My 3's...a little late

1.) Three things I love:

• Dates with Tyler



• Cuddling with my kids



• Sunny days

2.) Three things I miss:

• Old friends



• Provo Canyon



• The South

3.) Three people who make me laugh:

• Kirk



• Tiffany



• Reilly

4.) Three things that scare me:

• Mice/Rats



• Cats



• My kids on drugs

5.) Three things on my desk:

• The Complete Idiots Guide to Choosing, Training, and Raising a Dog



• A scanner



• Dust

6.) Three things I want to do in life:

• Have a long and happy marriage



• Raise loving, hardworking, caring, independent , honest children who have a strong testimony of the gospel



• Travel and see the world with Tyler

7.) Three things I can do:

• Cook



• Accomplish the things I put my mind to



• Make a home cozy and welcoming

8.) Three things I can't do:

• Math



• Drive a stick shift



• Hide my feelings/emotions

9.) Three things I would like to learn:

• How to sew



• water ski (I suck)



• Better parenting skills

10.) Three things I regret:

• Losing touch with old friends



• Getting into debt in college



• Not applying for scholarships...I had the grades but was too lazy to moozy on down to the counselor's office

11.) Three of my favorite foods:

• Thai food: curry, spring rolls, anything with peanut sauce (yum!)



• Seafood: Lobster, crab, shrimp



• Nachos

12.) Three of my favorite TV shows as a kid (so hard to choose):

• Family Affair: Buffy, Jody, Sissy, Uncle Bill and Mr. French (Does anyone remember this show? I think it was on in reruns when I was a kid). I named our dog Mrs. Beasley in homage to Buffy's doll "Mrs. Beasley".

• The Facts of Life



• Thirtysomething (Still one of my all time favorite shows) I wanted to be Hope when I grew up and I was madly in love with Gary.

Need a Laugh Wednesday???

Here is what we have been laughing over for weeks...and quoting again and again and again!

My First Good Mail and Our Weekend

I came home on Thursday and found to my utter delight a package from Andrea...my first good mail! I was so excited!! Good mail is such a great concept. If you want to read more about it click here. I LOVED the stuff that Andrea gave me...a cute Shade shirt, some Dave Ramsey labels, M&M's and sweet note. It totally made my day!! Thanks Andrea!! Now I am excited to send off some "good mail" of my own. I have been busy plotting what I am going to send and to who. It is alot of fun. So...for all you friends, family, and blog readers...if I don't have your address and you would like to get on my "good mail" list send me an email with your mailing address and maybe I'll surprise you with good mail someday.

Bright and early on Saturday morning we had a YW Leadership Breakfast. We "kidnapped" our class presidencies out of bed and brought them to the Church in their jammies. We made crepes for breakfast...with all kinds of fruit, whipped cream, and homemade hot fudge. It was SO good.

Slightly scary early morning shot of me and Valynn! After breakfast we did a few leadership/team building activities with the girls. One was they all had to stand on a tarp and figure out a way to turn it over without anyone getting off of the tarp. Very Tricky!! It took a few attempts. But it was fun to see all the "natural" leaders!

Camry also set up an obstacle course that they had to do with a partner...with their ankles, wrists and thighs tied together. It was hilarious. Valynn and I even did the obstacle course. We about died laughing. Jayni talked to them for awhile about leadership and then we broke off into our class presidencies and set some goals. I think the girls had a great time! It was a fun morning.

After I was done at the Church Tyler and the kids and I went out to the lake. The weather was horrible...rainy and cold...but it was fun to go out none the less. We had lunch out there with my mom, grandma and Kirk. My mom just got a new dog...a Newfoundland...named Griffin and we wanted to see if he would jump in the lake. Nope! The water is getting a tad bit warmer though. Even I was wading around in it.

Here's Kameron playing with part of our lunch...smoked fish from "The Smoke House" in Sandpoint. For all you locals...if you've never been there before they have the best smoked sausage, jerky, and smoked salmon. Delicious!

Finally the sun broke through all the clouds...for about 10 minutes...and we headed outside to enjoy it!

