Home for Easter

Wednesday, April 8th

It was a longer span of time since Brad's last visit, so we were ready for this one, especially since Daddy was coming home for Easter! Oliver is always a good boy at the airport. He always says "Hi! Mr. Policeman!" to the Sheriff and security guards there...and they always say howdy back and are always impressed with his manners and patience, I guess. As last time, he came over and asked you a few questions and gave a big smile to you just before he handed you two nice Sheriff stickers. You hammed it up for my camera. And then Daddy finally arrived! Whooo-ha! Happiness!! Extra exciting since earlier in the day it appeared that Brad would not be getting in as planned. American Airlines had so easily given his seat away as he waited to board the plane in Dallas. After not getting on the next available flight on standby, and a persnickety staff asserting that he would not make the last flight to Las Vegas, either, we were resigned to him staying overnite in Dallas. But yippadeedoodaa, his name was called on that last flight, the only person to get on. Long story short, he DID get into Vegas, just later than planned.

We slept in late on Thursday. We took a ride to the nursery and got some flowers and herbs for planting in pots, and Brad bought a few tomato plants to put in the garden here. We spent some time catching up on yardwork, and spending good quality time together. Here, Daddy gets some long-awaited love from his best little guy, and his best little furbaby, who decided Brad needed a good cleaning....



On Saturday there was a big Easter Egg Hunt at the park across the street from the house, so we decided to take Oliver over there and check it out. They had their own little Easter Bunny setup, so Oliver sat on his 2nd Bunny of the year. He gave him hugs and gave his bunny nose a good tickle as well.

A couple pictures with Brad and myself in them...

A sweet picture hugging Daddy's neck...

Let the Hunt begin!! I like that they had it separated into appropriate age groups, so all the little ones had a chance to get a basketful of eggs. It probably lasted a whole minute, but there were lots of eggs to be picked up and Oliver did a fine job of gathering.

Time to break open the eggs to see what kinds of goodies await...lots of sweet tarts and gum. Oliver was excited, even though he cannot have gum yet (those are for Mommy).

On the way home we stop for gas. Oliver sees me eating a piece of his gum and totally loses control. I told him not to be upset--he can't have gum yet anyway. This does not soothe him. He informs me that he wanted to keep it for years until he was a bigger boy so he could eat it then. I told him the gum would be dried-up and crusty by then so get used to seeing Mommy eat it! It is SO hard being 4!

Saturday night we spend some time coloring eggs.

We let Oliver open the big Easter care package that Meme sent. In it are the requisite candy and toys, as well as a dinosaur cape of some sort. We proceeded to dress Skippie Lu in it. She appeared to be in bliss and didn't move an inch, although with her skittish personality, more likely she was scared outta her wits and feared she might explode if she moved...her fear made for an easy picture.

The thing Oliver loved best were all the cupfuls of various "ingredients" for use in making some Ghost Pirate Stew. Penne pasta, applejacks, sunflower seeds, split peas, spices, curly egg noodles, and cinnamon sticks. There was even an Easter bucket for a pot, and a nice stirring spoon for whatever concoction could be dreamed up. And, to carry on the family legacy of wooden spoon spankings, Meme sent Oliver his very own wooden spoon so i can put it to use when needed. I love it. Hehe.

Easter Morning. Skippie relaxes. She's only had 20 hours of sleep.

Easter Bunny made his little visit to our house. He hid our colored eggs, which Oliver scoured from their hiding places. Between the Big Bunny and ReeRee, GranDaddy, and Uncle Wawa, Oliver received a child' share of cash, candy, a couple Wii games, and a Children's Bible. Mommy and Daddy gave a little basket with some candy, a kite, and some bubbles in it. After getting dressed we go out back to see if Easter Bunny hid any eggs. Yep. A little hunt ensues. Gotta capture the childish wonder and simple joy from these events while they last!

We played the HOT/COLD game trying to help Oliver find this yellow egg right near his head. He never found it. Only by accident did it fall from it's hiding place to be discovered.

Skippie gets in on the action.

AHA!

Inspection time.

Time for some nice photographs. My heart melts a little more each time i look at these. My serious, handsome, grown-up little fellow. Melt away...

In the afternoon the ingredients come out for playtime, but instead of pirate stew, Oliver has new ideas. He plants the salted sunflower seeds, and with the rest of ingredients he makes a batch of "birdfeed." He makes beautiful cupfuls of feed so elegantly decorated with sticks of cinnamon. Our little Iron Chef-in-the-Making.

