Note to Self

Roll up car windows when weather forecast calls for snow.




p.s. This should actually be a note to Tyler and not to self, but I shouldn't pick on him because he lets me have the spot in the garage so my car DOESN'T look like this in the mornings.

Hunt for Sugar Highs

Easter was great this year for the kids. We never miss the Vineyard hunt in the morning, mainly because I like the free donuts and chocolate milk afterwards (mom's like Easter too!) I have plenty of pictures of Ivory, because I followed her around the area for smaller kids. Robyn had graduated to the large field with June, and Dad took them because he can run faster (or at least bend over more easily to help out). Although as parents we were given strict instructions not to pick up eggs for our children (apparently parents have a problem letting the kids hunt). They should really have an adult hunt some year and I would love to sit back and watch some of these parents slug it out. I've heard the hunt up at Gardner's Village is as close as you get, with women fighting over eggs that have potential coupons. It still might be fun to watch.
Here are the older girls getting ready to hunt.



Here is Ivory with her game face on.



She really liked the pixie sticks and she would go from one to the next until she had a whole handful.



I like this picture, just because she is really working for the candy.



Heaven knows they all had a full basketful (I was suddenly wishing we had gone to a bigger hunt where you only have a chance at about 4-6 eggs max).
Then my favorite part...the donuts. They usually have a fairly good variety. We chose a spot in the sun because it was still a bit chilly (after all, it is still March).



I watch every year to see which kid will spill their drink. There is a lip on the table that is cleverly disguised by the table cloth, so some poor unsuspecting kid tips her cup every year. And the winner was Ivory. Even watching for it, I was still unable to stop the inevitable. Too bad they don't actually have absorbent napkins there. But once again, I shan't complain because I moved the camera just in time and no real damage was done.

We came home and had our family hunt shortly after. Mainly I was excited to hide the eggs and the girls were ready for more searching. I was pretty cheap, only putting two jelly beans in each egg, because by this point I figured the sugar would last for weeks. There were a few key prizes, such as cadbury eggs and chocolate bunnies, but the goal of this hunt was to make you feel you had done well. And everyone came away with a full basket. Here are some pics.

I think they had a good time. And then I am such a great mom that I made them empty all their jelly beans into one bowl so we could share them later. My kids must think I am the candy Nazi (they are right).



Next year, I think I may put money in the eggs (then they can buy their own candy). But it was a happy Easter overall. We usually have a family hunt for our chocolate bunny, but we skipped that this year (I still HAVE the bunny, but it may be my job to eat it all by myself).

Easter Eggstravaganza

Where to begin? Now that you are all thoroughly done reading about Easter activities, I am finally getting around to posting mine. I was waiting for some pictures, or I would have gotten it all out of my system last Sunday. So, if you can stand some more holiday reminiscing, read on...

A few years ago, we adopted the crack-off as our signature event. It is ridiculously fun and we have incorporated it wherever we can. Tyler even arranged a work crack-off. The first year was sparsely attended but more people get involved every year. I didn't bring a camera (don't look so shocked), but we all had a great time. Perhaps my favorite throw of all time was done by Genevieve. She had never participated before (so she didn't know quite what to expect) and I have never seen an egg explode like hers. I thought there was NO WAY that either egg could come out intact, but sure enough, one egg came away unscathed. It wasn't Genevieve's unfortunately. No, her egg lay there, oozing liquid (which is impressive coming from a hard-boiled egg). The rest of the competition was tame after that. Ron (who I don't know well) took the win and was quite surprised. But in this game, you never can tell. I haven't found a good strategy yet, so I still chalk it all up to luck.

Then in the evening, we had our family crack-off which really consists of friends until we feel the girls are ready to have their eggs break (we don't think this is the year yet). We had some excellent entries in the decoration category. Everyone thinks so differently when it comes to decorating eggs, and I love the variety.



Hands down, Heather Ure took the prize though. I have never seen an egg come in costume, but I loved it. Here is Mr. Sp'egg'tacle.



After the judging, it was a mad smashing affair. The eggs certainly don't last long. Here is Keri facing off with Darin.



She looks confident, but it was not to be. Darin ended up as our grand champion with his egg 'The King.'



Afterwards, we played a little Mafia and then settled into Curses. With the right people, this game is freaking hilarious and we had a good crowd. The curses were piled on top of each other until it got a bit crazy. I think this is Keri trying to hold her nose, keep her elbows straight, swat mosquitos, and perhaps cackle at the same time (I honestly can't remember all the curses she had by this point).



I gave up when I got the curse to imitate everything that the person next to me was doing. Since Tyler and I were loaded to the hilt with curses, I happily threw in the towel after a few minutes.



Here are a few shots of all the couples. Please forgive weird expressions (I think John Ure was talking in French with his teeth clenched when I caught him).




It was a very fun night and we want to thank our friends who came and we missed those who couldn't attend. However, my parents are in town in a week or so, and they were sad to miss the crack-off so we may be doing it all again...stay tuned (who says you can only break eggs at Easter time?).

p.s. Pictures of cute kids and easter egg hunts coming shortly.

