Wednesday, April 27, 2011

An Open Letter to Uncle Z

Dear Uncle Z,

We want to thank you so much for the special rubber band guns you picked out for us.
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Mom thought they were cool too until she did not realize they were already loaded and Radley managed to shoot himself in the forehead pretty much immediately. He was holding it like this when he managed to do it:
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I figured it out right away and thought it was awesome as I managed to hit mommy too in one of my first couple of shots! After about 10 minutes mommy was a party pooper thought that Radley would do better with the foam rocket guns in our other basket of goodies. So she took away the really cool guns, but I told her not to throw them away.
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We did to play with the target and our foam guns though and that was really fun Radley dragged down his boppy from the sofa and immediately went into a sniper position.
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I am not sure where he learned that from. Dude instinct, I guess. I guess I'd better be nice to him in the future. Mommy says when Radley is asleep, I can play with the "other gun".

Here are some pictures she made us take. Sorry we don't have clothes on. That happens around here sometimes. Mostly they are before we opened the box and after we switched to the foam guns. In the in between time, mommy was trying to make sure none of us put an eye out...she is always dragging down the fun. She says it's her job. We hear rumor that NEM was always fun, but she seems to have changed her ways now that we are here. But we really do love them! and you too!

Love and bullets,
Maverick

PS. Radley asked if you could send him to sniper camp. He thinks he would be really good at it, but is pretty sure mommy will say "no".
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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easter Day 2011

So the Easter Bunny came by late and appeared to be quite confused that this is not Christmas. I'm gonna have to talk to him about that.
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However,
the late night of prepping,
the joy on their faces come morning,
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the mess,
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the oh-my-heavens sugar overload for breakfast, lunch, all day day... Maverick went back and forth from lollipop to chocolate bunny. He simply could not decide. The sugar rush hitting his brain is the look in his eyes here...the crash was a tad bit rough.
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the running to the window to see if there are eggs "out dere" and chasing around in the cold morning drizzle gathering their Easter bounty,
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The late night last minute chomping of carrots to leave strewn about the house by the messy Easter Bunny...
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The mess and stain of Crayola's newest disaster toy (colored bubbles)...quickly blown and then put in the trash...
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The warm snuggly bubble filled swimming pool in the cool morning rain early on an Easter morn to wash away the mess...
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Without a doubt, was so worth it...
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Happy Easter Y'all!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Of Bunnies & Blessings

The bunny has landed. But there will be no pictures of the creepy mall Easter bunny. I really have a strong dislike for the mall bunny. The closest we got was a wave from the 2nd story when i had to make an unscheduled trip to the Apple store to replace my iphone that was stolen recently.

I had to quickly fashion a 2nd bunny ear hat like the one Mack made in school as it resulted in quite the tug of war for brother. Unfortunately little brother knew that it was not the same and was not very happy...however you can see how smug Maverick is having won this round...
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First school Easter treats paired with other experiences like chocolate dipped matzo. I love the diversity in LA. I don't think I ever heard the word matzo before I was in my 20's. Never mind recognition of all traditions/religions/celebrations in our Baptist belt school bubble.

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Maverick and his easter basket he made at school and the eggs he found "by the house, in the fence and in the sand and the grass"

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Sharing his matzo with brother...
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Radley was waaaay into the matzo...or it may have been the chocolate...

The last of the egg dye is starting to fade from under our fingernails. But oh how I love to dye easter eggs. I love using clear cups so you can see the vibrant colors...it just make egg so gosh darn fun!
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I heard this year from someone who dyes her boiled eggs for fun year round to know which are boiled and which are raw in her fridge. I may have to pick up some 75% off color tabs just so I can do it more often... I like that idea...
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Radley concentrated hard painting the ceramic eggs I had for them to decorate while they waited for the dye to take hold...
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I tried to make a "golden" egg...but not so much.
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It was just so much fun. I remember being a kid and my grandfathers house stove bubbling away with dozens and dozens of eggs for all the grandkids. I am not sure why I find decorating the eggs so satisfying...But I do. I just know when the boys are old enough, I will still have my "own" dozen to get as dark and jewel toned as I can without those little impatient monkeys so anxious to rip them out of the dye after 5 seconds.... This year we had a record 7 1/2 dozen...of which about 6+ dozen actually survived boiling, the early eating and the accidental smashing while decorating...
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He looks so old to me in that last photo...getting so big and tall after a recent growth spurt...

We made the classic 1973 Bakers Coconut Easter Bunny cut up cake. Oh how I loved that silly little cut up book! Many a birthday plan was spent pouring over the different options out there trying to decide which cake I wanted that year. Ours may not have been perfect...but when decorated in its entirety by kids under 12...it is what you get. And it was more about how many jelly beans they could eat anyway!
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Within moment of completion...it was slaughtered.

There were carrots...
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And we dug our hands in the dirt planting more melons & tomatoes which did not survive toddler playtime...
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We played and played and played...this one was taken about 5 minutes before that cute little blonde kid ended up under that pool...
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Picnics with Bunny shaped egg salad sandwiches. And brother teaching other brother how to drink from your juice box without a straw. Which will come in real handy for all those boxes I have that are missing their straw!
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Easter treats from Aunt Jen & a special present from Uncle Z...
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And that was just the week leading up to the big day. Next up...Easter Day 2011...
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