Coloring Easter Eggs

We had a great time coloring eggs this year.

This was my baby's first year really coloring all by herself...she had a blast!

My oldest got really creative with multiple colors and drawings.

 Oops, she forgot she had one in there already.

 My baby had to have the blue and purple:)

Don't be fooled, she only used the egg holder for stirring.

The result

was one sad baby...it ended too fast.

I think I will plan on making more eggs next year!

The next morning they had a chance to find them all.

Umbrellas, sunglasses, and a stuffed animals oh my!

In this picture you can see some Peeps,

which is a staple of my Easter childhood thanks to my mom.

Zach thinks they are disgusting and most agree with him. 

I wasn't sure if my kids would find them tasty or not so I gave it a try. 

After my little princess ate four out of the five pack, she confessed that she wasn't a fan.

My husband is pleased:)

We had a wonderful Easter!

Blown Away

At about 5:13pm on Sunday, we had a little excitement.

A big storm came through and with tornado warnings through the valley we live in.

Luckily, no tornado hit down, but the storm did hit us!

The above picture is of my gravel driveway washing away.

The storm came and went pretty fast so with massive amounts of rain....

and hail. 

A couple of times I thought the hail was going to make it through the roof!

I usually don't get too nervous, but the loud pounding of the hail got to me.

My husband stayed upstairs to watch, while I pleaded with him to come downstairs and join the family...

Maybe I worry more than I think:)

Not only did my husband stay upstairs,

but he also ran outside to quickly collect two pieces of hail that bounced off our roof. 

In case your wondering about the size,

they are bigger than golf balls.

Here is my husband making me laugh,

after risking his life to collect the hail.

We are all safe and sound,

but I don't think I can say the same for our roof.

Many Faces

This was a highlight of my weekend, my baby sitting on my lap making me laugh by all her expressions.

I can honestly say, she is the most comical child I know.

Pardon my photos, some may be a bit blurry due to trying to capture everything

and the fact that she moves the most of all my children in photos.

It's the little things in life I'm most thankful for!

Spring and Sprouting

The weather is getting more tolerable outside.

So naturally the first requests for outside activities are:

-running in the sprinkler

-having a picnic

-making a tree house

I was able to fulfill one of the requests at least.

 I realized that I had to then not only wash the kids clothes after playing outside,

but also my youngests' jacket...she is such a messy eater.

As I started picking up the yard, I noticed my rhubarb.

I didn't get to harvest any in hopes this years will be more plentiful.

It took a lot of will power when it was full last year.

The rhubarb was a gift from my sister-in-law for my birthday last year.

Last year I saved different varieties of my heirloom tomato plants.

This is the first attempt at starting seeds indoors.

I read so many books on propagation that I lost track.

There are so many different options to decide upon when starting seeds...

there are so many variables to consider.

I also heard many "horror" stories from people starting tomato seeds that I was a little apprehensive.

I noticed that some of my seeds are starting to sprout!

I still have a long way to go before transplanting,

but I didn't think I would get this far.

My heirloom varieties that I'm starting from seed are:

-Black Prince(first to sprout)

-Brandywine

-Mortgage Lifter

-Box Car Willie

-Green Zebra

-Cherokee Purple

My two favorites are Cherokee Purple (beautiful color and taste) and Mortgage Lifter(meaty tomato and great taste)

Tapping Trees

It's that time of year again...maple syrup time!

Not only is it exciting to enjoy the end result, but so much of the fun is getting it.

This is my oldest getting a tractor ride to the maple trees. 

For the past two years we have been tapping trees with family friends of ours on their farm.

Here's my hubby drilling the first hole into the trees we marked back in the fall.

The process is very simple:

-Drill a hole about 2 1/2 inches into the maple tree

-Secure the tap inside the hole

-Put your bucket or holder onto the tap

-Wait for the sap to start flowing

In some cases, like this one, it doesn't take long!

The kids watched the first one being tapped and took off running.

The were not only so excited for tapping maple trees, but they were loving the weather.

They had to get some of the energy out they have built up this winter.

And I can't say I blame them!