Oscar Stew

It’s that time of year again! Time to bore readers with holiday traditions like dying eggs. If you aren’t directly related, you might want to skip this post. just sayin’…

Apparently soaking eggs in dye requires intense focus:

This is how an almost 3 year old dyes eggs. No cracked shells, minimal dripping, easy clean up! I’m talking about the eggs here, not the kid…

The more senior artists had some fun with freehand design. Looks like this painter is really senior! Is that gangrene setting in?

I think we’ve got a rhythm down now…dip…

…check for authentic color…

…and decorate! I think this egg wanted to be green & yellow. That would explain why it’s “crushed”! 

Ok, let’s try this again. Dip…

…color authentication…definitive and flawless!

Decorate! Hey, who let you have the paint brush?!

Look at our budding artist enhancing dyed chicken eggs with rabbit feet stamps!

Sharing is caring! Or not caring. Depends if you’re the share-er or the share-ee. Thanks for being a good sport Binnie! 

Brinley says this one looks like the Earth. Does Summer last longer on that planet?

Eleanor discovered that if you eat enough candy it starts gravitating towards you. wowowowowowowow…

Don’t you love the ‘do? We had Stake Conference on Sunday. Like any other Sunday, there comes a time when Eleanor doesn’t care about anything except letting you know she’s missed her nap…The last hour of the conference was a rough one, but that didn’t squelsh the excitement of hearing L. Tom Perry speak or having the opportunity to shake his hand afterward. Easter-Awesomeness!!

We tried to pad Eleanor’s easter basket with healthier options. What the?! This isn’t candy! Normally bananas are my favorite, but not today! Pblbleh! How dare you trick me!

So you’re trying to keep me healthy on Easter, eh? I’ll show you what I think about that idea…go long! No really long! Like on the next continent long. See ya!

Oops I almost forgot about the other children. They were moving around the yard at supersonic speed, so can you blame me? It appears the Bunny knows Rowan well. I didn’t know Dora could lay eggs…

Nice haul! Are you sure you got them all? Especially the real ones???

Aaaugh! Watch out! It’s a drive by food-ing! She’s gonna throw bananas and hard-boiled eggs at us! Run!!!

Ther were a few days during Spring Break that allowed us to break out and enjoy some fresh air. What exciting and amusing activities would we pursue? How about some bone-crushing, back-breaking manual labor? Yay!    

First project: Gold mining! Ok, it might be fool’s gold, but it sure makes the grass look nicer and greener once you rake all the dead stuff out.

Think there’s any gold in there? Only a fool wouldn’t check from time to time!

All the miners earned their wages. In life, there are some jobs that are harder than others, ain’t that right Brinley?

Take this job for example: Holding up a tree is very difficult when you’re only 1.167232876712…years old!

Aw Rowan! We’re not doing that kind of gold mining! Yeah, yeah…grass flew into your nose blah blah…whatever. We’re still going to show this picture to all your boyfriends!

Alright, you little miners go have fun playing at your friend’s house; Mommy & I are going to go enjoy a gold mine of flavor in honor of her birthday. Oh yeah!

We enjoyed the warm weather on yet another letterboxing adventure, and discovered that our very lives were at stake!

It’s not too hard to believe that letterboxing is a dangerous hobby. There were kids throwing rocks… 

…fields full of spiny, prickly plants…

…don’t even mention the horned dwarf elephants running rampant through the brush!

Horned dwarf elephants? That sounds kinda funny!

Well, it’s supposed to be a letterbox adventure, but these monkeys have been pawing through the grass for a while and still haven’t found the treasure. Keep looking! 

Ah ha! I knew there was a horned dwarf elephant stomping around here somewhere! Is that a magic leaf to help you stand up?

That’s right Ellie, we caught you standing up! What are you doing over here all by yourself? Soaking up the sunshine? Playing in the grass? Grazing?

I think the answer to all these questions is yes. She seems to be at ease in this natural environment…

…and so do the monkeys. I guess that means they found the treasure. Onward!

Look closely, this rare creature is signing! I think she’s saying she wants another chance at stomping through the brush!

Speaking of sign language, Drew doesn’t know any. No offense Boulder, we’re just throwing rocks! 

For being such a cute eleaphant, it sure seems like the wind could knock her over.

Thanks for the help Drew. Sorry about the horn in your ear. Ha!

What?! We’re leaving? Noooo! I’m an elephant, in my element! I will show you NO mercy!

Well, looks like all the kids had a good time. Oh Drew, horn in the nose! Arrrgh!

