Easter Week

We didn't go all out with Easter activities this year (In fact, I'm embarrassed that we never even dyed eggs or did sugar cookies. Those two are mandatory Easter activities, right? Oops.) But we did a few fun things that made it a fun holiday anyway. 

A few days before Easter Bryn "Egg-ed" about ten of her friends. She made a sign for each friend saying "You've been Egged! Look around your porch to find the hidden eggs!" She loves doing sneaky things like this, so she had a blast hiding the eggs. One of her friends Egg-ed Bryn the next day and it was so cute to see Bryn's excitement :)

The day before Easter we had a brunch with lots of our Tuck friends and then the "Tiny Tuckies" hunted for Easter eggs.

Fun morning!

Bryn always like to add new decorations to our house each holiday. This year for Easter she made these Easter egg decorations all on her own. They are so funny/sweet! She said she thought about what each family member loves the most and then she made an egg about it. I love her conclusions on what each family member loves the most. Here is what the eggs say:

"Dad, the Ninja Turtle"

"Mom, the Bryn and Mya lover"

"Princess Anna" (This one is Bryn's, referring to Anna from the movie Frozen)

"Mya, the cracker" (referring to Mya's deep love for crackers)

 We went really simple with Easter baskets this year. I was also candied out by this point, so they didn't even get any treats. The girls each got a new hat (Bryn and Mya love a good hat!), a ball, and a book.

 The girls on Easter morning

 A quick picture before church

 The best pic I could get of these two rascals in their Easter dresses

We enjoyed the beautiful Easter program at church with all the songs and messages about Jesus Christ. Easter is always a special time to reflect on the Savior and the hope that comes through Him.

Easter Dinner in Boston

After church on Easter we drove down to Boston (technically the suburb of Lexington, MA) for a fun Easter dinner with lots of our Tuck friends from last year. It was so wonderful to see so many of our good friends that we hadn't seen since graduation last year. Bryn was thrilled to see so many of her old friends, too!

This little cutie lived in the other half of our duplex last year. We miss hearing you through the wall, Sophie!

 Bryn and J.J.

 Hunting for Easter Eggs

 Mya actually understood what to do this time(!!) and it was so funny to see her run around and pick up the eggs that the big kids had missed.

 Happy girl with her eggs

 Sorting through her loot!

Three of my dear, dear friends who are in town from California and Iowa: Michelle, Andrea, and Maren.

(Maren and Ryan are running in the Boston Marathon (as I type this, actually!) so that is the reason so many friends are in town this weekend!) 

I am so grateful to have met these amazing women at Tuck and for the friendships I have with them! I always miss being with my family on holidays like Easter, but good friends help to fill that void!

Fieldtrip to Vermont

 Last week we had a fun evening in Vermont, checking out some spots in Quechee and Woodstock that we have been wanting to see. First up:

VERMONT INSTITUTE OF NATURAL SCIENCE 

(Thank you to our library for the free family pass!)

There were lots of falcons, osprey, owls, and other birds, but our favorite was the two bald eagles. It was awesome to get so close to them! This picture was taken from just a few feet away, without zooming in at all. 

 My three favorite people! 

 There were also turtles, snakes, frogs, toads, fish, etc.

 After the science center we headed to Quechee for the: 

THE VERMONT ANTIQUE MALL

I am not into antique-ing so we didn't buy anything, but we had fun looking around and finding cool, old things. It was huge! My mother in law would have been in heaven!!

 My mother in law and sister in law Jess (who both collect Fiesta ware) would have loved this booth :) 

 This pic is for you, Jess :)

Then we went next door to:

THE CABOT STORE

 We sampled lots of yummy cheeses and Vermont maple syrups. Yum.

 Lastly:

THE VERMONT TOY MUSEUM

 The toy museum was kind of cool, kind of creepy. Such a quirky place! There were collections of toys from each decade and it was funny to spot toys that Josh and I grew up with or toys we had seen at our grandparent's houses. 

 Josh showing Bryn the ninja turtles, reliving his glory days :)

 Mya and Bryn loved all the pez dispensers

Lots of strange old Barbies and G.I. Joes

 Lambchops! Josh had no idea why I gasped when I saw this puppet, but I used to watch that Lambchops show with my siblings long ago. Kind of a weird show now that I think about it!

We ended the night with dinner at Worthy Kitchen in Woodstock...yum!

Thanks for a good time, Vermont!

General Conference

General Conference was this past weekend and it was a great, uplifting weekend - as always. Mya napped during both morning sessions (which was awesome!) but the afternoon sessions were a bit of a circus, trying to listen to the talks while wrangling Mya. Bryn saw Josh and I taking notes and asked what we were writing down. We told her we were writing down good messages that we heard from the church leaders or ideas we had of ways to improve. The next thing we knew she was writing her own notes on her white board :)

 Her note-taking didn't last the whole weekend! At one point, when Josh and I were distracted with the conference, Bryn emerged from the bathroom with a cat face, drawn from a non-washable marker.

 This is Bryn's reaction to realizing her face was stained! Luckily, the marker faded in two days time. I think she learned her lesson :)

We got together with some of our friends for a brunch on Sunday and that was really fun. It filled the void of being away from family for General Conference. Also, I'm glad there weren't any conference talks on health/Word of Wisom....because I would have been feeling some guilt after our conference baking ;)

March in a Nutshell

 This picture pretty much sums up March :)

I won't elaborate, but March was pretty much one big punch to the gut! (Dramatic, eh?) Lots of snow, lots of sick days for the girls, and lots of not-so-fun issues for Josh and I to deal with. I'm glad March is over and I have high hopes for April!

However, March did provide us with a fun trip to Maine and lots of fun moments scattered throughout the month....

But first, the snow. The day we got back from Maine we got slammed with a new foot of snow. It was pretty sad, but at least the girls were excited about playing in the fresh powder.

Josh introduced the girls to March madness and they were glued to the TV during the Duke game :)

Bryn had spirit week at school and her favorite days were "dress like an animal" day and "crazy hair" day.

We didn't go all out for St. Patrick's Day, but Bryn did insist on making a Leprechaun Trap. She decorated it on her own and the best part was the sign she added that said "Come on in, little fella" :)

 Mya spent the month taking good care of all her baby dolls.

 More snow.

 I've painted and sold several watercolor paintings of Tuck this past year, so Bryn wanted to join in the fun! I did a really quick sketch of the Tuck building and she painted it. I like her version more than mine :)

 Playdates and dressing up

 I walked into the living room one morning and found Mya leaning on Bryn as they read together. Cutest thing ever!

 Bryn is so sweet to read to Mya all the time. It's my favorite thing! Bryn and Mya both love the Elephant and Piggie series of books by Mo Willems. We always have a few of them checked out from the library and my girls read them over and over again. 

 Mya has officially entered the dressing-up phase and it's killing me!

 Bryn is still loving her gymnastic class.

 I had a fun night last week driving down to Massachusetts for my friend Tiffany's baby shower. It was so fun to get together with some of my Tuck friends who left last year and now live in Boston. I've met some pretty fabulous ladies at Tuck and it was so fun to reconnect!

 Silly girls after church last week.

We got out the Easter box early this year and these bunny ears are worn by one of the girls almost at all times :)

Such a sweet moment watching the LDS women's meeting with my two girls snuggled up next to me! Mya only last about 5 minutes, but Bryn watched the whole thing next to me and especially loved the story about the little girl named Bryn who just had one hand.

Hallelujah! It has finally warmed up to the 40's and it's felt like summer this past week! We've been going on walks around the neighborhood every day and it's so great to actually be out of the house! 

And that is March in a nutshell!