Easter 2011

Elody with her Easter basket

Finally got Camryn to smile but could not get her to look at the camera!

The girls digging through their baskets and sporting their new headbands.

Dying Easter Eggs

Finally got Camryn to smile AND look at the camera at the same time!

Birthday party FUN!

Saturday we went to Reese and Rowan's 3rd birthday party and the girls had a BLAST!

They liked jumping in the bounce house (well Camryn jumped, Elody not so much...)

and they LOVED sliding!

Sometimes Elody was a bit hesitant :)

but liked it when she decided to go!

Camryn discovered that she could go down 2-3 times in the time it took Elody to make it back to the top.

Elody decided it was fun to get up there and refuse to go so mommy had to go too.

Everything is more fun with a friend or two!

Our Little Fish!

All ready!

Miss Independent


Miss Independent #2 Her favorite phrase is "don't touch me."

And she is thrilled when she breaks free for a few seconds.

Elody quickly learned that holding onto a noodle keeps her mouth above the water.

Camryn is completely on her own now,

unless they are playing something...

Elody finally let someone touch something that she was touching, that was the closest we could get to holding onto her for a while.

Easter Egg Hunt #2

The girls were VERY excited to see the Easter Bunny and hunt eggs.

Elody wasn't sure what to think but finally we got a smile, kind of....

Camryn after the Easter Egg hunt, VERY upset that she did not get a single egg. I was very proud however that she was not like some of the kids (and parents) and did not knock other people down to get a lousy egg. The sad part was there were kids going home with FULL buckets and also many kids that got nothing.

Camryn is obsessed with her umbrella. She was very excited to go out in the rain (even though it was freezing) to use it. Elody of course had to join in the fun but didn't quite grasp the concept of keeping it over her head :)

Camryn showed her how...

Easter Egg Hunt #1

These pictures are from an Easter Egg hunt we went to earlier this month. It was pretty low key but they girls had fun and the weather was decent. After attending the city Easter Egg hunt (pics to come) I am REALLY glad we did this one.



The girls LOVED the bubble machine!

My pantry/laundry room makeover

Ever since we moved in here I have been slightly annoyed by the gaping hole in the wall (aka Pantry) that can be found just outside of my kitchen. While I LOVE the space, walking by it and seeing the mess almost makes me twitch! I have considered making a curtain for it but I have a feeling it would have been equally annoying and probably would have been left open most of the time.


The solution? DOORS (duh!) Not sure why it took me a year and a half to decide that we should put doors on this!? I decided a few weeks ago that we NEEDED doors on the pantry so of course we headed straight to Menards. We checked their off the shelf "cheap" stuff which of course would not fit this odd sized hole. So we had them "design" doors to fit it for us. Can't cost that much for 3 doors.... right? WRONG! $150 for 3 very plain, very simple, nothing special about them doors. And that does not include any hardware! Ok, plan C, we make them! So we rounded up the girls who were really enjoying playing in all of the really fancy kitchens and headed to the other side of the store to find some wood. A couple 1x3's, 1 sheet of oak plywood, and approximately $30 later we left.

I am VERY pleased with the way these turned out. I might not have a $25,000 kitchen but at least now when I let someone use our bathroom they don't have to feel like they are going to be attacked by the food in our pantry :)


While we were in building mode we (and by we, I mean I) decided that something needed to be done to the shelf of canned goods. It was a good size for all of the cans except for the fact that I had to empty the shelf every time I needed to get something in the back. Again, I looked for the easy off the shelf option which again was not quite the right size and $60 and decided we could build a pull out shelf (this time when I say we, I really mean Brian). After a little trouble shooting (nothing in this house is square, which makes these DIY projects a little more difficult) we came up with this $20 pull out shelf for all of my canned goods!


This project has proven to me that Brian and I can actually work together on something! We typically both try to do too much and get in each others' way but this time everything went very smoothly. I plan, Brian builds, I finish (paint, etc). Everyone is happy :)

This project actually was started when the girls and I decided to pull down the wall paper in the laundry room (where the pantry is found) one afternoon. I wish I had a before pic but I didn't think of that until it was too late. Anyway, we repainted the room with some leftover paint we had from the house in Lexington and changed the handles on the cupboards above the washer and dryer. Nothing major but it was nice to freshen things up a bit.



Now if I can just talk Brian into building a couple more of those pull out shelves ;)

Weekend away, day 2

Maybe for Halloween they should be penguins :)

Camryn really wasn't sure about going on the other side of the railing into the "kid zone" but once we convinced her that it was okay she loved watching the penguins dive.

So cool!

Elody decided she wanted to get up close to explore too...

Just keep swimming...

Camryn's FAVORITE, the zebras

Rhino rides

What a good daddy! Elody wasn't thrilled about the stroller but daddy made sure she didn't miss anything!

Camryn and the 'REAL' bear! She didn't believe us at first that we were really going to see REAL animals.

I think Elody could be good friends with this one :)

I don't think I will ever get both girls to smile (and look toward the camera) at the same time.

Elody is very quick to tell you if something is stinky or loud, the birds were both!

Ever kissed a hippo?

one last picture before we have to leave :(