled now that I have two kids who have grown beyond just the "Baby Touch and Feel" books.

In a nutshell, I still LOVE LOVE LOVE children's books. Don't get me wrong, I love grown-up novels too, but I don't get excited about them in the same way that I get excited over children's books. It kills me when I go to the children's section of a bookstore and can't just buy every book that I see.

I seriously think I could read to my kids all day. I am sooo glad that they enjoy it so much. There are many different activities that I love doing with them, but I think reading to them is at the top of that list. It's simple and definitely not very flashy, but it is wonderful. I hope that they continue to love books their whole lives- even in a world that seems to be drifting away from books a little.  (Boo!)

If anyone feels so inclined, please share with me one or more of your favorite children's books! I am on the hunt for more, and I don't own nearly as many as I wish I did. And if anyone is looking for some good ones, my favorites include:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 
Harold And The Purple Crayon
I Was So Mad (this has helped Matthew express himself better during his tantrum-throwing age ha!)
Love You Forever
If You Give.... books (A Mouse a Cookie, etc.)
Goodnight Beach
Guess How Much I Love You
The Sleepy Little Alphabet
Five Little Ducks
Dear Zoo
Where The Wild Things Are

And anything by:
Leslie Patricelli
Karen Katz (my kids LOVE these ones)

*Many (most?) of these are toddler-age books, though I am also starting to think about adding to my slightly-older kids' book collection as well.