easter, etc

Just before Easter, we got a package in the mail from The Children's Place. Inside were a couple of shirts for Kate and a $2 hat for Colin. He was very excited. He called it his "workman hat" and asked if he could go outside to work. I said sure.

On Saturday we had a neighborhood Easter breakfast and egg hunt. It wasn't as bitterly cold as it was last year, which was nice. The kids had fun seeing some of their friends, and I had fun letting them be watched by someone other than me for a few minutes.

Kate met some new neighbor girls who are her same age. She pointed at them and called them babies.

Everyone getting lined up for The Great Egg Hunt in the bishop's backyard.

It took quite a bit of convincing to get Kate to pick up more than one egg, and to put her eggs in her classy basket. (I forgot the baskets.)

Colin scored some candy that wasn't even hidden inside eggs. (And he borrowed Mary's pretty basket.)

Kate picking up some chocolate for Mama.

The best I could get when I told him to look at me and say cheese.

Mary didn't want to look at me and say cheese either.

After the breakfast and candy we took the kids home, Nate fed them lunch, and I went to a sweet brunch with some Relief Society ladies. It was my 3rd breakfast of the day. I'm not ashamed to admit that. When the kids woke up from their naps we packed them up and took them to Caleb's house for another egg hunt.

We also decorated some eggs. Those are my cute nieces, cute sister-in-law, and cute brother-in-law-arm.

Kaylee was super excited to decorate eggs!

This is what I got when I asked Colin to show me what he was doing.

And this is what Kate did instead of decorating eggs. I'm grateful for it too, because imagine the mess she would have made if she had participated!

This is Nate trying to look more British as he posed with his eggs. (See this video for explanation of the British thing.)

Colin was intrigued by the whole "color the eggs" thing.

Since it was rainy and yucky Saturday afternoon we "hid" eggs inside the house. Here are the childrens coming downstairs.

Caleb's kids inspecting their loot. The consensus: not too shabby.

And here we have Easter morning. I had Nate take some pictures before church since I knew the kids wouldn't look as nice by the time we got home. I was right. I was standing behind Nate trying to make the kids smile. Together we make a decent photography team. Also, together we make some pretty stunning children. I mean really, how adorable are those two? They are both really, really ridiculously good-looking.

After church and naps we headed back to Caleb's for Fancy Easter Dinner 2011. It was delicious. I took my camera but forgot to take pictures.

son of a vondruke

Classic Colin attacking Nate right before bed. I think he was trying to tickle Nate's back.

We really needed to get out of the house last weekend, so we took the kids to the Bean Museum. It's the first time we've been there as a family, and the kids really liked it. Colin kept pointing out Simba and Mufasa and Kate kept mooing at all the antelope-type creatures.

That would be Colin saying "Grrr" to the bears.

That would be Kate not sure how she felt about the bears.

This was their favorite place.

After the museum we wanted to get a treat for the kids, and since we're cheap and indecisive we ended up buying a Push Pop sucker at Reams.

Colin was kind enough to share his Super Special Sucker with his sister. It lasted about 4 days.

Sick kids plus worn-out mom equals watching a show before bed.

We've had a day or two of nice weather. I went to take a picture of the kids playing outside and this is what I found. How did that get there?

I was trying to get a picture of how ridiculously messy Kate's pants were.

Colin is very nurturing with his stuffed animal friends—until he decides to hurl them across the room. I got out Colin's old receiving blankets and wrapped up some babies for the kids to play with. Kate loves babies now, probably because she can say the word. It's cute.

The giraffe, formerly known as Dallin (named after a boy across the street), formerly known as Belle, is now known as Sleeping Beauty, or sometimes just My Princess. She has her very own special blanket and sleeps with Colin every night.

These last few pictures are just from playing inside while it rained outside. Colin wouldn't look at me and smile.

This is the face I got when I asked Kate for a smile.