By the Power of GraySkull

I would usually use my afternoons during quiet time to get a lot of my blogging done. But my girls have discovered He-Man, not to mention She-Ra on YouTube. They absolutely love them. I'm not really surprised since it was one of my favorite shows as a kid. However, I have suddenly sacrificed all my blogging time to the most powerful man in the universe. And to make matters more interesting, YouTube only shows the episodes in three parts (about 8 minutes long each) so I have to be around to click on the next part or I get screams of "MOM!!" from the girls. So I have found a new hobby. It is called athletic crosstitching. For those of you unfamiliar with this sport, it is very similar to regular crosstitching, except that you get up from your seat every 7-8 minutes. I may prefer regular crosstitching where you can sit for an hour at a time, but athletic crosstitching is probably much healthier for me. Needless to say, I have not gotten much blogging done, but hey, Kari, I am almost finished with the giraffe.

Good Times

I am really anal about nap time. Life pretty much revolves around it at my house. During it, older children must be quiet and sometimes I even get a nap myself. Some people may think that I am not doing my kids any favors, because they won't be able to sleep with any noise around them, but the train in our backyard pretty much takes care of that problem. However, there is one downfall--my babies usually will not sleep unless they are in their crib. I have plenty of fond memories trying to rock Ivory to sleep at church (most of the them unsuccessful).
So, I was greatly surprised when yesterday, Ivory decided to take a nap on my bed. She woke up early from her regular nap, much too early. I could tell by the crying that she was not ready to be awake and she was frustrated to be so. I took her into my room and put her on the bed with me (since I was in the middle of my nap). She cried in protest but before I knew it, she had zonked out again and slept for another hour and a half.



I rested with her but eventually got up to work on dinner. My favorite part was when June came upstairs and saw Ivory's door open (this means to the kids that Ivory is now awake and you can play with her). "Uh-oh, Ivory's awake!" June said. "Let's find her." I saw Robyn looking under pillows and small toys (as if Ivory could hide under them). They gave up eventually and went downstairs and I followed later to tell them that Ivory wasn't really awake yet. June asked later if Ivory was sleeping past quiet time. And I replied, "Quiet time is UNTIL Ivory wakes up." Yep, still anal.

Came downstairs today while Robyn was using some new markers to find that she had found a new use for them...lipstick. Who would have thunk? I think she has very good taste, choosing a very natural color, brown. Not a bad idea, I thought. Unfortunately, since they are washable markers, it came off much too easily (no 24 hour lip color here). Now, maybe if I give her the permanent markers...

An Evening with Garrison Keillor

Truthfully, not much to look at, but the man can weave a story that will leave you holding your sides. It is an amazing talent.
Tyler listens to a Prairie Home Companion most Saturdays when he can keep the kids quiet enough to hear the radio. It is a show broadcast in the old style with live musicians and plenty of stories. There are some recurring characters like Guy Noir, private eye, and recurring adds like the ones for ketchup (not sure why?), and the show is quite interesting to listen to. Garrison is famous for his Lake Woebegone Tales in which he talks about the average people who live in his hometown in Minnesota and he has written a few books about them as well.
He tours the country and the radio show will air from different locations (always on a Saturday night). He actually came to Salt Lake City not too long ago, but I was unable to attend with Tyler. But he came back on Monday for a night all to himself. No band, no guest, just an evening with Garrison.
He mostly told stories and he sang a bit. He was really quite funny, but underneath it all, he seemed very morose. Granted, his whole topic was how depressed everyone is in Minnesota because it is not spring yet (I can relate. If the sun hadn't come out today, I may have sat in a chair and done nothing all day). Other than that, it was an enjoyable evening and I got to spend it with my favorite person so no complaints on my side. If you ever have a chance to turn on the radio some Saturday night, check it out: 5-7 pm KUER-FM 90.1

Completely unrelated. My mom has been posting again (yay!) and for those of you who thought she may have died since she didn't post for over a month, that is not the case. She did have a few computer and child problems, but she is back in business. If interested, click on The Dargans on my side bar (somewhere in the middle, sorry they aren't alphabetical yet).

And lastly, I was not unhappy to see Amanda Overmeyer leave Idol tonight. I could never figure out what people liked about her voice. I am shocked it wasn't Kristi Lee Cook. But her time is coming, she can only hold it off for so long. Oh, and I guess I was also shocked that Carly Smithson was in the bottom three. What?! Sometimes I wonder about American. Then again, maybe I should actually vote sometime.

Seamus McDermott

Well, a leprechaun has moved into our house. His name is Seamus McDermott (and that is pronounced Shay-mus for all you non-Irish speakers). We left him a pot of gold last night and he left us some goodies in exchange and left his calling card saying he was happy to have found a good home.
I threw this together at the last minute, because I couldn't see St. Patrick's Day come and go without doing something, and I really didn't feel like dying all our food green this year. The girls loved it though. June has been looking for the leprechaun all day. It is so sweet. She asks me questions like,
"Is he wearing green?"
"Do leprechauns walk or fly?"
"Where would he hide his gold?"
and then I catch her looking behind her mirror and under her bed. I told her that leprechauns don't like to be found because they are scared someone would take their gold, and she said, "I wouldn't take his gold." Sweet girl. I love that she doesn't even contemplate that her parents could be doing this, instead of a leprechaun. Life must be magical when you are a kid.

Here are some pictures of us getting ready for bed and filling our pot of gold. By the way, it is Tyler's idea to always stick things to our foreheads (don't ask me why?).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!