Easter

This year we had a pretty casual Easter. No huge festivities. Tyler had to work Saturday morning so our boys didn't go to any of the Egg hunts that are usually hosted locally in the area. Instead, they went to our neighbors backyard and hunted for eggs in the rain. 

(What do you expect when we live in the PNW?) 

They could have cared less. 

What they were more interested in were the plastic eggs hidden in the yard. 

Our sweet neighbors took not only the time to fill the eggs and hide them, but they even made them some Easter buckets which contained cool items like chalk, puzzles, plastic digging toys, bubbles, books and some treats. It was way more than they should have done, but we are always gracious in accepting their gifts, as I believe it brings them as much joy and happiness as it does for my boys. 

Did I also mention the eggs they hunted for in their backyard had change and dollars in them?? 

My boys were in heaven. 

Seriously. 

After Tyler came home from work I ran to get some last minute Easter dinner items.... CRAZY!!!!

 What was I thinking going to Winco on the day before a holiday. 

It was utter madness! 

We went to some friends' house for a BBQ later and had a blast getting to know them better and our boys had a good time taking over their sons toys. :)

 We can't wait to hang out again. 

Sunday the Easter Bunny didn't disappoint, he brought each boy a new coloring book, some sticker books, B got a new puzzle, and Z got a rubber football. And course who could forget the candy? They were pretty happy about this. The Easter Bunny was smart this year and hid only 5-6 eggs for each kid. He also told us which color egg belonged to who. This made for smoother egg hunting prior to church. Zayden was thrilled with his "EEEgs". He loved finding the candy inside and then shoving in his mouth faster than we could tell him to stop. 

After a quick egg hunt and scoping out their Easter baskets, we rushed everyone into the shower and got ready for church.It wouldn't be a Howard Family Easter picture is there wasn't one child crying, right? This Easter it was Q, who was having a particularly difficult day because of his stubborn nature. 

We attended a lovely Easter Sunday Service and the boys were happy to bring little Easter treats to their primary classmates.

(We made these little cards which inside said: Thumbunny wants to wish you a Hoppy Easter) 

Attached was a little baggy filled with jelly beans.

 I opted out of having Z bring something as I figured the Nursery leaders would kill me if I sent candy to their large group of mini monsters. :) 

(from last weekend in Vancouver at my parents' house

We decided last minute to have the Elders over for Easter dinner. 

(Like during Sacrament mtg since no one had signed up to feed them-- insert sad face)

 Luckily for them I had bought enough food to feed us all (without knowing) and we enjoyed the traditional  Easter feast: ham, homemade scalloped potatoes, steamed asparagus, a mixed green salad, rolls, and deviled eggs.

 They gave (or attempted to) a short message to our boys (which was a disaster) and if I could have died of embarrassment over my children's behavior I surely would have right then. Everything naughty a child could do they were doing...and then some. I'm sure it was nothing big to the Elders, but I was mortified with my boys' behavior during their message. 

Oh well, what can you do? 

All in all, we had a wonderful Easter weekend and are so thankful that because of our Savior's love for us we can be together Forever! 

Sunday Family Dinner

Last weekend we went up to Vancouver to spend time with the whole (Lindquist) family. This past Sunday was Easter and traditionally I think we would all get together at my parent's house then, but Karter and Melanie headed back to Idaho for school. 

It was great to see everyone. I am continually amazed at how great each of my brothers are and how they are lucky to have all found someone special. Our boys had a blast playing with all their aunt and uncles. 

Family fun out in the back yard.

 A semi-competitive game of badminton, a little friendly game of basketball, lots of good food and great conversations. 

Since my parent's agreed to take care of dinner for everyone I volunteered to make dessert. We had a sibling vote and the winner choice was a No Bake Samoa Cheesecake. 

I'm not gonna lie, it was relatively easy to make and REALLLLY delicious! 

I added whip cream and it was the perfect addition. 

OH SO GOOD! 

More DIY... a big boy's room

It would seem that I'm always working on some sort of project, which if you're married to a budget man like I am and have the need to change things up, then yes... there's always going to be a project when you don't really have the means to buy everything brand new. 

I'm certainly not complaining. I actually do enjoy giving something old and ugly new life again. 

Lately I've been on the hunt for a desk for Quincy's big kid room. I finished his book shelf recently and needed to get him a desk for doing his homework and for additional storage. I was hunting on craigslist daily. Finally I found a nice solid wood desk that was the right size and scale for his room with the perfect price tag: $10.00. The added bonus was that it was only 5 minutes from our house to pick up. 

Now this isn't the first time that I've been guilty of getting too antsy to finish my DIY projects that I get them started before I realize I forgot to take my 'before' picture. So here is the desk... top already with a coat of black paint on it. Ugh. But you get the idea. It was brown before... and simple... and little to no hardware on the drawers, which I didn't mind since I was going to replace what was on there anyways. 

BEFORE: 

AFTER:

Don't mind the stool, it's a loaner from my parents until I can find just the right size chair for him. I dream of getting him a Ghost chair, but unfortunately those aren't in the budget. :( At least the stool is functional for now and it fits him fine. It could also be painted too.... though that means another 'project'. ha ha 

Will it never end?? 