This picture of Ailey and Kirk really "cracks" me up! Lame joke...I know...but I couldn't resist. The poor girl has no butt and her pants are always falling down.

Below is my mom's new dog on the right and the other dog is Kirk's Mastiff named Diesel. Cute!

That night we went to see the musical Bye Bye Birdie! our Stake was putting on. It was great but just a bit too long for the little guys (3 hours). We had to leave early. They had a hard time seeing and then Ailey started yelling "I want to see the birdie! Where is the birdie?" and finally she just kept whining "Mom...this is NOT FUN!" After Tyler and I had all that we could take we got out of there. But good job Lucy!!

I did have an odd statement made to me...President Fredrickson from our Stake Presidency came over to say hello and said to me: "Do you know who you look just like?" "Uh-No" (and I really didn't want to know...I hate it when people say that because it usually doesn't turn out that great for me) He said "You look JUST like Annette Bening!! Every time I see you I think 'She looks just like Annette Bening' Do people say that to you? "Um-No...this is a first". So I'll let you be the judge...

Kameron...Isn't he cute?

Behold...THE BURPER!! It has come to our attention that Kameron is quite a talented burper and likes to use this little party trick to amuse his friends and classmates!! Oh Dear!!

Book Review #6

I read this book this weekend on the recommendation of Kelly A. I really liked it especially after all the heavier/darker books I have been reading lately. A little light chic lit was just what I needed. I finished it over a rainy weekend. I found it quite funny.

The book is about: (from the jacket)

"The Junior League of Willow Creek is tres exclusive. Undesirables need not apply. Fredrika Mercedes Hildebrand Ware is a member beyond reproach...until her life begins to unravel. When her husband betrays her, steals her money, and runs off to places unknown, it's something Frede would prefer to keep under wraps. The last thing she needs is to become fodder for the Junior League gossip mill".

This book is very funny and written totally tongue-in-cheek and over the top. But if you've spent any time in Texas you know that there are people alot like this...over the top characters. I LOVE THEM! You know how I like to "liken" books to my own life...so here it goes...

I used to totally want to be in the Junior League!! Sounds horrible I know!! I'm cringing too. When I lived in Kansas City I lived in an affluent area and my best friend Mary's mother was in it and completely gung-ho! She used to talk about it all the time and try to sell Mary and I on joining some day. Mary's parents also belonged to the country club and we used to go swimming there all the time and layout, have lunch, and get drinks brought to us poolside and sign everything to her dad's account. I thought it was seriously the life!!

Then we moved to Houston and I envied that lifestyle even more. I worked for two summers at a place called Chambrel in the Woodlands (Stac and Kell worked there too). It was basically a very ritzy upscale retirement community for BIG MONEY. The residents lived in cottages, rode around in golf carts, and had a big old black cadillac with a driver to take them anywhere they wanted. It also had "apartments" for those that wanted them and then when you got sick and feeble you would move to the assisted living building with their own dining room and everything.

My sisters and I were "waitresses"...I use that term very loosely because we were truly horrible. We learned to wait tables at Chambrel. The "restaurant" part was amazing. Gourmet 4-star chef, 2 dining rooms (the formal one that you had to "dress" for dinner and over looked a pretty pond/lake thing and the Veranda Room that was more casual). The dining rooms were open to the public for Dinner Theatre and the food was so amazing it makes my stomach growl just thinking about it: Seafood crepes, Tortilla Soup, Triple Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Chess Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, Eddie's Famous Banana Bread (We got to eat for free and EAT WE DID!) It was there that I encountered my first "Southern Ladies"...living at Chambrel there were ex-politicans, famous musicans, important people and the extremely RICH...like Mr. and Mrs. Forbes for instance.

I love southern ladies...dewy skin, colored hair, perfectly manicured nails, jewels and their southern drawls. Everything was "Sugar this...and Darlin that". I was called by everyone "Miss Kris" and they loved to give me tips on how to be more of a "lady". I loved the line in the book that said "A Texas woman can tell you to go to hell, and make you think you're going to enjoy the trip". So true!

