Belated Birthday Shopping

With everything that was going on in January, Melissa's birthday kind of got lost. So we finally had the opportunity to go shopping.

Her birthday choice....new sunglasses. Jamie immediately noticed they weren't her regular style, but I think she looks adorable. Maybe we should schedule our Christmas shopping now!

Easter Continues

Since Michael, Jamie and Ashley had to work on Easter Sunday, I decided to have an Easter celebration on Monday. After everyone arrived, Michael and Jamie hid all the eggs in the yard while Violet and Lincoln were occupied opening a few gifts from the Easter bunny.

Trying to make everything as even as possible, I put Violet's name on some eggs and Lincoln's on the others.

Now Lincoln didn't care whose name was on the egg but Violet could recognize her name and got a little discouraged when she would find several eggs with Lincoln's name on them.

I really don't know who gets more excited about holidays, me or the kids.

Finding the eggs was fun but opening them afterwards gave me time for a special Easter egg hunt for the older kids. Michael, Ashley, Melissa and Jamie were each given a card with the same clues on them but they didn't know which clue was their hidden egg. The clues were "Wishy Washy" (hidden in the washing machine), "Pillow Talk" (hidden between the pillows on my bed), "Green Thumb" (hidden in one of my plants), and "P Diddy" (taped behind the toilet). I thought the clues were pretty obvious and easy, but they all had trouble finding the "P Diddy" egg. I love holidays but I'm beginning to run out of ideas for fun and games. I guess I could do the same thing next year and just claim my aging years as an excuse for not remembering!

Easter at the Taylors

I'm not sure who does a better job, Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

Violet and Lincoln were really excited to get up Easter Sunday to see what the Easter Bunny left them.

Since the weather was rather cool, an Easter egg hunt was done indoors. Lincoln loses interest in hunting eggs after the first 3 or 4, but Violet would look forever.

Happy Birthday Teresa!

As we get older the thought of celebrating another birthday becomes a day where you'd wish everyone would forget.

Even though I'm not excited about celebrating another birthday, I can't help but making everyone else's birthday a little special. I took Teresa to breakfast at Harrah's and afterwards we played the slot machines. Our luck was terrible but we had a good time. You'll have to forgive the fuzzy picture. My attempt at a selfie wasn't any better than Brad's trembling hands. Happy Birthday Teresa!

Coloring Easter Eggs

Violet and Lincoln had a play date with Trish - one of Melissa's friends who doesn't have any children of her own but several kids who she would love to claim.

The difference between Violet coloring Easter eggs and Lincoln is hysterical. Violet is very precise and needs to make everything perfect, just like her Aunt Michele.

Lincoln on the other hand was more interested in the amount of color he could get on his hands and in his mouth. Maybe that engineering gene will kick in as he gets older.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Poor Violet happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when one of her classmates decided to throw a book.

The injury wasn't nearly as bad as Violet's emotional breakdown. Seems as though no place is safe anymore.

Car Accident

You would think running a quick errand in my quiet neighborhood would be uneventful. I was stopped at a stop sign waiting to make a right turn. I saw a car coming driving in the middle of the road. So I waited for the driver to pass. I then noticed that the car was making a left turn. Have you ever been sitting at a stop sign when a semi-truck was making a left turn in front of you? I always think they're making the turn rather sharp and hope they won't hit my car.

That's the same feeling I had when I saw this car making a left turn in front of me. But in this case, she hit me. Not only did she scrape the front of my car, but then she put the car in reverse, backed up and made the dent even worse. Funny thing was, she lived right on that corner. She jumped out of her car and began explaining how she wasn't paying attention because she was looking at her garage door opener to open the garage door.

Luckily she had insurance and now my car is fixed and back on the road. But the inconvenience is infuriating. Plus the loaner car they gave me was a tuna can called a Ford Fiesta. I'll now think twice about running errands in my neighborhood after dark!