Instead of having to tape off the drawers or paint the drawers I decided to get scrapbook paper and Modge Podge the sides of them. It's a nice pop of color when you open them and was less time consuming than tape or pant. I like the little details, like this. 

Even though the desk is pretty clean lined there are some details on the legs that look slightly feminine (to me at least) and seeing as how I wanted this desk in a boys room I opted for clean modern hardware which (hopefully) balances it out a bit more. 

I've been wanting to do something with these empty Nesquick cans. They were a good size for storage and even came with fitting lids. I came across an idea on Pinterest and put it in motion. I actually love how they turned out. I ended up putting felt on the bottom so they wouldn't scrape any paint off the painted bookshelf while Quincy slides them on and off to get toys out of them.I ditched the lids because they didn't go with the rope.

 I love a good re-purposed project. 

BEFORE:    and   AFTER: 

Prior to getting a desk I decided that Q needed some place to store his toys. The under-the-bed-in-plastic-totes-system wasn't working. It ended up being a huge mess under his bed and fight to get them back in bins when he could just "hide" them where no one was the wiser to his clean up methods. Plus I wanted to bring more books in his room for reading and up until that point they were all in the little boys room. 

I found a post for a FREE laminate bookshelf and the pick up place was 2 minutes from our house. I convinced Tyler to go pick it up with me. It wasn't in great shape, but I knew it had potential to be good. I came up with an idea of putting wainscoting on the back to give it some architectural detail similar to the detail in his twin headboard and foot-board and went to purchase primer and black paint. After also buying some new pegs for the shelf I spent maybe a total of $25.00. I think it turned out pretty good. 

BEFORE:

AFTER: 

I like that now he has a spot for all his stuff and it's still nicely displayed, but functional as well.. which of course was top priority! 

All in all, I think his room is coming together nicely. I'd like to get him new bedding, though his functions quite fine. And I'd LOVE to get some artwork on his walls, but for now... (as with almost all DIY projects) you have to wait for just the right time and price to come along before it'll be "finished". :)

Zayden's 2 Year check up.

It never fails. 

Since Z has a birthday almost at the end of March his check ups always fall in April.

 I never have his birthday stats on his birthday post. 

But I am putting them up anyway. :) 

Zayden's 2 Year Stats: 

Weight: 26.12 pounds 

Height: 33 inches

He did very well at his appointment. I was running late and speeding, but me made it on time. I hate having to reschedule, especially since I schedule their appts. for the perfect time around 1:00 when the office is slow and we get in and out quickly! 

Looking at all the fish: 

Helping me fill out paperwork: 

Feeling pretty proud of himself after a good check up.

Looking at cars while the nurse prepares his shot. 

He only had to get one shot and by the time he realized it was happening it was done. He didn't even have a chance to cry. I told him he did such a great job that we would go get ice cream for a treat. He was super happy about that news. We stopped to see Tyler at work and then walked over to McDonald's for dollar ice cream cones. The weather was so lovely we ate them outside. 

It was also great to hear from all my boys how I'm 'the best mom ever'. 

Amazing what a little ice cream can get ya? :)

I'm so happy to have this cheesy kid as a part of our family! 

28... and Feeling Great

This year I was almost positive that my birthday was going to be somewhat of a doozy. I mean, there's nothing particularly special about 28, right? And to add to the list my birthday fell on a Wednesday. Middle of the week. And rounding everything off was the fact that it happened the be Quincy's off-Wednesday from school. Yea! More kids home, more housework, no babysitters available because it's YW night.... 

yea... I wasn't to thrilled about all that. 

Nevertheless I was trying to be positive. 

I got up and make  Lemon Blueberry Muffins... which I botched up since I forgot to melt the butter BEFORE adding it to make the struessel  mixture. So my crumbly sugar top didn't turn out crumbly since I melted it with the sugar. 

Duh Kati!

 Ah well. 

They still tasted great even if they weren't picture worthy....

....Which I took a picture anyways.

My day was seemingly BLAH until Tyler called to tell me he was coming home early. 

That's when my semi-frown was turned upside down. It was a rather beautiful day, so I didn't have anything to complain about in that department. Since Tyler got off early in the afternoon we decided to have an early dinner. Since it was my special day I decided to pick Thai food. I chose a restaurant near us (which was new) and we headed out to eat.

Why is it every time we choose an Asain restaurant to eat in that they're closed during the time we want to eat? 

Ugh. 

However, they did open fifteen minutes later and so we took the kids to a nearby park and let them run. 

It was sunny. 

It was warm.

It was a great way to spend time with all my boys. 

Less than an hour later we were eating some yummy Thai food. I got the Pork Pad Kee Mao which is delicious and just the right blend of spicy and sweet. Tyler got his usual Pad Thai and the boys split some Pad Thai too. They also tried some salad rolls with peanut sauce and liked them. I like that they were willing to try some new food. 

After we finished dinner we walked across the street for frozen yogurt. 

It was the perfect ending to my day and I felt special and loved and well taken care of. 

I'm so grateful for boys who know how to surprise me when I need it the most.