Sunday, March 31, 2013

No Bunny Does It Like These Bunnies

I'm convinced.
Kids make every holiday more fun, more entertaining, and more meaningful. 
We've had an awesome couple of weeks, but since today was the highlight, I'm going to start with Easter and work backwards.

Technically, this first batch of photos is not from today, but its all in the spirit of Easter, so here we go.
A friend in our ward hosted an Easter party at her house (which is UH-mazing, seriously - I'm lusting after her yard and home) and Ev got to experience her first real egg hunt. She really grasped the concept quickly and it was hilarious to watch her pick up eggs. At first she wanted to open each egg and eat the candy before moving on to the next egg, but eventually we were able to coax her into pursuing eggs first, devouring candy later. (She is her father's daughter)

A few people at the party commented on Ev's vintage basket. It was mine as a child, which explains why it screams 1990. 



When Ev wasn't looking, her "friend" William kept stealing her eggs. I'm actually proud of William for finally fighting back after months of aggravation and bullying from Evelyn.




Quintessential Evelyn right here. Basket, Ket, and her "purse," containing several of her kitties and Dora car keys. We went to Subway two weeks ago and they put her sandwich in this nasty Phinneas and Ferb bag (never seen it, but it looks freaky) and Ev has since called it her purse and carried it with her EVERYWHERE. Each day she puts a couple of her friends in it and they stay there all day (until they have to retire for bed in Ev's crib).










This morning was so much fun. I could hardly sleep because I couldn't wait for Ev to wake up and find her Easter basket. I had the time of my life filling her eggs and setting out her basket.
An egg trail to help Evie find her Easter Basket.


The Easter Bunny brought Evie an assortment of Dollar Bin finds and two books to remind her of the Savior and the true meaning of Easter.


I think she figured something was up this morning when Nick came in with the camera and I came in singing "Happy Easter, Evelyn!"



She had to open each egg before moving on to the next. Luckily, I learned from Ev's egg hunt earlier in the week and put a few non-candy items in her eggs (stickers, mini fluffy chicks, stamps, and hello kitty hair clips).






When she came around the corner and saw her basket, her face looked like this:


Haha.







Just ignore me in this pic, we were trying to get a picture of Ev in her dress, but she wouldn't look at the camera unless I was squatting next to her. Thanks Grandma She-She for the adorable Easter dress!


We were able to sneak a family picture after church.


Happy Easter!


Saturday, March 23, 2013

Flashback Friday: Springbreakers

Yes, I am aware that today is Saturday, not Friday.
But this is my blog, so I'll do what I want!
Plus its been eons since my last FF and I know everybody has missed nasty pictures of me and those I've chosen to blackmail. 

Has anyone seen the previews for the movie Springbreakers?
Here's the deal:
- Does anyone know what the heck the movie is about? All I really get from the trailer is that its a lot of neon swimsuits, guns, and James Franco's grill.
- Vanessa Hudgens, please stop making movies. No one will ever see you as anything but Gabriella of High School Musical. You peaked at Troy Bolton girl. Also, you dress like a homeless hippie who doesn't wear underwear, so I guess a neon bikini is a step up?
- Ashley Benson, I kind of love you on Pretty Little Liars, but I realized after seeing the trailer that you are a one-note actress who probably just plays herself in every movie (IE: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Anniston, Vince Vaughn)
- Selena Gomez, you are supposed to make JB feel like a moron for letting you go! Why, why why do you think this movie will accomplish this? JB's gonna see this and believe that you're the one missing out and that his crotch pants are actually attractive. 
- Other slutty girl, never heard of you.
- James Franco, I want to see this movie because your grill and cornrows are legitimately inspiring and I'm sort of feeling like I might have missed out on Spring Break my whole life by not throwing away my life, landing in jail and scandalizing it up in Miami. 

Also, this movie got a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. I was fully expecting it to get HORRIBLE reviews, but it got pretty good ones. I'm going to have to resist seeing it in the theaters and wait until its on Netflix to watch it. (I'll be totally honest, its going to take a lot of will power) 

And its not like I haven't had crazy Spring Breaks before, because I have.
Growing up, we often took road trips to the Oregon Coast for Spring Break.
We always stayed at the luxurious Shiloh Inn (they had a hot tub!) and we spent the week flying kites and eating Clam Chowder (which I actually hate). But now that I think about it, the concierge looked a lot like Spring Breakers James Franco. 

