Still catching up...

Eventually I'll start blogging about current stuff again! But for now, pictures from Easter...

The day before Easter. Hot tip: Don't try to dye Easter eggs when the child to adult ratio is 4:1. Especially when they are all under the age of six. Just trust me on this one.

But we made it through, the kids had fun and we even had a few unbroken eggs at the end of it all.

We had a lot of the family over for an Easter Egg Hunt and dinner.

Blue eyes! Check out the steps behind Betty. Yuck. I had the great idea to paint the steps two summers ago...and that didn't really work out so well. Curtis told me it was going to peel, but I was optomistic. :(

Bunny ears from Grandma and Grandpa Rice.


Oh the tragedy! Spilled Easter eggs!

Cousins playing.

Iris and Kathryn.

Birthdays!

Soooo....birthdays. We've had a few lately and of course, they did not get blogged. Huh.

Dex turned three on March 26 and had a rocket ship party at Nain and Taid's house (his choice - he loves going to Nain and Taid's more than anyplace in the world).


Believe it or not, it's pretty hard to find rocket ship stuff. Disney-themed stuff is EVERYWHERE (if it's licensed, Wal-Mart will sell it!) but good old classic rocket ship stuff? Verrrry little. So, we played pin the astronaut on the rocket ship, all drawn by me, and had a pinata. Unfortunately, it was a car (because, again, no rocket ship stuff). Fortunately, Dexter didn't care that it was the wrong vehicle, because there was CANDY in it and he got to HIT IT. It could have been a My Little Pony pinata and he would have been cool with that.


I'm pretty lame, though, and took hardly any photos. :( I just got too busy being in charge, I guess. Anyway, we did get photos of the cake, so that's something. He loved that cake. He talked about it for weeks. Still talks about it, in fact.

For Betty's second birthday party (April 29), we seriously lucked out in the photography department. Our friend Michael Whitman (Google him - Michael Whitman Photography) was able to come with his caaaaameraaaaa. Yay! This birthday was much more respectably photographed. He does a great job!

Betty put the hat on herself and wouldn't let me adjust it.

Little Unicorn. :)

We decorated party hats with stickers and threw paper streamer thingys - what are those called? I can't remember, but they are in the photo.

These guys were super helpful.

I love this photo of Xander. He's such a great kid. Almost fifteen but not too old to decorate a hat and even wear it. He's so good with the little ones.

Serious focus.

Iris and Betty having a little fun.

Opening presents.

A shot of Betty wearing her rainbow backpack, made entirely by Sherry. She's kind of awesome.

Betty's rainbow birthday cake. I was a little weary of frosting, frosting, frosting and wasn't thrilled about all the food coloring I had used in Dex's rocket ship cake, so I did fruit instead. Jenni made a delicious whipped cream/cream cheese frosting, which was perfect.

And everyone seemed to love it.

Happy Birthday, Dex and Betty!! xoxo

House tour and new bathroom!

A while back the editor of the local newspaper (where I used to work - goooooo RUMFORD FALLS TIMES!) came over to do a story on the renovation progress at our house for their annual home improvement insert. While we are not 100% done with the house yet, we figured we had enough done to allow him in with a camera. He took some great photos and we took some of our own as well. I mean, the house was really clean! Gotta document that, right?

Here are some of the photos of some of the rooms in the house.

Bruce (my old boss/editor), the kids and I in the kitchen.

The kids trying to get popsicles out of the freezer. They got to have one after all the pictures were taken and it didn't matter if they had red-stained mouths and clothes.

The hallway on the first floor with some of our random wall decor - including a weird old rubber head that Curtis found at a thrift shop (I think it was from a life-sized Nativity - he looks like one of the Wise Men). He loves it. I tolerate it.

The second floor.

Kathryn playing with an old typewriter - something all the kids love to do.

Ta-dah! The new bathroom on the second floor with our high-tank toilet. We love it.

This is the original tub. The tile is new and Curtis refinished the wood.

Original sink, cheap(ish) antique shop mirror.

We still have to put the wooden thresholds back. The guy who did the tile had to remove them to shave them down and make them fit and hasn't brought them back yet. Hmmm. We should call him.

Betty's room.

Our bedroom. Perhaps the least exciting of the whole house, decor-wise.

One of my FAVORITE rooms in the house - the third-floor bathroom. It was the first room we ever finished and I used to go in there and close the door and pretend that the rest of our house wasn't a ridiculous construction zone.

Kathryn's room, fourth floor. I love this room.

Curtis did almost all of the work in this room himself.

Ditto for Viv's room. He did a great job. I, however, made the quilt.

Even though Viv's room is the size of a closet, I do think it might be favorite room in the house. I love the blue and pink.

And, lest you think we are all done with this house, behold the other two rooms on the fourth floor. Sigh. We'll get there.

Stage debut!

I'm not actually mentally back in blogging mode yet, but I am DOING IT because I love my mother/mother-in-law. I'm sure I'll get back in to the swing of it...soon... :)

Kathryn's kindergarten class put on four little plays this Friday and Kathryn got the role she wanted...Goldilocks! Oh, how thrilling to be cast as the lead!

Tasting the porridge.

Testing the littlest bear's chair...just right!

Doing a little song and dance at the end.


After the play we all went to get ice cream at Frosty Delite. Finally, weather warm enough to make getting ice cream seem like a good idea!