Easter 2016 and our wedding anniversary

When you don't post as often you tend to, you forget details so instead of going back and blogging about Valentine's Day or St Patrick's  day, I'll just start with Easter while it's fresh on my mind. 

I'll start first with a Pinterest fail. I keep 2 little boys a few days a week and thought it would be fun to dye eggs with them. I found a new way to do it on Pinterest. You could use shaving cream or cool whip. I went with cool whip since my family usually eats the eggs afterwards. 

Gloves on and ready to go. 

Stirring up the food coloring and cool whip. 

Now you roll the egg. 

Time to dry. 

Did it work????

Uh, no!  I was disappointed. 

Later that night we dyed them again with the tried and true way. 

Friday the kids had egg hunts at school and came home with lots of candy. 

We also left for E-town that night to celebrate our wedding anniversary which was actually going to be on Easter Sunday this year. 

My sister Christy volunteered to watch all 3 of my kids while Maynard and I went out for dinner and overnight. 

I have been wanting to try the hibachi grill at a Japanese restaraunt for a long time. Maynard finally agreed to go. 

And as usual he had to be goofy and try to eat soup with chopsticks. 

The food was amazingly delicious. Like it's been a week later and I'm still thinking about it. Ha ha 

We stopped by and picked up a cheesecake to take back to our motel room. It was nice to be away and enjoy our time together. 

Saturday morning Christy took my kids to an egg hunt with her kids, so we spent the morning shopping. I still had a few things I needed to get done before Easter the next day. 

We went and picked up the kids and headed to my parent's house for the Harper  Easter dinner and egg hunt. It was gorgeous outside and the kids pretty much only came in to eat. We had a yummy dinner and then an egg hunt. 

Josiah's many expressions as he realizes he didn't get the lucky egg. No worries. Mamaw passed out dollars afterwards. 

Time for pictures. 

  

All 16 Harper grandkids with their Mamaw and Papaw. Including Tanner, the family pet. 

We left E-town and headed for home a little later than intended. We got home super late and everyone went to bed with out baths or any ironing done. I set my alarm for an hour earlier in order to get everything done before church. 

My kids had already had so much candy that they only got a chocolate bunny in their Easter basket for candy. The rest was beef jerky, cheese sticks, peanuts, kites, band aids, and etc. I wasn't thinking clearly about the Big Red though. Thought I'd have a heart attack when I seen them sipping on it with their nice Easter clothes already on. 

Somehow we managed to get out the door in time and to take pictures. Maynard found this spot in someone's front yard and decided to take advantage of it. 

It did turn out pretty good. 

Pictures done. Run back to the car, quick!!

We had a big crowd at church!

Afterwards, the kids were ready for the egg hunt and then we made them take more pictures. 

And of course I like to include all our Easter collages of previous years. 

We had a great Easter. We ate lunch at Golden Corral where my kids beg and beg to eat there all the time, but we rarely do. Went back to church that night to a wonderful service where the power of God  was so rich and sweet. 

Thankful for a risen savior. 

Winter storm 2016

Do I start off every blog post about being really behind?  Well, in case I do......Sorry, I'm so behind. Ha ha

January 19, 2016 was just an ordinary day. We had went to a birthday party at church and was hearing rumors of a winter storm. As we sat at the party we were getting notifications of school closings for the next day. I made a quick stop at the store to get essentials such as toilet paper and cat food then we headed for home. Luckily, I had groceries at the house already. No way did I want to fight the crowds at the grocery stores. 

We all went to bed and sure enough. Woke up to a blizzard indeed. I think we ended up with 16" of snow. Maynard's work even canceled for the day. It was beautiful coming down. It was so cold and coming down so fast that we didn't let the kids out to play in it the first day. 

We ended up being snowed in for 8 days. 8 long days. Now Maynard was able to get out to go to work the next day because he has 4 wheel drive, but we were stuck for sure. 

All week long the kids were in and out from playing in the snow. 

We had snow cream and homemade hot chocolate for treats. 

We even felt sorry for the cat and let him come in to warm up before Daddy got home from work. 

I let the kids help me cook quite a bit. 

