just a little something I don't want to forget.

Clara pronounces granola in the cutest way!

making our mark.

Clara got some sidewalk chalk for Easter.  This may be how we spend the next few months years!

a couple cute cousin shots.

Oh I love this pic!  My Dad captured it on a walk in the park below my parents' house a couple weeks ago.  These two are so smiley!  It is rare that they look adorable at the same time in pictures, so it's a keeper!

 One day while the boys were here and their parents were playing in Hawaii, we walked over to our neighborhood park.  The kids had a ball playing and swinging!

 Look at that agile almost three year old!

 There are Oma and Baby Bill in the background on the swings!

I'm so happy that these chitlins get to see each other often.  Even though it would be even better if Steve and Teenie move to Boise with the boys...hint...hint!!!

Happy Easter.

We awoke Easter morning to one of the most beautiful days of the spring.  The sun was shining, and it was warm!  Clara came down the stairs to find her Easter basket filled with a few goodies...a butterfly net, a little candy, a slinky, a new ball for outside, and a few cheap little musical instruments.  She loved everything!  Then we got in gear and started fixing some breakfast.  Jeff and Janet, and my Mom and Emily came over for brunch mid-morning (my Dad was out showing some turkey dude from the south what Idaho looks like).

Of course, she was super happy about the candy!

 Once we all had eaten a fantastic brunch (thanks again Moms for bringing dishes and making my job easy!), we headed outside so Clara could look for some eggs.  She had practiced hunting eggs already with her cousin Ben, so she was an old pro!

 Look at her focus!

 There's Kurtis in the background, enjoying a little mimosa!

 She's so proud of all her eggs!

 Don't mind my dead marigolds and bamboo in the background here...I'm a hoarder and keep my dead plants around so I can sprinkle their seeds the next year to grow new plants!  It's a sickness...

 Clara was not in the mood, but we snapped a quick family pic anyway!

 And there she goes.

The day was perfect!  After brunch and hunting eggs, we lounged around outside in the sunshine.  All of us got a good dose of vitamin D and conversation.  We couldn't have asked for a better Easter 2013! PS - Happy 300th post!  Here's to 300 more!

egg hunt 2013.

Poor wittle Will...he was too wittle to participate in an egg hunt this year!  But the other two big cousins had a fantastic time!  The funny thing was, we didn't even tell them what was inside the eggs.  They just knew that eggs were outside for them to get!  They had very little combined experience with hunting for eggs, but they did amazingly well.

When I was little, I was notorious for following older boys around and crying during egg hunts because I never found any eggs (shameful and pathetic...) but Clara had it completely figured out.  I was worried that her genes would doom her, but she ran the opposite direction from Ben and both toddlers had a fantastic time hunting eggs!  Success!

Here they are in a pre-hunt hug

 Oma was shielding the children so Emmy and I could capture every moment.  They almost pushed her down trying to get out that door!

 Clara's hair cracks me up in these next pics!!!

 EEEGGGGGGGGSSSSSS!!!!!!

 Doesn't Ben look like such a big kid?  Those long legs...awww!

 There were a few moments when Ben and Clara wanted to "touch" eggs in the other person's basket...

 but Oma always managed to step in and mediate at the right time!

 Here are Ben and Clara telling Opa and Oma all about it!

 At the very end, during a fight over an egg, the egg fell to the patio and cracked open...and once these kids found out the eggs contained candy, there was no going back!  I'm pretty sure Ben ate 40 jelly beans and malted milk balls.  Oops!

 Nice photobomb Em!

It was so fun to have the first cousin egg hunt!  The weather was gorgeous.  It's just too bad Steve and Teenie had to miss it!  This was a good practice run for Easter Sunday!  I'll try to attach a video tomorrow of the hunt...4.5 minutes of complete chaos...hilarious!