It then goes on to say:

"...It's not that in Texas women don't have opinions or share them. We do. It's just that we wrap them up in honey and smiles and hugs until a sharp rebuke can feel like a compliment, the true meaning not sinking in until later, hitting like a left hook to the jaw".

I remember being told many times things like "Miss Kris a lady doen't chew gum. It's vulgar", "Miss Kris a lady doesn't use the word c-r-a-p. It's very coarse", "Listen sugar...you NEVER serves a gentleman before a lady. It's common" and about a million other things I learned that a lady never does!! I was also taught the difference between being rich (old money) and being rich (nouveau riche)...which by the way was "vulgar"!! :)

This book reminded me of those southern ladies that I knew long ago. I rate this book as: GOOD with a disclaimer...if you are looking for serious literature...don't read it. But if you are looking for a funny book to read at the lake or poolside...you'll like it.

Happy Belated Birthday Tiffany!!

Several days ago it was my friend Tiffany's 35th Birthday!! No- I did not forget it! It just required lots of scanning of pictures and so it was put off until tonight. I hope you had a WONDERFUL birthday and I love you and miss you like crazy!

I was talking to a friend of mine awhile ago about how you just don't make friends like you did in college...and that has been true in my life. I have wonderful friends who I love dearly but once you are married your first loyalty and obligations are to your husband and children. Gone are the days of answering to no one...especially if your family is hundreds of miles away...and you are in college and feeling footloose and fancy free. Tiffany and I met in the dorms and lived together our whole college experience except for one miserable semester. Tiffany and our time together in college had such an impact on me and truly made me the extremely sarcastic smart-a#@ that I am!! I wouldn't trade it for the world!!

Onto my trip down memory lane:

It was a very cold January day when I moved into Deseret Towers and started college at BYU. I had had to wait a semester because my housing had gotten screwed up. My family had just moved to Houston from Kansas City and I spent the summer and fall working and lusting over cute southern frat boys...delicious! I was anxious to return to the "motherland" and reconnect with my pals from Utah and Springdell in particular. Let's just say that after being gone from Utah for 4 years coming back was a bit of a culture shock. The first night I was in town was New Years Eve...I hung out with some old friends from the dell. The first sign that things were different in Utah was when we hit an ice cream place and I was flirting away with our waiter. My friend, Kyle, told me that I might want to "tone down the old Kristin charm" a bit and start checking for wedding rings...WHAT?? He was right... our waiter was married! That was the first of many shocks to come. But I digress.

My mom, brother, and sisters all accompanied me to BYU. I was dreading saying good-bye and spent most of that last day in tears...as you all know...I am VERY co-dependent on my family. My mom came with me to "check-in". It was a motley crew of girls who were checking in 2nd semester. I got my assignment. My mom took a quick persual of the girls and who I was assigned to and went to have a little "chat" with my dorm mother. My assignment wasn't the best. I was assigned to room with a "little person"...yes a midget. Now 5'9" inch me and a "little person" just wasn't a good fit for starting college off right according to me and my mother. I was reassigned to a girl from no other than the town I live in now. It seemed a much better assignment and I thanked my mom profusely. I moved into U-Hall at Deseret Towers and I was assigned to the 7th floor...the very top. I opened the door and me, my family and all my junk piled into the room. My roomate was a bit ordinary to my disappointment...a "molly" as I called girls like her back then...but she seemed nice enough. Let's call her Ms. B. She joined my family for lunch and my mom took us to Shopko and bought us cute things to decorate our dorm room: plants, matching decorative baskets etc. She rented a refrigerator and got us stocked up on some snacks. Then it was time to say good-bye. My whole family was crying and I was hysterical and went into the bathroom to get a grip.