Since we’ve been living in our house for over a year now, nothing we do at home is exciting anymore. Turning on the sprinklers for the first time this year? Boring!

That’s a pretty good impression of what the guy on his shirt is doing, no?

If the grass wasn’t brown you could swear this was the middle of summer. 80 degrees…in March!

Ah yes, another clue that it’s not summer yet…ice cold mountain water in the pipes! Brrrr!

Not everyone seemed to mind. Brinley looks like she’s being carried away by the water. Hold on tight Drew!

Daddy hasn’t adjusted the sprinklers to keep them from watering the rocks yet. There’s no escape Eleanor!

Nope, you can’t fly over the water either Drew. He actually got drenched a lot faster this way…

These kids aren’t hippies. They’re Yippies. Take a bath…Yippie!

Spring Break. Break into Spring! That’s what we did. Springtime is always unpredictable in Colorado. We used the van’s heater and a/c on the same day! We adapted as the weather went through hot and cold flashes, and enjoyed activities both indoors and out. This post is all about the in!

The birds are singing, the grass is turning green (well, kinda), and the kids have been busy organizing and planting the seeds for this year’s crop…

Maybe I should rephrase; Drew has been organizing, planting, watering…

Brinley got to do the hardest part: sorting & labeling!

It’s Monday night, do you know where your scriptures are?

For Family Home Evening Drew taught us a great lesson about the history of Joseph Smith. He prepared the lesson all by himself (with the help of his awesome scout leaders). Way to go Scoobie!

As if that wasn’t enough, he also directed & produced a theatrical hit: The First Vision. 

The next day it was still chilly so we continued with indoor activities. What’s for dinner? Homemade Whole Wheat Macaroni à la Roastie! Yum!

Hey Ellie, are you gonna finish that? If not, the cook wants it back.

Let us proclaim our love for Chick-Fil-A. Free Breakfast Wednesdays! Woooot!

Is it the spicy chicken biscuit that’s making those smiles? The warm indoor playground? The free refills?

That’s right, it’s the refills! Looks like Brinley needs one! Brinley, go get us another…after you’re done chewing, of course.

So, we’re done then? ‘Cause I’m not full yet. What else ya got?

We made our way towards downtown and noticed something. Maybe it wasn’t the weather that was having hot flashes; maybe it was Farmer Gray and his ditch-burning machine of mayhem! I bet he doesn’t have to deal with tailgaters…

We made a successful landing at the museum’s Space Odyssey. Drew and Brinley received thorough instruction on the orbit & phases of the Moon… 

…But we were a little concerned about the valet assigned to park our spaceship. Take it easy will ya?!

All those canyons and craters on Mars were apparently created by Astro-Tots. It could be true!

What a surprise…Rowan likes big shiny rocks. Someday some young man is going to be faced with this problem and all I’ll say is “I told you so!”

Looks like Rowan isn’t the only girl admiring the shiny rocks…

Even the boys were interested in these rocks. They look like normal stones until you turn on a UV light, and then wowowowow…get closer kids, and smile big! Free teeth whitening! oh yeah!

It ain’t Carlsbad, but this fake cave looks pretty real to me.

We made our way out of the mine shaft to the surface, only to discover we were 3.5 billion years late to see any real dinosaurs, except for that one behind Eleanor. Ha!

Besides the vicious, mean, and scary animals…there are some plush toys in the Puppet Pit. Beware!

Eleanor got to work on her magnificent mansion of maple…

And then shopped for a top-of-the-line security system to keep out any trespassers. Rock that ghetto booty!

It’s always fun to art with friends. Especially when you meet them at the museum by chance!

Looks like all the arm curls I’ve been doing have paid off…look at that muscle! yeah…no!

At the end of the day this happy explorer let her hair out and showed what she was really made of…cottage cheese!

 

On this day it was frosty outside, so we made oatmeal cookies. Thanks for the raisins Rowan, but where is your shirt? 

How do you stir molten hot brown sugar? You do it like this.

Ok Brinley, very cute. That’s not your own personal bowl, ok? Brinley? BRINLEY!!! Give it back!

Attaboy Daddy! Clean that carpet! Why do blondes have all the fun?

This isn’t fun, this is serious business. We’re in the serious business…of having fun! It’s not the same thing, silly Daddy.

On Thursday the kids lit some candles, held a vigil, and observed a moment of silence…

…for a young lady no longer in her 20’s. Oh the pain! Special thanks go out to a special friend for bringing me a carrot cake…mmm…mmm…GOOD!

We’ll be back later with the outside version Spring Break…see you soon!