Two Little Butterflies

For almost 10 years, my family and I had been blessed with a new generation of boys in our family.

I am one of four girls so when my older sister and her husband produced a trio of boys (not all at once) we were thrilled. My younger sister added a fourth boy to the mix almost four years ago. 

We reveled in the madness...and the wrestling.

It was all tractors, trains and superheroes. 

Then these two came along...

And we finally had a chance to buy baby dolls, dresses and lots and lots of pink!

On Easter, my baby sister got them both a set of butterfly wings.

It was adorable.

This one just wanted to fly outside to get some Easter eggs.

This one pretended to fly and "fell down" to make us laugh.

So, I believe we now have the best of both worlds - the battles to save the world from evil AND the tea parties with dolls and teddy bears.

Many Faces of JJ

I was looking through my photos from Easter and found this set. 

They totally capture the essence of JJ, my niece.

 "What are you looking at?"

"OMG, Aunt MeeMee." 

"Is that candy over there? Give me one!"

Did you notice the portable high chair JJ is sitting in? It's the perfect size when put on the floor - they can back their little bottoms right into it!

I'm not a mom but I think this is the best invention EVER.

Use it at home and don't waste space on a high chair.

Take it to grandma's house.

Use it to corral crazy toddlers ANYWHERE (even the cabin).

NOTE:  The link in this post is an affiliate link. Just lettin' you know!

Easter Egg Hunt Fun

We had a wonderful Easter this year.

After an early church service, we headed to the farm for Easter brunch. We filled the house with family. Just counting my immediate family, we are at 15 people. Add in a couple of aunts, uncles and cousins and we were in the 20s.

It was a GREAT day. We just don't spend as much time with our extended family now that my grandparents are gone and I miss it.

But in the end, it's all about these girls and boys...

(Note: Baby Sister wants me to point our that her little girl 

DID wear a jacket for the hunt...she was inside when we 

decided on an impromptu photo shoot.)

I made my sister snap a shot of my oldest nephew with me.

I can't believe how grown-up he looks these days.

It was a beautiful - yet windy - day for an Easter Egg Hunt. I'm sure not a lot of folks have as big of a yard as we do for a hunt. Eggs were spread far and wide but I think they were all found.

The cell phone was NOT hidden in the yard.

This is my favorite photo of the day...I'm not sure why.

These are only a FEW of the many photos I snapped yesterday. I'll bore you with bring you more as the week goes on.

 The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 

Psalms 118:22

Easter Traditions Through Instagram

Easter is just around the corner and I was lucky to have Good Friday off of work. 

I probably should have used the day to do laundry, put away my laundry, clean my floors or even put away the boxes of Christmas decorations that are sitting in my dining room!

Instead I spent the day with my family doing some of my favorite Easter traditions. 

While at Blissdom, Hershey's asked us to share our favorite Easter traditions, tips or tricks on our blogs as part of their virtual Bunny Trail. I will admit right now that there might be some not-so-virtual Hershey's Easter candy in the house right now...Yummy!

There have been some great posts shared on Hershey's Bunny Trail and a couple of my pals from over at The Real Farmwives of America and Friends are even featured in a video on Hershey's website - www.CelebrateWithHersheys.com. Be sure to check it all out.

As I said before, it was a day full of activity. It started at my parents' house with my mom and me in the kitchen preparing for my FAVORITE Easter tradition. More on that later...

Another Easter tradition that I enjoy but rarely do now that I am an adult is coloring Easter eggs!

My two oldest nephews had early dismissal from school on Friday so I picked them up and treated them to ice cream before heading to the farm to color eggs.

On our way home, we stopped by the local greenhouse and the boys picked out some Easter flowers from their mom (my older sister) and grandma (my mom).


It was great to see how seriously they took their task and I think they chose beautifully.

My two younger sisters met us at the farm with the rest of the nephews and nieces and we got down to business. The first half dozen eggs were carefully lowered into coffee mugs filled with colored water. We got a bit more creative with the second half dozen.

I loved to dip the eggs in multiple coffee cups as a kid and I introduced my nephews to this tradition and we got some very cool colored eggs out of it!

After we dyed the eggs, I sent the nephews outside with a couple baskets of plastic eggs to "practice" hunting them in preparation for a Saturday Easter Egg Hunt at church and Sunday's main event.

While they were outside, we got down to business on my FAVORITE Easter tradition - my Grandma's Butterscotch Rolls. Every Holy Saturday during my childhood (and into my adult life), my grandma would make these gooey, cinnamon rolls and we would eat them warm out of the oven the evening before Easter Sunday.

My mom has taken up the tradition in recent years and I made them for the first time last year. So we decided to make them together this year, and they were WONDERFUL.

Now, I know what you are thinking...if you always have them on Holy Saturday, why were you eating them on Good Friday? Good question!


The family is heading to an Indiana Pacers game tonight because two of our favorite former Purdue University basketball players are on the opposing team and we hope to see them play in the NBA. So we decided to bump up the tradition a day instead of not doing it this year.


I think Grandma would approve!

Take Those Snowmen DOWN

So, my winter decorations may still be up...

OK, they are DEFINITELY still up. But I did take down the Christmas decor a couple of months ago...the boxes may still be in the kitchen, but the tree is down. I promise.

I love snowmen (but I hate real snow, go figure) and like to keep my snowmen decorations up until the weather turns warmer.

After my recent trip to Blissdom, I was inspired by the bag of Hershey's Bliss Eggs that I received and decided to create my own Easter decor.

I WILL be crafty. I WILL be crafty. I WILL be crafty. (Be sure to say this while clicking your heels together...wait a minute.)

Here are my "supplies."

Here's my first attempt.

While it was cute, I decided chocolate is to be EATEN, not just viewed.

So I decided to use jelly beans instead...I just can't get into jelly beans, maybe it's because they are not chocolate.

I don't think I'm going to win any awards for my crafty design but I think they are cute. I am planning to add some other fun spring decor but, of course, I need to clear the rest of the winter stuff off the side of the china cabinet that is just out of the shot above!

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hershey's for the yummy Easter candy. The opinions about their chocolate is, of course, my own as always.