Mural

I know that it is a little nutso to allow your 2 and 4 year old to help you paint their room for them, but I just couldn't wait another day knowing that the can was in the garage waiting to bless our walls. I knew they would love it and I decided it was worth the risk and the mess. I set down a few ground rules and lots of canvas over the carpet... and the three of us painted their room yesterday. They had such a fun time and I was glad that I let them have their painting moment. Maybe they will remember painting with mom.

The plan for a mural in their room as been formulating in my brain for some time now and I've finally chosen a theme. I painted a mural in my bedroom when I was 15 and people still talk to me about it sometimes, so I figure it's time to give it another go. This one is going to be an ocean theme. I'm sure there will be a follow up post as it comes together... hopefully quickly so that the boys can have beds in their room again!

Nature Walk

We spent our afternoon on a nature hike at one of my favorite local places, Martin Nature Center. We saw some pretty amazing things, including this huge snapping turtle (look at the picture below and notice how it is the same size as or larger than the goose), lots of large fish, bunches of turtles on one log, a little snake and lots of beautiful blossoms. It was quite a warm day and the boys got pretty worn out. Lincoln even said, "I can't walk one more step." I didn't think I'd ever hear that from him!

Now You See It, Now You Don't

The top picture may look like a boring picture of leaves, but it is actually quite the close up of a butterfly! I was wondering why this little guy was letting me get so close. I kept nudging closer and closer to catch him flutter the bright orange wings that you see below, but while I was close he never did open up. He became perfectly "lost" among the fallen leaves. Can you find him? You might have to click on the picture and view it larger. What an awesome trick of nature.

Resurrection

Lincoln and I have been talking quite a bit about why we celebrate Easter, especially because he was assigned to give a talk on Easter Sunday during primary.

Today we dropped Jeff off for work and Lincoln saw the big signs on the doors with images of guns. He asked me why the pictures were there and I told him they meant that no one was allowed to bring guns in the building. He said that is good so no one can be mean. He said, "if somebody killed Jesus down with a gun at dad's work, then after three days he would be resurrected."

He started thinking for a minute, then said, "I don't want to be resurrected... I just wanna stay alive. (pause) and I don't want dad to be resurrected either."

I told him I wanted them both to stay alive for a long time too.

Then he said, "I don't want Jackson to be resurrected either because I like him a whole lot."

What a conversation to have with a four year old!

Happy Easter

We've had a lovely Easter weekend. Saturday we joined my parents for an egg hunt in their neighborhood. The way they had it set up the eggs were all empty, so you brought what you found back to a table and everyone got a treat bag. The kids figured out the eggs were empty and didn't see the point in collecting empty eggs. They were making me laugh, shaking the eggs and then putting them back in the grass.

Jackson went with me to visit the Easter bunny, but didn't want to be near him. Lincoln wouldn't even go over there. They just aren't into the holiday characters (maybe because I try to talk more about the spiritual reasons for the holidays).

The Easter Bunny did bring the boys some small baskets of goodies and when the found them Jackson said, "papa - thank you."

Lincoln responded with, "no, it wasn't papa, it was the big bunny."

We hosted Easter dinner here and did indeed have our green eggs and ham. Everyone brought lots of yummy dishes. The kids had a great time on the Egg Hunt, played lots of Wii (which we borrowed for a few days), and ate way too much sugar!

I was concerned about the ham as I cooked it following directions for the wrong kind of ham - but I ended up cooking it again with a second method and it was falling off the bone... very moist and delicious! It didn't even need a glaze. Yum.