I came back to my dorm room and started unpacking. I had a bulletin board full of pictures of my boyfriend, Aaron (who didn't get accepted at BYU and was going to Ricks)...MANY party pictures from high school...movie stars...bands... etc. I turned on the radio and the SWEET sounds of KJQ (a radio station) and The Violent Femmes, Depeche Mode, and The Smiths filled our dorm room. (Utah radio stations played GREAT music...after spending 3 1/2 years listening to heavy metal in K.C and 1/2 a year listening to country in Texas). I took a glance over at Ms. B's side of the room and horror of horrors her bulletin board was full of pictures of the General Authorities and the Prophet!! Houston we have a problem!!! All the pictures from the Gospel Art Kit were present and accounted for...I went to the bathroom for another sniffle...and when I returned my music had been turned off and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was filling the room. Back to the bathroom for another cry. How did I get stuck here while all my friends were having a GREAT time at KU and enjoying Greek life...and I was here at BYU and hating it.

We continued unpacking and as it approached dinner time I heard a voice yelling something on our floor. The voice said "Helloooo!! Yoooo hooo!! Is anyone on this floor? (Not many girls had returned yet from Christmas Break). Ms. B and I just looked at each other and ignored the voice. The voice got louder and louder and then our door burst open!! Like a whirlwind Tiffany blew into the room and flounced down on Ms. B's bed. She was from Colorado Springs and had just checked in as well. She didn't have a room so she was bunking in the common room on the 6th floor until rooms and roommates could be sorted out. My prayers were answered... someone normal...and a little bit loud and a tiny bit obnoxious...my kind of girl. We decided to head on over to the cafeteria (The Morris Center...aka the Morbid center) and get some dinner and then we would all go to our Y-Group Orientation together.

We got our food and expressed our disdain...the Morbid center served extremely gruesome food...the worst offender was the infamous "Dinner Dog". This was a 1/4 lb pale, limp, and extremely phallic hot dog. To actually take a bite was nearly pornographic...and not to be done...and thus began my life-long love of cold cereal as breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had quite a love affair with the "captain"...Captain Crunch that is! The next shock was that all around us people would sporadically seem to nod off as they sat down with their food. Tiffany and I were confused. Then it dawned...Oh my goodness...are they praying??? Again shocked! Tiffany shared my shock and as we quietly mocked everyone (we weren't that nice) I realized that this girl was "friend material".

As we attended our Y-Group activities Tiffany and I really hit it off. People thought we had known each other for years or were related or something. They couldn't believe that we had just met a few short hours ago. Eventually Tiffany was assigned a roomate...a horrible one...let's call her Ms. P. She was apparently in love with her brother and had many slightly disturbing pictures of him up on her wall. Tiffany and I used to bemoan the cruel fate that stuck us with Ms. B and Ms. P. Then an evil plan was hatched...we would ditch the dorks and share a room together. We approached our dorm mother "Ragin Junie Hancock" as we called her and told her what we wanted to do...she said it was fine but there was one hitch...Ms.B and Ms.P had to agree to it. Hum...a bit of a problem. Tiffany and I each went to our roomies and tried to get a feel for what they thought of each other. Ah...they didn't care for each other and were quite happy with who they were rooming with...well mine wasn't so happy...we had had a few "issues". She suggested that she and Tiffany could share a room. Uh...No! That was not the plan. After several days of wheedling and I do believe a bit of threatening they begrudgingly decided to share a room. Neither was happy about it but we were ecstatic. I moved down to the 6th floor and Ms. P moved up to the 7th.

Tiffany and I were loving our room #622 and it's supposed "history". Rumor had it that several years ago good old room #622 had housed 2 girls who had started up a prostitution business (very highly unlikely) and the sign that they were open for business was a tennis racket in the window! FABULOUS! We loved #622 supposedly checkered past and a tennis racket went immediately into the window!

And thus began our freshman year...we were shocked again to find out that boys our age were balding??? That girls our age were getting engaged...WHAT?? That "nice" girls from Texas and Colorado were actually rebellious and wild and that suited us just fine. We didn't want to blend in...we wanted to stand out! We also had our goal of kissing as many boys as possible to accomplish that semester! I do believe Tiffany won that contest!