Amelia copied me one day while I was cooking supper. She even was on her cell phone like I was. 

My poor van was covered in snow. 

We played lots of games and the kids had nerf wars. 

There was also lots of play outside. I refused to go out. It was too cold. 

I like to have never kept up with all the laundry that week. 

By Monday I knew that we would be having school soon, but our road still hadn't been plowed. I called the road department and asked for help. 

Well, they didn't come help me. The next day my kids had school but I couldn't get out. 

As far as I could go. 

Maynard called the rd department and would you believe they listened to him and came 10 minutes later??

We got out Tuesday night and I had to get a few things from the store then I insisted we go out for supper because I was SICK of cooking. 

The next day we got out and the kids went to school and I subbed 1st and 2nd grade. Poor kiddos. I had been snowed in for 8 days with my own 3 kids who fought and tattled the whole time. It may not have been the best day for me to sub that day. I was happy to be out though. 

We all survived and it was pretty, but I'm so done. Even this week there's forecast for snow and I want to cry. 

Come on spring!!!

Amelia's 6th Birthday

Boy did this girl have big plans for her birthday. She had told several people that she was going to have her birthday at Disneyland, the beach, and get this......even Jerusalem. Yes!  She really did!!  Too bad her birthday is so close to Christmas because none of those were in the budget and truthfully, probably never will be. 

We discussed it several times and she finally agreed to go have pedicures with her 2 little friends. 

So let's back up to the morning of her Birthday. Actually in the middle of the night she got sick and threw up in her bed. I put her in the tub and was cleaning everything up while she sobbed her heart out. "I don't want to be sick on my Birthday."  I felt so sad for her. Here she was all excited for her birthday and she was sick. We both went to lay down on the couch and we prayed that she would feel better in the morning. 

She had told Maynard that she wanted to wake up before he left for work to open her presents. Since we were on the couch it was easier to wake up as we heard him walking around the house. She sat up all excited as Maynard wished her a happy birthday. She said she felt so much better and her stomach didn't hurt her at all. We woke the boys up so she could open her gifts. They weren't too happy to be up so early. 

I never really noticed until this picture that Amelia and Maynard have the same smile. They both smile kinda crooked. 

After opening gifts Maynard left for work. When he left everyone went back to bed. Ha ha. We could sleep an extra 45 mins and boy was that 45 mins amazing. 

Everyone got back up and got ready for school. Amelia had her requested pancake with a candle. She ate every bite, so I'm guessing she just had a tummy ache the night before. 

She wore a Birthday sash and tiara to school. They sang to her during opening and she had cupcakes in class. 

I picked her up at 12 at school. She changed her clothes real fast to get ready to party. 

First stop was Mexican for lunch. 

These 4 are pretty tight. 

She agreed to letting them sing to her this year. I couldn't believe it. Last year she refused to even go near a Mexican  restaraunt around her birthday. 

Much to our disappointment (and her relief) they just brought her the ice cream and didn't sing to her. I guess they were too busy maybe. I don't know. She thought it was hilarious though. Which is why a few days later our family went back to eat Mexican to have a do over. 

She likes this part, but hates the singing part. It scares her to death. 

It cracks me up. We will continue to do this every year until she stops being scared. Ha ha 

So I jumped ahead. Let me get back to what happened after she ate lunch with her friends.

Next stop was.........

She loves getting pedis!!  Melissa got her one last May and she has begged to go back ever since. Going with friends is even better. 

Dalton tagged along, but he helped his Mom go get slushies for them to drink while they got their pedis. 

They got the full treatment. 

They were too cute. Her little friends had never been before and they loved every second of it. They had us dying laughing. 

They got clear polish with just a hint of sparkle. I'm sure if they had their way or were allowed, they would of had the gaudiest color on the shelf. 

It was time to separate from her buddies. We had to go pick up her brothers from school and head home for cake and ice cream before we left for the boys' ballgame. 

Speaking of cake......

I was intending on baking her a cake and letting her decorate it with sprinkles and frosting and whatever else she wanted to put on it. I should actually rephrase that statement. I couldn't let her put on it whatever she wanted because she chose something a little shocking. 

