Another pinterest project -- on the backs of giants

I really truly love pinterest.  I suppose back in the day homemaking meeting was like pinterest.  A cool new craft would be done in one ward and within a year that craft would circumnavigate the globe bouncing from one homemaking to the next.  Everyone liked to laugh about it, but I always felt it was a fun thing.  I like learning a new thing.  I like acquiring random crafting skills.  I like creating something.  I like decorating my home with my own creations.  I like thinking that making a home is important enough to warrant a meeting dedicated to it.  I like working with my own hands.  I like recognizing that creating a home is an art.  Since the Relief Society has abandoned nearly anything to do with such art (first trying to only enrich our life and now only filling our life with an additional meeting with no name or purpose) pinterest has stepped in and filled the void nicely.

I saw this fan geneaology creator on pinterest and tried it out.  In less than 5 minutes I had a beautiful fan creation of all the family history that other's have done on my behalf.  It goes back 9 generations.  It looks cool.  It was free to make.

I took the pdf to kinko's and opted to print it in black and white (the engineer's print was $4.50 -- the color print would have been $45).  I bought a poster frame at walmart for 8 bucks and hung it on the wall.  I think it looks cool.  I think it looks like I have done a lot of work (I haven't), but others have and I am proud to showcase all of their work (thanks Baba!!!!)  It is really amazing to think of all of my ancestors.  I loved looking at all the names and seeing that 4 of our 5 kids names are actual family names -- something I did not know before!!!!

Thanks pinterest!  Thanks family history researchers!

Flat Stanley

Julianne did not do Flat Stanley.
Catherine did not do Flat Stanley.
Madelyn brought home Flat Stanley today.  She is super excited.  She has BIG plans.  I am just not sure I am up for all those big plans.  (for those of you not knowing what Flat Stanley is -- he is a character in a book they read at school who gets flattened and then goes on all these adventures -- (confession-- I haven't read the book myself) so now she brings home her very own flat Stanley and we are to take him on all our adventures, documenting them with photos and journaling)

Why?  Why do I not like this kind of project?  I like blogs, I like photos, I like my kids . . .  but this kind of things drives me nuts.

I feel like it becomes a competition for who has the coolest spring break.  It doesn't take into account that some of the most fun times in someone's life might be the most plain.

Well, tonight Flat Stanley sat stuffed behind the bread machine.  I needed all the counter space for the egg project (pysanky).  We had another family over and all the kids were decorating eggs (which involves candles, hot wax, and permanent dyes . . . whose idea was this????)  Maybe if Stanley had participated he could have gotten burned instead of one of the kids who spilled the hot wax on his finger-- now that would have been a cool end to flat Stanley!!!

But alas, at the end of the night, Madelyn remembered him.  Out he came to pose by the eggs as if he had done them!!!

My egg collection is growing

Thanks to all the kids loving to make them as well!!!





I especially love my new red egg!

Downton Abbey Season 1 and book club

I finished the first season. I loved it. I am trying to hold out for the library hold for season 2 . . .

If you haven't seen it. Get started. It is on Netflix for instant streaming as well as Amazon.

Tonight was book club and the book was Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle. I haven't finished it all the way yet, but I have really enjoyed it as well.

Making Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs)

This is a tradition that my family did during my growing up years. I don't even know exactly where my parents learned how to do these. (I think maybe my mom learned it at a homemaking meeting???) These eggs are fun to make and beautiful. They last for years (until you break them on accident). I finally bought the specialty dyes, the beeswax, the kitsky tools, and we did them!

The kids have especially loved it. I must say that the instant I smelled the melting beeswax I was transported in my memory back to being a kid and making these with my mom and dad and my siblings. It is amazing how powerful scent is.

I'll teach you if you want to learn!!!

Crazy Monday

As I left the house, the indicator light came on showing I had low tire pressure.  (Additionally it had come on last week) so I drove to a tire place and (not entirely unexpectedly had to buy 4 new tires).

While there, Owen had so much fun.  Climbing on tires, pushing tires and more!











Then when we got home he was playing on Adam's tricycle and started crying.  I picked him up and held him.  He did not seem to distressed and since it was almost nap time we started walking upstairs.  As we walked past the mirror I saw the back of his head and about passed out!  It was covered in blood. . . as was my arm and my shirt (and the couch I would later discover).  After I got it cleaned up, it was a straight cut about 1 cm long.  I superglued it back together and he has been fine since.  It is really not that big of a cut -- but heads sure do bleed a lot.

Getting Ready for Easter

I always take photos for Easter on the Sunday before Easter. This year that Sunday is General Conference for our church and we just watch it at home in our pajamas in regular clothes. So I took our Easter pictures today!

Here are some of them.

My dyes are ready . . .

Just wait til you see the easter eggs I'm gonna make this year . . .

Adam is my photo taking buddy

He is always willing to be in any photo, to pose in any way, to smile all the time . . . I love this boy of mine!

Daddy Daughter Date -- Mommy Sons Stay Home

Tonight Trent took the 3 girls to see Wicked on Broadway. They are having a great time!!!!



Here is Trent with his "little" girls. Aren't they getting so big????



Me and the boys stayed home and had hot dogs and ice cream for dinner (Adam's request.) (Ok, so he only requested the hot dogs. . . but he didn't complain about the ice cream.)

We enjoyed the 79.4 degree day we had today and took lots of pictures. (the last 3 are the best ones!)

PEEK

A

BOO!

Seasonal clothing shifts

These drive me crazy. I spent all day buying a new wardrobe for Julianne and Adam and going through boxes for Madelyn, Catherine, and Owen.

Sometimes I wonder why I get them all so many clothes when they often revert to wearing the same thing over and over. So to inspire them to branch out I have challenged the kids to wear 20 unique outfits. When they hit 20 different outfits I will take them for yogurt. (they can repeat items, but it must be combined with something different than the first time they wore it.)

So we Have Had 2 laptop computers

And one is new and nice and one is old and none of the USB ports work. Trent and I hardly use the old one. But Adam does. And he spilled his water on it and ruined it. Do you think rice will work like it did for the iphone?

A few more photos from Mystic

Rowing the boat. . .



the lighthouse . . .



the whole group . . .



my sweet boy who wanted his picture taken over and over . . .





Tyler crashed on the way home . . .

Sunday -- Grandpa and Tyler head home

We had an enjoyable Sunday morning (we did puzzles. . . lots of puzzles) and then we all went to church together. And just like that our five days was over and it was time to say good-bye. We had a great time. Come back soon!

Mystic Seaport and Mystic Pizza

Saturday was still quite cool but we bundled up and drove the nearly 2 hours to Mystic CT to go to the Seaport Museum.  It is really cool.  There are so many things to see and learn about.  Whaling ships, blacksmithing, wood carving, printing presses, navigation and more.













We finished the day eating Pizza at Mystic Pizza.