Kate still likes to take clothes and shoes on and off. She'll grab random clothes from Colin's drawer and put them on her legs. It's pretty hilarious when I find her wearing one of his shirts and a pair of underpants on her legs. On this occasion she insisted on putting on several different things, and eventually I just let her. And this isn't even the most ridiculous she looked during the course of the day. There were also bows and socks involved.

mary magdalene

After we read scriptures tonight, this is what Colin did for 10 minutes. Really, 10 entire minutes. And he only stopped because I insisted it was time to calm down.

hilarious kids

This first picture isn't very funny, but Kate was having a meltdown and I took her picture. She was looking at Colin because he was dancing around like a goof. She looked really cute and really sad.

Last night while I was making dinner Kate was playing down by my feet. I knew she had emptied out the washrag drawer, but I didn't pay attention to what she was doing with it. She was busy putting every single bib over her head, and it was super hilarious. She was so serious about it, and she started to get mad when she couldn't get the last few over her head without help. I have some of it on video too, but I stink at uploading videos. I also liked that she was wearing only a onesie and crocs.

At bedtime we were playing with the kids trying to get them in their pajamas. Colin wouldn't stop running around in his underpants. Kate was in just her diaper hiding behind the stuffed animal bin. I have hilarious video of that too, but again, you won't get to see it at this point in time.

Yesterday we went to the Sunflower Market and the kids got a balloon. Kate was scared of hers, but Colin loved his. Today when the balloons had deflated a bit Kate decided hers was okay.

I got some nice static cling going with Kate's hair, and she was like a cat chasing her tail trying to get that balloon off.

Colin felt left out, so I stuck a balloon to his head too.

I guess balloons are fun to hug and kiss.

new post

So, we went to Iowa on vacation. I don't have any pictures to prove it, but we were there and we had a good time. I blame the lack of pictures on sheer exhaustion on my part. Pregnancy plus a nasty cold plus a distraught daughter kind of wore me out. Nate stayed busy helping his brother-in-law with house projects. Colin had fun playing with his cousins (as long as he knew his dad was close by). Kate did not adjust well, and pretty much stayed latched on to me with a pacifier in her mouth. I got to shop and spend time with my sisters-in-law, all of whom I love dearly. I didn't get to snuggle my new niece and nephew as much as I would have liked, but I didn't want to share my germs. I-80 was shut down forcing us to stay over in Rawlins, WY on our way out. The car trip was long and arduous, but we survived. Colin asked to go to his Granny's house and not to his house when we got back. Kate hugged everything in sight once she got home, smiling at and talking to her toys and books. Colin still talks about his cousins and wants to go back to play with them. I'm glad we got to go visit, but I'll be happier to see everyone out here when they come on vacation!

Oh, and I had my 20 week ultrasound appointment today. Since we weren't planning on finding out the gender, and since the appointment was right in the middle of the day, I went by myself and Nate went to work and the kids stayed with Nana. I stayed strong and didn't peek, so I still don't know whether we're having a boy or a girl. I do know that the baby is healthy and growing and human, and that's enough for me right now. I'm really looking forward to that special moment when this kid is born and we get to meet him or her for the first time. I expect it will be different than it was with Colin and Kate, going in knowing beforehand that we were having a girl or boy and having a name picked out and everything.

Here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks. Sorry, I really have been sick and haven't taken many pictures. The weather was nice for a few days, and the kids got used to playing outside everyday, until 5 inches of snow were dumped on us yesterday. Sorry kids!

Colin loves those socks. And apparently he likes looking super classy.

Nate and Colin pretending to sleep. Colin isn't doing a very good job. I couldn't convince Kate to get down there with the boys.

She did let me get one picture of her in her princess jammies though. Super cute.

Kate wouldn't cooperate for a picture on Friday. She looked so adorable, but she only wanted to hold the camera, not smile in front of it. She even had a bow on her ponytail at one point. I'm really looking forward to her hair growing out more so she can look more grown up and less homeless.

And here is Colin trying to put on his necklace. Still keeping in super classy.

Sometimes it's hard to believe that something so beautiful was made by me and Nate. He is so much better looking than his parents.