Easter: Part 1

Growing up I loved Easter. I totally believed in the Easter bunny. And I'll tell you why. One early Sunday Easter morning when I was young I remember going to San Clemente to visit my grandparents. On the way out of our tract I saw him. The Easter Bunny. The real, true-live kind like you see at the mall. He was hopping down the street in my tract. And he waved at me. I felt pretty darn cool. I think now that it was just a coincidence that I saw the Easter bunny that day. I think he was for the enjoyment of the family that lived behind us, we just got lucky to spot him when we did.

Our family always had Easter at my grandma and grandpa’s. My grandma would take such great care in setting the tables to perfection, would pull of the good China, and would have a little treat at each table setting for the grandkids. That was always the first place we ran as we walked in the door; to see what treat was at our seat. Then we would raid the bowl full of cashews. Kinda weird, I know, but cashews for some reason were a hot commodity in our family and Easter was one of the very seldom times we had them.

Even when I figured out that the Easter bunny I saw hopping down the street wasn’t real, I still loved Easter. My mom always did such fun things for us on Easter morning. She is an amazing riddler. When we woke up we would find a plastic egg next to our bed with this complex, peculiar, thoughtful riddle as to where the Easter bunny hid our basket -- out in the garden, in the box full of shoes next to the back door, in the dryer, next to the 12 pack of Cola on the garage shelf. Sometimes one of us girls would cry because we couldn’t figure the riddle out. Sometimes one sister would find a basket that wasn’t theirs and have to hurry and hide it back where they found it. Sometimes it took all 5 girls to find a single basket. It was so much fun. I hope my mom has kept some of those riddles; I could use the help now. How she came up with 5 riddles for my sisters and I and hid our baskets in a new spot each year is beyond me. She amazes me and made it so much fun. My dad always hid the Easter eggs so well. As fun as it was though, one of us would end up crying during the hunt for eggs as well (that's what you get with a house of 5 girls) and that just made it all the more fun for my dad!!

When I moved out, Easter kinda went downhill. There was no special plastic egg by my bed. No riddle to make me think. Sometimes no basket at all. And definitely no coveted Golden egg for the lucky Easter egg hunter.

Now, Easter is back in full form. I have my sweet husband and two growing boys and we’re surround by our family again. We have some new fun traditions, and some we’re making our own. Part of what I love most, we celebrate Easter on Saturday and Sunday.

So, here it is. Easter: Part 1.

Dying Eggs & the Kreipl Easter Picnic. Oh! And the dessert I made! Just what we needed...more TREATS!! Which, by the way, Wyatt says. Well, he doesn't exactly say treat, but he tries hard and comes fairly close. We just know we better hand something over quick before the meltdown begins. These little puppies definitely got the Wyatt stamp of approval!!

To be continued.....

lollipop

How many licks does it take Wyatt to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

Well, we don’t actually know. But….

It takes an older brother falling asleep with it in his hands for him to steal it from.

It takes sticking him in his chair for at least a half hour to have at it. It taskes a mini examination since this is the first time his wicked mean mom has let him eat one. (In my defense...they are SOOOO messy. I have proof. See below!)

It takes licking it from both the right and the wrong end.

It takes trying to stand it upright on his tray.

It takes missing his mouth a few times.

It takes rubbing his sticky hands & arms in his hair.
It takes sharing a few licks with mom.

It takes one huge, cute, cheesy grin.

Love this boy!!!

Spring Training

It was a gorgeous day. The smell of sunscreen filled the air.

It was a sold out stadium. The last game of the Spring season. Red was donned by all.

The seats were perfect. A steal of a deal at the last minute.

There were plenty of home runs and foul balls. We had our glove ready.

The kettle corn was tasty. The fans were rowdy.

The game was exciting. The boys were in heaven.

The Angels won.

For our little family, Saturdays don’t get much better than this.

Kites

My husband loves kites. I was going to try and be clever about how I went about saying this, but really, he just does. Since we met I knew this and I think it’s the cutest thing. He gets so excited about them. I recently learned that his grandpa used to take him, along with his brothers and sisters and cousins, and that is why they hold such a special spot in Austin's heart. It's a sweet memory he has of his grandpa. I think it goes without saying kites will be an adventure he has with his children and grandchildren.
We ALWAYS have one in the garage. Whenever we go to the park for a picnic or a family outing, a kite comes with us. When we go beach camping, it's always packed in with the camping gear. When we were in Sedona for his birthday, out of all the cute shops on the Main Street, the only one he wanted to go in was the kite shop…and it was closed. Poor guy.