Do note that we arrived at BYU with bangs...mine were extra big...Texas Style!! We quickly grew them out that summer. We also wore extremely embarrassing things like leggings and chiffon bows...I have chosen not to post those pictures...the bangs in this picture are bad enough. We met a bunch of characters...Jerry's kids, Harry the Horn Dog, Treevor, the Freaking Duker and his gang. We did alot of dancing at the Palace. We walked to Kents numerous times for "supplies". We went on horrible dates. We recorded offensive answering machine messages which we found hilarious...and annoyed our parents. We had an obsession with Clayne Pope, one of our professors, and stalked him. We established the "First Ward of Kiwanis" (what? It is a sunny Sunday...Church Smirch...we were laying out at Kiwanis Park). We got enormous pleasure flashing people on our walk back to our dorms with our DT issue blankets and our bikinis. We tried to break into the laundry room numerous times...what was with the "no laundry on Sunday rule"?! We played numerous pranks and got away with them all until we had a huge water/shaving cream/hair styling mousse/anything you can get your hands on fight and I broke my foot! We met more "evil girls" just like us...and got in more trouble. See below photo. Had to sign a disciplinary form that we would "respect other people, and their property and not verbally abuse anyone". We found this highly amusing...

Jennifer, Heidi, Tiffany and Kris...we all moved off campus together in the fall. Below the infamous shaving cream fight...moments before I broke my foot!!









We used to ride the bus to the mall because we didn't have a car. The bus stop was right next to the MTC and we used to try use our feminine wiles on any missionary we saw. We sweated out getting our ecclesiastical endorsements signed!! We snuck boys up to our room...Tiffany caught her hair on fire with one of the said "boys" in our room as she was blowing out candles on her birthday cake. We loved visiting hours and got a thrill from annoying our RA by always shutting our door...a big no-no. We did like that the boys would have to "call" us on the house phone from the lobby if they wanted to see us. Unfortunately we then would have to spend time down in the lobby with the other awkward couples and the sign that used to read " no eating " and was changed to "no mating". We lived for mail and care packages from home. We dreamed of setting up our parents...my divorced mother with 5 kids and her widowed father with 6 kids. It was a nice fantasy until they met and we realized a love connection was "not " going to happen. We went on our famous "road trip" via the ride board and the Greyhound Bus to Colorado Springs over Easter.

Kris, Junie Hancock (our dorm mother) and Tiffany. "Kris! I don't care if you did break your foot just make sure you don't bleed on the chair's upholstery!!" (She was very loving...um...Not!)

We missed our sad and pathetic boyfriends from high school Aaron and Bryant. We learned that hot guys studied down on the 2nd floor of the library. We learned that BYU was serious about their rule that shorts must come to your knees even if you had a HUGE cast and that arguing wouldn't change anything. We learned that the International Cinema was the BEST. We learned that the movies they showed at the Wilkinsen Center where they removed all inappropriate words and scenes were the worst. We learned that we loved to talk with New Jersey accents and that we were EXTREMELY good at it. We learned we could think of a nickname for everyone we encountered. We learned people thought we were extremely obnoxious. We learned that we wanted to move off campus ASAP!!

That was our time in the dorms in a nutshell! I will save our escapades over the next 4 years for another day! I have included some extra photos from our time at BYU for your pleasure in your leisure...as we used to say in the day.

Enjoying Sunday Meetings at the First Ward of Kiwanis...this was the next year when Tiffany returned with "Lillith the Super-Beetle". Tiff...you will note that I didn't post any of the pictures of us in our bikinis...who knew that was our "peak" . We should've walked around in thong bikinis when we were that age...little did we know it was all down hill from there.

Tiffany... picking me up from the Lake one summer on our way back to Provo for yet another year of fun!!

Christmas at Enclave year one...minus all other roommates! "Kohei say he need $25 from each of you!!"

"Pon" Singing...you've got to love Air Supply. We were really good too! We even had dance moves!!

After we had settled down a bit and found the men of our dreams...Tyler and Oliver!!!

Happy Birthday Lavoine!!

