Easter morning '11

You can tell that when I post pictures from Easter two weeks late that I am either: a) catching up on laundry or b) reading an actual book or c) doing both

Getting ready in the morning, I whipped out the camera a little late, but there they are.

After lunch we had ourselves a little indoor easter egg hunt, it was pouring outside.
London was a big help to her little brother....
even though he thought the best part was shaking his bucket so that the eggs noisily flew everywhere. Boys.....

A prize for superb Easter egg hunting.

Oh, and London was a little unhappy that the Easter bunny didn't visit this year, (poor girl only received treats from her mom and dad, plus both her grandparents). James explained that the Easter bunny was the most fickle of the holiday gift givers, and that he was sure that next year he would make an extra big effort to visit her.
And yes, I'm enjoying my book very, very much.

It's unlikely the Easter bunny will be visiting this house on Sunday

Noble made it very clear what would happen if the Easter bunny stepped foot on our property this weekend, and it isn't pretty.

You give a two year old free license to decorate 'his bunny' however he wants, and this is how it turns out.

I'm trying to figure out where all this animosity is coming from.

He may still be angry about the flowers some punk bunnies ate in our garden.

London's bunny was much more approachable.
Even though she opted to use toilet paper instead of cotton balls. Here's to creativity!

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary how does your garden grow?"

To which London (taking upon herself the role of Mary in the musical that is her life) responds, "With roses, day lilies, those white flowers, tulips........." (and it continues, as you will soon discover).

James, London and I decided that London (and Noble's) playhouse could use some color and life that only a garden can bring. It was a little chilly when we started, but London can be quite the worker.
A little water, a little sun....
....and a few flowers eaten away by a gang of vandalizing backyard bunnies......

....and the addition of some rose bushes with help from Papa, Honey and Elizabeth.....

and we have a vibrant, blooming garden. And a very successful little gardener.

Mastering the art of smiling.

Good thing London is here to help.

And speaking of London, those shorts she's wearing have been 'put away' for the last three summers, and somehow they keep showing up. It's a real mystery, how they suddenly reappear and also how London gets them on (the tag reads 24 mos.).

Beautiful girl.
Remember the song I mentioned at the beginning? Well, here it is. Enjoy.

If you need a waver, he's your guy

Noble and London LOVED riding all the mechanical animal/vehicle rides around Branson. This one was no exception. As you can tell, what started out as lassoing (for Noble) turned into a wave that looked like it was made for a parade float.

That's my boy.

And as a bonus you also get to hear my dad say my middle name...ahhhh...feels like old times.

It's good to get away

My parents were kind enough to invite us to a spring break getaway with them in Branson.

Needless to say it was pretty awesome.

This is after London went on a shopping marathon with Nana. That four year old has some serious endurance.

And both kids got some nice one on one time with their daddy. It is so nice just to see one another without a million things going on.

London is getting some help writing a note, which later, I was thrilled to be the recipient of. (It said "I love you. Love London") This little girl LOVES to write.

Having more fun, I will have to post a video I took of this. It makes me laugh every time.

This was our first trip to Silver Dollar City and we loved it! There were so many fun things for London and Noble to do, and it didn't hurt that the weather was perfect too!

Can you tell this is Nobles first time on a roller coaster? It's actually London's too, but that girl is pretty fearless. She did insist that James sit with her, which I totally understand. If I had a choice of someone to ride with on something as scary as a roller coaster I definitely wouldn't choose me, I'd go for the big strong guy who also isn't afraid of anything.

Noble barely made the height requirement, just by 1/6 of an inch! After the ride was over he was strutting through the park like he was some tough two year old!

Nana was able to take them on some rides too.

"Wheeeeeeeeeee!"
And in case your wondering what the oversized bandaid is for, London was accidentally pushed into a large metal spike that punctured her forehead. Luckily it didn't slow her down for long.

Yep, a good time was had by all.

Twice the fun

Not only is he two, but he got to celebrate the occasion twice.

We are all about setting high expectations in our family.

Noble was really excited about his robot cake.

He actually helped make it.

And then I finished it, with only a mild anxiety attack. Cake making is not my thing. I would like it to be my thing, but, unfortunately it's not.

For the love of all things yummy and beautiful would someone please tell me how to crumb coat a cake. Please.
Somehow it survived my attempts to frost it and nobody seemed to even notice that it wasn't properly 'crumb coated' (I think they actually appreciated the extra tub of icing I used to cover rough spots!).
I love getting together with all of our family. Birthdays (at least our children's) seem to bring everyone together.

I'm really into that.

Happy 2nd 2nd Birthday my sweet, robot lovin' baby boy.

Cooking up a good time

Noble's 2nd birthday party was a huge hit with the two year olds. It appears that frosting and then consuming you own cookies is all the rage right now.

The siblings seemed to enjoy themselves as well!
Birthday boy Owen getting busy with the cookie decorating.
Noble was REALLY excited about the frosting options. He preferred to use two brushes, simultaneously to apply it.
Nana had a good time too.
I love this picture of London and Noble with their Gammie.
Happy Birthday Owen and Noble!