And why is it that Spring Break always requires a windbreaker or three?
Exhibit A:


Sweet windbreaker Chels.
Too bad its not as cool as my windbreaker sweatsuit. Also, the best thing about this windbreaker sweat thing is that it wasn't originally mine. And perhaps even more interesting, is that I can't remember who gave it to me. Darc? Chels? I don't even know, but one thing I know for sure is that whoever gave it to me probably hated me ... A LOT. I mean look at me. Clearly, my double chin and hairstyle gave people reason enough to make fun, but throw in an aqua windbreaker sweatsuit and I can't even be mad that I didn't have friends.





Perhaps the best Spring Break we ever had was our trip to Victoria, BC. We splurged and stayed in the Empress for a few nights, enjoyed the Wax Museum and a bunch of other stuff I can't really remember.

What I do remember quite clearly though, is my front-flapped jeans.
Exhibit B:


Guys, I loved these jeans. Like LOVED them. Wore them almost everyday for several years. And the best part is that I grew four inches in those couple years, but my weight and jean size stayed the same. Gotta love the pre-pubescent fat stage. I will say that I deserve points for wearing some form of a bra (most likely a sports bra). Sure my shirt is a little shorty-fatty, but at least the mosquito bites are under wraps. And the half ponytail? Workin' it.

Basically, what I'm trying to say, is that I was made for Spring Break.
Scandals, string bikinis, the strip? 
Obviously those things were made for me. 

I bet you can't guess what I'm doing with my husband and almost two-year old this Spring Break.
It would make James Franco proud.


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Batman's Birthday

We are sick.
Ev has bronchiolitis. 
Nick and I have nasty colds.
Its been a long couple weeks, but I think we are on the up (hopefully).

I feel bad I never posted pics from Nick's "Batman Party."
Every year Nick threatens me about not throwing him a birthday party.
And every year I roll my eyes - because I know him well enough to know that he would hate a party in his honor. And like a good spouse, I've never thrown him a big party.

However, I can't do nothing, that would be ... lame (and probably what Nick would love).
So Ev and I made a poster and we bought Nick a mask.
And the Batman party began.


Like the true domestic goddess that I am, I outsourced Nick's cake. My friend Jessica is incredibly talented and she made this! (She even made funfetti cake and frosting since Nick won't have anything else on his birthday)


Can I get a fist pump for this amazing cake? And my amazing friends?


Batman and his cake.


Our poster.


Funfetti!


Nick requested something to go with homemade rolls for dinner. I suggested "Sunday Dinner," which in our family means a roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, etc. (you know, typical Mormon Sundayness)

In my family growing up, you got to pick dinner when it was your birthday. I always picked the same thing (Ina Garten's Five Cheese Penne), as did everyone else (Darel - Chinese, Shea - Filet Mignon, Dad - Mom's chocolate cheesecake, etc), but Nick always seems to pick something different, or in true Nick fashion, leave it up to me to decide. 
I hate deciding what to make for dinner. I love to cook, but just tell me what you want to eat because sometimes it gives me a headache trying to think about what people might like. I know what I want, but its not always what others want, so I get mildly stressed making such trivial decisions.
Anyway, since it was Nick's birthday, I didn't push him too hard about what he wanted and just went with "Sunday Dinner," except it was a Tuesday. 

I even canceled my RS meeting, so we had the whole night to spend as a family. Since it was a school night, we stayed home, but I had planned a night out on the town that weekend. However, Nick ended up going to California for the weekend kind of last minute, so we had to cancel our date plans. Luckily, when I drove him up to the airport to catch his flight, my sister watched Ev so Nick and I could go to dinner. We went to the Lake Oswego Grill and it was tasty. Nick got Mahi Mahi and I got a pecan veggie burger. We were both satisfied and I even got Nick to try my veggie burger and he liked it! 

And we took no pictures - yay, us.

We've actually had quite a bit going on lately, but with being sick, I haven't felt like documenting anything. I've been tired and lazy. Then I received numerous death threats from family members about a lack of pictures of Ev, so I decided to blog. 
Except this post is about Nick, not Ev, so ...


A few weeks ago we went to the Portland Children's Museum with Darc and her kids, plus Caden (Burnett cousin). Nick was even able to come with us!

Unfortunately we only took pictures on our phones, but the kids had such a fun time.





We did face painting and here's what the kids requested:
Ally: "Um, make me a hello kitty."
Cole: "Can you make me look like the Joker?"
Caden and Evie: "No."














Ironically, my kid is a lover of cats.






It was a great day!
Hopefully when I'm feeling better I'll want to blog about what's really going on in our lives this second, but a warning to those who have sent death threats - don't hold your breath.