For Christmas the boys got Austin a brand new Red Baron kite just like the Red Baron Snoopy flies. Dax was especially excited about this. Without a lake, ocean or mountains near by, windy days are hard to come by. We finally had a chance to take the kite out this weekend and discovered how awesome this kite truly is. Even the high-tech gage on the handle read that the wind conditions were “excellent” for kite flying. How cool that our kite tells us that?


So, Austin being the pro kite flyer and teacher that he is, this is what we learned about kite flying:

1. Find a buddy to help you get the kite into the air. Good thing Austin has two of the cutest buddies around.
2. Hold the ball of string and have your buddy hold the kite or vice versa. Or just be patient as Dax prances around the kite not understanding a word his dad is saying.

3. Unwind about 30 yards of string being careful so not to let the string tangle. Being the smart (and maybe a little obsessive) Dad that you are, bring a second kite for your three-year-old to tangle away his little heart out. 4. Hold the kite in both hands and toss it lightly into the wind until the wind catches it. Laugh as your littlest buddy gets a face full of wind while running around crazy and cute. 5. To allow the kite to go higher, release lengths of string. Watch the kite get higher and higher and watch the admiration grow for the coolest dad.

6. To lower the kite, simply pull in the string. It helps if you have 6 hands to do this part. 7. Call it a day. And what a memorable one it was.

Red Balloon

Once upon a time in Paris (actually Arizona) there lived a boy named Pascal, I mean Wyatt. He had only one brother, and sometimes he was very sad and lonely at home because his brother would be off playing.

Once he brought in the messy dump truck from outside, and some time later the shovel from the garden. But his mother said outside toys brought dirt into the house, and so Wyatt was soon alone again in his mother’s well-kept rooms. (Ha!)

Then one day, on his way home from school, or his cousin’s birthday party, he caught sight of a fine red balloon, tied to a lamppost. Okay, in reality a chair. Wyatt laid his toy on the ground. He held his hands up and cried until his grandpa untied the balloon, and Wyatt ran off with it.

Wyatt quickly made friends with the red balloon and vice-versa, and the balloon followed him around through the halls of his home. The pair drew inquisitive looks from adults (just his mom) and the envy of other children, just Dax, as they wandered the house.

Wyatt soon realized the balloon had a mind and will of its own, and it began to follow Wyatt wherever he went.

In the real story, the Red Balloon, by Albert Lamorisse, the balloon magically follows Pascal. In our story, the balloon honestly and truly followed Wyatt.

But it wasn’t magic.

It was all about the static cling.

The End.

Las Vegas

My family has some really great friends that live in UT. We joke about it now, but when we were all younger we thought we were cousins. I don’t know how we thought we were related, but somehow we were. When my family would venture to UT for a few weeks in the summer and a few weeks in the winter, we always spent plenty of time with these close “cousins”. Our dad’s were the best of friends in their bachelor years and played softball and basketball together in Southern California. They were in each other’s weddings, and since then, some portion of each family have traveled many many miles back and forth from CA, AZ, and UT to be their for some major events in each other’s lives including weddings, receptions, baby blessings, adoptions, temple sealings, sports tournaments, and graduations. Austin met this “family” even before some of my real family members. It’s a wonderful relationship, one never to be replaced.

Austin and I have a similar story with our friends Reed and Kathryn.

The guys were roommates in college, a freak accident with a mutual friend. We all got married just a few months apart and as newlyweds, the four of us became fast friends. They helped us move into our first home in Utah, and then helped us pack it up a few years later. Kat threw me my baby shower for Dax and was literally one of the first people to hold him at the hospital. We have the most fun when we are with them and have some of the best memories together.

When the chance came up to meet Reed, Kat and their adorable little girl, Brynley (who was only a few months when we moved) in Las Vegas for a weekend, we jumped at the chance. We reserved a two bedroom condo a block from the strip behind the MGM Grand that ended up being more than perfect. We cruised the strip, ate some great meals, took in the sights, saw Paul Sr. from Orange Coast Choppers, the boys gambled…and only one won (here’s a hint: Reed), the girls shopped, the guys shook hands with Pete Rose, we played our all time favorite game, Yahtzee (Reed was on a winning streak), stayed up way too late talking and just enjoyed being together. The kids got along so well and were such great travelers.

The trip was perfect, I only wish it was longer. We miss those guys like crazy. We decide this would definitely be a yearly tradition. I think we definitely found a “cousin” for Dax and Wyatt in Brynley, because if I have anything to do with it, we are going to be friends for a long, long time.

Belagio FountainsM&M FactoryCeasar's Palace

Paris Paris