For Easter Dinner we have a simple but yummy meal. Jeannie brought a lovely ham and baked beans. I made some homemade scalloped potatoes, as well as broccoli and green beans, and devilled eggs. It was all delicious.

For dessert i tried my hand at making zabaglione. With some lemon cake, mascarpone cream, strawberry lemon coulis, and fresh berries, I think it turned out well. Everyone ate it up, and Oliver wanted more. A pretty little dessert.

To work off dinner, we all tried our hand at the Wii Hottest Dance Party game. We have had it for some time and never used it prior to this. It always seems more fun when there are friends to enjoy it together. Oliver can't grasp this game yet, so he cheered Jeannie on. The game lends for some good laughter at the middle-age folks trying to get the hang of it. Good thing we had wine with dinner. We all sucked at it. :) But, it was a super-fun end to a Blessed Easter Day!

Monday night we went out to The Stratosphere. Whenever we drive around town Oliver always points and asks about it. He knows about the rides on to of it. Once we arrived to the Indoor Observation Deck, we enjoyed the view. However, the highlight of Oliver's night seemed to be the acquisition of a souvenir from the old Penny Press Machine. We indulged and he got his 51-cent squishy penny with the Stratosphere pressed into it. He marveled over the size of his muscles.

On the Outdoor Deck...

Las Vegas really has to be one of the prettiest, most colorful cities at night. What a fabulous picture!

Wednesday again. Time for Daddy to fly back. Oliver loves to ride the moving walkway at the airport.

One last family photo. They are hard to come by since I am always behind the lens. A nice stranger in line happily took this snapshot for us before Brad ran off through x-ray. We had a great time! We love you and miss you, Daddy! See you soon!

Almost Springtime

Springtime is definitely on it's way here in Las Vegas. The days have been perfectly warm, trees and flowers are in bloom, and to the delight of Oliver, all things springy are happening. He loves nice bugs...ones that don't sting or bite, that is. I haven't had much time for scrapping lately, but finally managed to get a couple layouts finished to show off some sweet pictures I took of Oliver last week with his ladybug friend. I am totally in loooove with the large picture on the 1st page. I love that even though Oliver is nearing 4 and 1/2 years, he still has these wonderfully soft, pillow-y cheeks...they are precious. I am so lucky to have a little guy with a truly gentle heart, too. Here they are:

Gentle Soul-Page 1 For a complete list of credits click here

Gentle Soul-Page 2 For credits and to read the journaling click here

Last Friday we had no preschool so Oliver and Maddie got a playdate at Discovery Park. Here are a few photos from the day:

None other than Joe Cool himself :)

Wheeeeeeee!

Maddie protecting Oliver...he was a bit nervous high atop the rock.

And just a sweet picture of our little angel of the morning. I love quiet moments like these:

Hope the rest of your week is just as peaceful!

Oh, Snow Much Fun!!

Well, it has been a delightful 2 1/2 days since Brad arrived back for a short visit. Oliver and I picked Daddy up at the airport on thursday night...everyone was all smiles as Oliver ran to jump into his Daddy's arms. Wanna see the joy?

On friday we slept in and around lunchtime, we decided to head up to Mt. Charleston to check out the snow, and possibly do some sledding, depending on what we found. With all the rain the Las Vegas area had earlier this week, the mountain received 27 inches of snow. A mere 39 miles from our home took us into some pretty territory with plenty of snow for Oliver to see. Pure delight at his first glimpse and touching of snow.

We try to take a photo of Oliver in the pristine snow, so Brad carries him up the slope a short way and drops him down. The pure delight fades into uncertainty as the snow is thigh-deep on Oliver. It is a tough balancing-act for the little guy. Also apparent is our lack of appropriate snow gear. The ice crystals promptly crust onto Oliver's jeans, and his gloves are too big and keep falling off. Obviously, we are not prepared. :) Nobody seemed to mind, though.

We walk across the street to the sledding area to give our sled a whirl. I knew we would not be staying a long time, as Oliver was still getting over a cold/cough, besides the fact that we had no snow gear on and the temperature was a frigid 23 degrees. But Oliver was gung-ho...the snow had him mesmerized, and from this moment on the giant grin on his face never disappeared.