We went to a craft store and this is what she chose. "Barbies" for her cake. Oh dear. I'm pretty sure these are used for bridal showers. Ha ha. I talked her into getting some real Barbie candy pieces to put on instead. 

We went to Walmart to buy cake mix when we walked buy the bakery. There set a pretty cake marked down to $9.49. I told Amelia we could just buy that and she can add to it when she got home. She agreed and loved it. We bought pink sprinkles and extra pink frosting. 

You are gonna laugh when you see this cake. (Before and after)

So it happened to be a news years cake that was marked down. The coaster said Drink and be merry. Well, we didn't care. We could pull that off and decorate over it. Plus Amelia liked the fancy glass and said it looked good with her Barbie decorations.  Amelia did 90% of the decorating herself. 

 Isn't it beautiful????  It tasted good, I know that. 

We ate cake and then we had to rush out the door. 

She said she had the best birthday ever. 

Her favorite gift was her nerf bow and arrow set. Then she got a few things she needed. 

She ended up getting almost $100 and so I took her shopping. She knew exactly what she wanted and it didn't take long to spend her money. She bought a fake American girl doll from Walmart so her real doll would have someone to play with. She bought them extra outfits and a bed. She also bought her a pair of boots that she couldn't get out of her mind when she seen her friend wearing a pair. 

I wasn't too sure of them at first, but they kinda grow on ya I guess. 

For the last 2 years I have asked Amelia some questions. I'm gonna ask her the same questions to see how her answers have changed. I may ask a few new ones as well since she has started school this year. 

What is your favorite color? Pink

What is your favorite food? Rice and beans

What is your favorite kind of cookie? Raspberry cookie from Subway

What are your favorite shoes? New Indian boots

What is your favorite dessert? Watermelon

Who are your best friends? Hailey, Rachel, Myia, Lacie, Kacie, Dalton

What is your favorite song? Jesus loves me

What do you want to be when you grow up? Whatever Jesus wants me to be 

What is your favorite bible story? When Jesus died on the cross for my sins.(Amelia got saved when she was 5. It shows in her answers.) 

What is your favorite toy to play with? Barbies, American girl doll, my fake American girl doll. 

Who is your favorite Aunt? Umm.. Name them all. Yep, Angela. 

Who is your favorite uncle? Kenny!!!  Wait, no Todd. 

What's your favorite class in school? Cursive writing

What is your favorite book? Barbie books

What is your favorite snack to bring to school? Yogurt smoothies that you drink. 

A lot of her answers stayed the same. Some changed. 

Here is the link from last years questions. 

http://itsbeginningtolookalotlikechaos.blogspot.com/2015/01/amelia-5th-birthday.html?m=0

Amelia had a great birthday. She is growing up to be a special young lady who loves Jesus. 

She sure has changed a lot in one year. 

Let's Play Ball!!

A couple of years ago I took my boys to a ball game because my nephew was playing. Little did I know that our school was also there. Our principal asked Josiah if he wanted to play that day. It literally made his day. After that, it was all he could think about it from then on out. I'll include a pic from that day. 

So here it is almost 2 years later and Josiah is still a little young to be on the team. However, a JV game was coming up and again Bro. Gilpin asked the boys if they wanted to play. Of course they did. Even Titus would get to play this time. 

They knew about this game since well before Thanksgiving and drove us crazy asking how much can longer until the game. 

Finally it was game day. They were so excited. 

These boys were ready to play. 

I liked how they passed the ball to each other. Their brother bond is pretty tight. 

There were a few funny moments. Josiah fouled a teeny 5 year old boy. He wasn't messing around. Lol

Amelia and her little friend cheered their little hearts out. 

They ended up losing the game by 6 points. I was still proud of them because most of them little boys had never even played a real game before. 

They had another game this past Tuesday. We had to drive to Hazard for it. The boys played so much better this time. If they could just hit the shots they were shooting they could have won easily. They lost by 12 this game. 

It was a good game and they had fun. 

I love the Christian organization. They are truly playing for fun. Of course, winning every now and then would be nice too. Ha ha