Book Review #5

Tuesday night was book club. I was hosting this month. I had a great time and book club went into the wee hours of the morning. 1:30 am to be exact...such fun! No--we weren't discussing this book that long...we had moved onto "other" topics by then. ;) Since it was my month to host I got to pick the book. I had heard about this book for years. Many people have RAVED about it to me and yet I didn't read it. I wasn't planning to pick this book either but several of the women in my book club expressed an interest in reading it and it has been on my list of "must-reads" for a long time...so I thought why not now? I don't know what has put me off...a book about men in Afghanistan who fly kites just didn't seem like a page turner to me. I was WRONG. I guess that is the beauty of belonging to a book club...you are given the opportunity to read books that you wouldn't normally read.

I like books that take place in the South or books that take place in Europe (especially Scotland) I like big fat historical epics. I like stories about different periods in time like the 40's, 30's, 20's, 1900's, the civil war era and earlier, 1700's, and 1600's . I like stories that transport you to another time and place. I like to be "haunted" (in a good way) by characters from books I've read years ago. I like to be so engrossed in a book that my husband gets jealous and my kids throw a fit because I am ignoring them. That doesn't happen too often anymore. It gets easier and easier to put a book down.

I'm not normally drawn to books about the middle east, books where 99.9% of the characters are men or books that take place in the 1970's. Enter the Kite Runner...I will say it again...I was WRONG! I loved this book so much that I have been begging Tyler to read it so I can talk about it some more.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is:

"An epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes us from the final days of Afghanistan's monarchy to the atrocities of the present".

I believe this is the first book I have ever read about the country of Afghanistan. I loved hearing about the country, the culture, and Islam. I loved the glimpse we get at the first of the book in the early 1970's where Afghanistan is a vibrant country full of colors and flavors...who knew that kite flying was a sport and that kites battle other kites; who knew that Afghan children are out of school in the winter and that is also the time when the Afghan people go on vacation...even though it is cold and snowy. I really loved the look at the every day life of Baba, Amir, Ali and Hassan.

It was interesting to me to see how Afghanistan began to change and what started occurring when the Soviets occupy it. This is also the point when the relationship between Amir and Hassan begins to change. I LOVED Hassan and Ali. I didn't always like Amir even before he betrays Hassan... and for quite a while after... the scene when Ali and Hassan are leaving and Baba is in tears begging them not to go and Amir is watching them from his bedroom window...I just wanted to throttle him!

Probably the part of the book I liked the least was when the story moves to America...it just dragged a little for me. But my interest returned again full-force when Amir returns to Afghanistan. I was absolutely enthralled. It was so interesting to see in my mind places that I've only heard about on the news and to get a closer look at what life is like living with the terror of the Taliban hanging over your head. By the time I was finished with this book I felt like Afghanistan had become dear to my heart. I liked this quote on the back of the book from the publisher. It summed up my feelings perfectly:

"Since reading this haunting novel, when I've seen the headlines about Afghanistan in the news, I've experienced the tragedy in a surprisingly personal way. I feel a connection to the land and it's inhabitants that I've never felt before".

Ironically the morning of book club there was a segment on Good Morning America about Afghanistan. Diane Sawyer had been there for a few days talking about the country and it's people. On Tuesday she was talking about kite fighting and showed how the kites were made. It was very interesting.

So onto my rating: EXCELLENT. I highly recommend it.

Easter

We had a fun Easter weekend. On Friday we went up to stay at my mom's house for two days. We had a great time. On Saturday we decided to do our first hike of the season. We hiked up to Myrtle Falls. It was an easy hike...perfect to start getting the kids used to trekking around...absolutely gorgeous.

The kids did great! Kameron is really starting to hold his own and to want to do more difficult hikes...last year he was just a tad bit whiny.




How gorgeous is this...such a pretty hike through the woods, across a bridge and up to the falls.









We made it to the top!!

After our hike we let the kids stop and play at the park...um did I say the kids...I think me, Tyler, Kirk, and Jayme did most of the playing!!


