Secret Message

There are many windows in our house.  I use them to keep tabs on the kids when they're outside playing and I don't want to venture out to check on them.  One of the best spots for spying on them in the front of the house is the girls' room.  One morning as I was glancing out the window, I happened to look down among their painted vases and spy a little secret note.

I've no idea when she wrote it or how long it had been there, but I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

What a precious snapshot into her tender, six year old heart.

Clever

Easter morning began with pictures

once everyone had their new duds on.

Then the kids opened Easter baskets.

They were very excited about new chalk,

new bubbles

and a few pieces of candy sent from our friend Ms. Carol.

Then  we took a peek at our customary resurrection rolls.  They did not disappoint.

Despite my diligent attempts to seal the crescent rolls, the insides were oozing out just like they do every single year.  I guess that's part of the tradition now, too.

After church we enjoyed dinner and a late afternoon egg hunt.  It was too cold/rainy to be outside, so we utilized the basement as our hunting grounds.

We found all the eggs but one.  We looked high and low and just couldn't find it.  Finally, I declared, "I give up.  I just need to sit down."

Joe, who had hidden the eggs, could hardly contain himself.  Guess where the last egg was?

My cleverness knows no bounds.

Eggcellent Traditions

Easter was a quiet affair at our house this year.  No guests, friends or family joined us, but we didn't let that stop us from keeping up our annual traditions.

Egg Dyeing

and Resurrection Rolls.

Join 'Em

If you can't beat 'em,

 

join 'em.

Maximum Capacity

Things were tight before.

 

But we're the Pulls and we will not be conquered by a small bathtub.

So, we got a bigger bathtub.  Or just happened to acquire a house with a bigger bathtub.

I think there's probably room for one more.

Six kids in a bathtub, even a large bathtub,

is probably maximum capacity. 

Trade In

Shortly before the thirteen month mark,

 

she traded in her one leg scoot,

for full fledged walking.

Boy is she proud of herself.

Almost as proud as big brother, Joey, clapping in the background.

Sit Down and Eat

There's a local diner in Bismarck called Kroll's.  I've never graced the inside of one but I hear they have great Kneophla soup (def. a thick, creamy chicken, potato and dumpling soup, almost to the point of being a stew, characteristic in German settlements in the Dakotas and Minnesota).  If you're ever in the area maybe we could grab a bowl together.

Aside from great soup, they also have a slogan near and dear to my heart, "Sit down and eat!"  I smile whenever I drive by one of their restaurants because I must utter those words no less than seven times a day.  The proprietor of that restaurant must have been a mother.  

One of the great obstacles to "sitting down and eating" for the kids is the digital frame that's housed in our dining room window.  They just cannot resist getting up to look at it when a favorite picture or video pops up.  Despite my incessant request for them to SIT DOWN IN THEIR CHAIR, the pull of the picture frame is just too much.  One evening Joe went so far as to strap Joey into his chair with a belt from our closet.  I'm pretty sure it took Joey less than five minutes to wriggle out of his "restraint" and hop down.  This is how we found him when we reentered the room.

 

It strikes me that the clever among you would simply say why not just unplug, turn off or move the frame?  To which I would reply, "Sit down and eat."