...hoppin' down the bunny trail...

We had a great Easter weekend! On Saturday, the kids had 2 Easter Egg Hunts (one at our church and one at the park). Ralphy knew exactly what to do and made Daddy proud by filling up his basket like a pro! Elli had a great time, too and got lots and lots of eggs. It was cold, but they didn't seem to mind.

On Easter morning, both kids were awake by 6:00 am (which is way too early, if you ask me!) We held the kids off until about 7:00 am, then turned them loose in the house to find all the eggs that were hidden. They found their baskets (which were also hidden) and dug right into the candy! We made it to 2 family get-togethers and the kids got lots of great stuff.

Now we have buckets of candy waiting to be eaten...I can limit the amount that the kids eat, but there is no one here to limit the amount that I eat, so I think I'll be sending it to school with Ralph soon!

the flood of '08

Everyone reading this blog is well aware of the flood situation around here the past few days. While we were high and dry throughout the whole event, many around us were not.

For many people, the rising waters either meant a big headache because of closed roads or an opportunity to "sight-see" and take pictures. For others it meant emptying out river clubhouses, moving all valuable possessions from basements, or sandbagging their homes or businesses, all the while wondering, "Will it really get that high?" For us it became an opportunity to help others by sandbagging in "old town" and in Ralph's parents' neighborhood where the water eventually crept into some homes.

Ultimately, the water did not get quite as high here as they thought it might. Many were affected, but many ended up dry. It was still amazing. It was amazing to look up and down Central Avenue and see people from all over town working to help friends, family and strangers. It was amazing to stand in the cul-de-sac in Ralph's parents' neighborhood and see so many people wanting to help and to realize there were more "workers" than "jobs." It was amazing to drive around town and see the water cover so much land. It made us feel proud to call this place home. This place where friends, family and strangers pull together to help each other. That's how it's supposed to be...

Here are some pictures taken on Friday morning...the water crested sometime early Saturday morning.

family fun

we got together at granny's on sunday for dinner and an easter egg hunt...and i actually remembered my camera! we got some good pictures...we have been trying to get these "four generation" pictures for quite awhile...

all of the aunts were there except one (we missed you, aunt puty!)

elli and aunt mary:

elli and aunt tina:

ralphy and aunt alice:

elli, mia and aunt margaret:gram and ralphy:

hunting for eggs...

over the weekend we celebrated max's birthday...he turned 6 years old on saturday! we ate cupcakes while max got a dog-treat-and-peanut-butter stack with a candle on top!

last night we colored our first batch of easter eggs...

and today i photographed two little monkeys jumping on the bed...luckily none fell off and broke their heads...

and here is elli wearing the jacket that belongs to one of our teddy bears...the hood has ear holes, so of course we had to let her "ears" hang out of the holes...very silly...

waiting for peter cottontail

the easter egg hunt at the park was cancelled this weekend, but wal-mart had some fun planned, so we went to see the easter bunny, baby chicks, ducklings and rabbits....since it was rainy, they cancelled their eater egg hunt, too, but they let the kids pick eggs from a tub (some even had tickets inside to redeem for fabulous prizes!) aunt tina was in town, so she got to take part in the fun, too...

ralphy really liked the easter bunny....from a safe distance...we didn't get a picture of him with my camera, but we did get one of both kids with another camera...he wasn't too happy about being close to that big costumed thing...
elli warmed up to the easter bunny and probably would have stayed all day...later she said, "that was just a human dressed up in a costume...do you know how i know? because it moved it's hand and i saw a real arm!" ralphy really liked the watering cans! they were much "safer" than the easter bunny... here are some pictures of the kids at home:


play-doh and pipecleaners


new pals arrived in the mail from aunt tina and uncle bob...in box 2 of 2, the big blue bear:
and in box 1 of 2, the softest rabbit (now named "carolina butterfly) and bunny slippers (along with lots of other great stuff):
all decked out...

being silly...

being serious...

A Blast of Winter

we ended up with about 8.5 inches of snow in our yard on tuesday...it snowed all day! it was really pretty to watch, but elli was getting impatient as we waited for it to stop snowing so we could go out and play...we didn't get outside until almost five o'clock, but it was well worth the wait...

elli absolutely loves the snow...she kept throwing herself down and laying really still...at one point i looked over and she was face down in it! crazy girl...

ralphy was content standing on the porch and driveway...once our snowman was complete he was happy to stand next to it because the snow was so packed down...

it was a good day...

It's Spring....(for 2 days)

we took advantage of the nice weather on saturday by taking a hike with gram...

then we took advantage of the 78-degree day on sunday by going to the zoo (along with nearly every other family in the city)

the monday we stayed inside and braced ourselves for a blast of winter...

is it spring yet?

i apologize to those of you that check this blog often - there haven't been any updates in awhile...we've been busy :)
these two silly kids play really well together (for the most part) and one of their favorite things to do is get in ralphy's bed when we're not looking....ralphy has figured out how to climb in like elli (using the blue rocker next to the crib)...luckily he hasn't tried to get out on his own yet...

we had a really nice valentine's day and the kids got all kinds of goodies...
and we celebrated Duck's Day! (and most of you are thinking, "what in the world is Duck's Day?")...right after christmas we were talking about what holidays would be next and what kind of decorations we'll have....so elli "created" duck's day and told us that duck's day would be after valentine's day and we'd decorate and have cake, etc...we asked her what we would eat for duck's day and she said, "chicken!" (good thing, too, because i wan't thrilled with the idea of baking a duck)....so after we took down the valentine's decorations at our house elli said, "it's duck's day now!" (she remembers everything...it's scary sometimes...) so we made cupcakes and a cake and had chicken for dinner...then we iced & decorated the cupcakes and cake...below is a picture of elli having a good time with a cupcake....ralphy prefers his without icing, so he enjoyed one plain...we got all of this with the video camera, but i guess we didn't end up with a still shot of ralphy and his cupcake...up next is Ladybugs Day (i promise she thought of this one on her own, too!) but she hasn't decided when that will be... ralphy has become very fond of reading (like his sister) and will sit and read several books before and after his naps and at bedtime...his current favorites: Pat the Bunny, Goodnight Gorilla, Goodnight Moon, Animal Babies, Five Little Monkeys and How Do Dinosaurs Count to Ten? (just to name a few) he has really been chatting a lot, trying to keep up with elli in conversations...we catch some of it, but some goes right over our heads...he definitely has a lot to say...
and here are a couple videos...the first is of elli being slap-happy...she had already been laughing for a few minutes by the time i grabbed the camera...
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

and here's ralphy moving at his favorite speed...it's a little blurry, but you get the idea...

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books