Back at my mom's house that night we built a huge bonfire (my mom has a huge fire pit) and roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. We sat around the campfire until really late...until we remembered...oops...we forgot to dye Easter Eggs!! :0 We (my mom, me, and Tyler) were dying Easter eggs until about 1:30am...3 dozen to be exact. We did them a cool new way. My mom got the idea from watching Martha Stewart...you drizzle rubber cement on the egg and let it dry...then dye the egg...after the egg is dry rub off the rubber cement and you've got a cool marbleized egg. The next day Kirk shined them up with some vegetable oil.

The kids were up bright and early Easter morning!! It was fun that Kirk, Jayme and Kaiden were there too for Kaiden's first Easter. Here are the kids with their Easter baskets.





I'm going to steal a little survey off of Kelly A.'s blog that I thought was really cute:

What are your Easter Traditions?

Easter Baskets, Easter Dresses (Easter shirt for Kam), Church, Big Family Dinner, Big Family Easter Egg Hunt, and me on Easter morning bellowing the hymn "He is Risen" at the top of my lungs to the annoyance of my family.

What is your favorite Easter Dish?

Funeral potatoes (Cheesy potatoes)

When did you learn about the Easter Bunny?

The same time I learned about Santa...and the Tooth Fairy...all in one SAD day!

How do your decorate your house for Easter?

I go all out! I have been collecting vintage (and vintage-style) Easter decorations for years.

How many Easter Egg Hunts does your family participate in?

Two...usually the Primary has one and our family does one.

What is your favorite flavor of jelly bean?

I don't like jelly beans

How do you decorate your Easter Eggs?

PAAS kits and we do other variations.

Do you make/buy special Sunday outfits for your kids on Easter?

Of course!!

What are your favorite Easter Hymns?

He is Risen!, I believe in Christ, I Know that My Redeemer Lives

Do you spend Easter at home, on vacation or with family?

We always spend Easter with family...we are lucky to have so much family close by.

Do you make deviled eggs out of leftover Easter Eggs?

Sometimes...we also make potato salad...today we made egg salad.

Are you tired of eggs by the end of the Easter Season?

Definitely!

Are Peeps good or gross?

Extremely GROSS!! Tyler and the kids love them though.

What company makes the best chocolate for Easter time?

Cadbury (love the Cadbury Creme Eggs and Mini-Eggs)

Do you find plastic Easter grass hidden in places for months after Easter is over?

No! I loathe Easter grass. I line our Easter baskets with pastel-colored tulle. So much nicer and cheap!

We went to the lake on Easter. We had a big family dinner...approximately 25 people. We had a blast! Cute Ailey with her Easter Basket!!

We have a long standing tradition of Easter Egg Hunts at the lake. I remember my great-grandpa hiding tons of eggs for me, all my cousins and second cousins to find (not to mention for our parents when they were kids). It was so much fun. The greatest thrill was to find an old Easter Egg in the summer that was never found at Easter. That happened quite a few times. My Grandpa M. was a really good egg hider. :)

My Grandpa E. always used to dye an Easter Egg like a blood-shot eyeball with his kids. Here is my Uncle Mike carrying on the tradition!!

Here's my Grandma...The Matriarch... She was raised out at the lake and has been a part of MANY Easter Egg Hunts!

My siblings, cousins and me carrying on the tradition with our kids: Miley, Reilly, Kaiden, Kameron, Jackson, Dane and Addison.

My cousin Jen was in town for Easter...so what did we do after the Easter Egg Hunt? Had a waxing party of course!! Don't worry Jen is professional. Everyone lined up for eyebrow dying and waxing...do I dare say...even Kirk! No more monobrow for him!

Here's my mom, Kelley, my Aunt Margaret, Jen, Reilly and me. Not pictured but also participated were Stacey, my cousin Wendy, and Kirk! Reilly was just there for moral support she was the official "hand-holder" for the eye brow waxing! Thanks Jen!! You are the BEST!

I love my cousins...Jenn and Wendy!! In the picture below is my "Favorite Aunt" Bonnie!! Isn't that right Bonnie? :)

It was so fun to see everyone especially all the out-of-towners! Hope you all arrived home safe and sound!

Happy Easter!!