Oliver and I give the sled a try. Not a very big hill, but new to us so it was a thrill. A little tricky as it was extremely slippery, but once we got going the squeals of delight never stopped!







Brad comes flying down the hill sideways...


...and does typical Daddy-duty of pulling Oliver along.

A close-up of Oliver's face as he is being pulled by Brad. Notice the non-stop, mile-wide grin. :)


I don't think we were gone 2 hours. But after leaving our 15 minutes of thrills and frozen fingers, we wondered how it is that we have lived here 11 years and never visited Mt. Charleston in winter to enjoy the snow? We decided that it would not be our last visit!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Sending out a lot of sweetness and hugs on this lovely Valentine's Day! Oliver sends out warm, chocolate-y kisses for Meme, Papa, Grandaddy and Uncle Wawa today, but the most special kiss goes to ReeRee, as this wonderful day is also her BIRTHDAY! We all love you lots! A special shout-out to Uncle Steve, too, as his birthday is today, too...it is hard to forget these Valentine birthdays! :)

Credits: All papers by Anna Aspnes-Aqua, Avalanche, Calypso, Confiture, Cream, and Sol .

Happy Birthday, Momma!!

'Nuff said. All the love in the world is being sent to you!

Love from Bid, Brad, and The Kid.

Credits: All papers by Anna Aspnes-Aqua, Avalanche 2, Confiture, and Cream.

Back on the Blog!

Wow. It has been 2 months since I have blogged! The last few months have been a bit harried, but things are starting to slow down enough where I can get in a few words. So many things have happened, but I will squeeze them in bit by bit, here and there. However, my first post back will be some fun and exciting stuff...

After a short hiatus I have actually had time to get back into my digital scrapbooking. Sometimes a little break is all that is needed to help get the creative juices flowing. I was able to produce FOUR layouts this last week. For me, that is a LOT. Not that I get anything done any more quickly, but sometimes I get lucky and the perfect pictures and thoughts hit me. Thwack!!! It worked out well! Today, this next layout, Breathe Deep, was featured at today's gallery standouts!! I am just so dang tickled I can't even tell you! This is a picture of Oliver at the beach in Gulf Shores, AL this past September. Normally I have the hardest time coming up with words that feel right, but this time I was struck by the beauty of the picture and the words (though few) just flowed...I LOVE the end result, too:

CREDITS: From Vinnie Pearce at Pixel Canvas--Baby's Breath paper (blended) and Page Mask. From Designer Digitals--Anna Aspnes-Monoblendz Oceana and Kakao papers (blended and clipped), Distressed Tool Set 3, 12 x 12 Distressed Edge Overlays 5, Katie Pertiet-Drop Shadows.

I love to experiment with different scrapping styles, and this is my attempt at the minimalist look that I really admire. Normally I have a hard time with this as I prefer my pictures to be BIG and the main focus of the layout, without a bunch of "stuff." However, I was very pleased with how this one turned out:

Leaves in Winter

Credits: From Designer Digitals--Katie Pertiet-Little Paper Leaves, Drop Shadows, Lynn Grieveson-Essential Bases, Anna Aspnes-Autumnal brushes and Scanty Journal Lines 3, Pattie Knox-Brad Bonanza and Staple Its. From Catscrap--Creashens-As I Am (papers).

Back to an easy style of letting the photo do all the work:

'lil Flap Hat

Credits: From Designer Digitals--Mindy Terasawa-Smilin' at Me Solids, Lynn Grieveson-In Distress, Pattie Knox-heart brad from Have Heart Felt, Anna Aspnes- 12x12 Edge overlays 6. The template I used is #46 by LizDesigns.

And lastly, this one was for the photo-tinting challenge over at 2PeasInABucket. This is more my usual style with lots of blending. Just Oliver being all sweet and sharing during our Valentine's Day 2007 Photo Shoot.

A Joy Shared

CREDITS:From Designer Digitals--Lynn Grieveson-Hint at It 3 and paper from Blue Water Kit (clipping mask), Pattie Knox-Hang Its and Staple Its, Anna Aspnes-Distressed Edges 3 and Distressed Tool Set 5. From Vinnie Pearce at Pixel Canvas--papers from Naturals and The Typography Corner (blended together), little heart from gemstone frame. And from Fei-Fei's Stuff-Joy Wordart.

Well, I will have to leave it at this for today. Dinnertime is calling...