2nd Annual Cousins' Egg Hunt

Today is a day to rejoice. HE IS RISEN!
God gave his only begotten son to save us from our sins and offer us eternal life.

That is the MEANING of this very special day.

NEVER shall it be forgotten, or overshadowed by silly, secular traditions!

That being said...

My family LOVES to celebrate holidays together. We all honor our faiths and beliefs...

and then...we gather to share the silly, secular traditions.....

AND this is where we celebrate- THE COUSINS' EGG HUNT !

SO- The weather was less than cooperative...it was POURING.

Rowdy, Tammy and I had filled 480 eggs with candy, money and tokens/prize vouchers.
The rain came down...but we headed out and hid...480 eggs.
That is a LOT of eggs.

The kids bundled up in all of Granny's rain jackets...and braved the cold, wet, SLOPPY weather.
After MUCH hunting...each child came back inside with 96 eggs.
(I know that sounds like a ridiculous amount...and it is. We were hopeful that ALL the cousins would enjoy the annual egg hunt, but that did not happen,
Thus the 5 had to "pick up the slack".)
****all photos can be viewed larger - just click on the photo****

Cold, wet and muddy- the egg hiders!
And the hunt begins- mud puddles, pouring rain, sloppy feet...it can't get much more fun than this!
96 eggs each...and we got to come inside to check out the loot.
We are dealing with teenagers (and an almost teen).The goodies included MONEY, gum and candy.....

And FINALLY we all sat down for a good meal together.

There is nothing better than family, fun and food.

I Thank Our Heavenly Father for the Blessings He has bestowed upon my family....

I celebrate those blessings today!

Looking forward to making more memories together.

Looking forward to the 3rd annual Cousins' hunt!

Just made me smile !

No real rhyme or reason for it.

Rowdy just picked her up and was carrying her around at the ball fields the other night.

It was sweet.

It made me smile.

She will always be..."daddy's little girl".

OH MY Look how you have changed!!!

Jake, This is a photo of you about 2 months before you got your braces. This photo was taken in the parking lot of the orthodontists office, just before your first visit... Here is your first day after you got the braces on. NOW... 3 months later....check out the changes. I know that in the beginning you were hesitant about the braces. I know that you were not excited about them. I just think you should see the changes we see in you in such a short time. You look older, more mature, and pretty handsome. I always thought you were cute...so that doesn't change. I am really excited about how well your braces are working. I am excited to see the changes to come. KEEP SMILING!

Awesome Spring Day

What a beautiful spring day.

No big important plans.

That is exactly the kind I like.

For lunch we went to Subway and headed for the park

Jake and Rowdy went treasure hunting...

Emily and I enjoyed the weather and a good book.

We all enjoyed the sun, the warm temperatures, the cool breeze...

and just hanging out together.

I REALLY LOVE SPRING !!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT !

Hope you enjoyed this spring day as much as the Schmoll family did!

Busy Spring Weekend

This weekend was busy. Busy is sometimes good, and sometimes not so good.

Funny. I think this weekend was busy -good...because SPRING has finally arrived.

The week wound down starting with a fun night at a special friend's house. She hosted a "spa party" Denise had great food, friends and fun. Emily and I enjoyed a facial....

Friday evening was spent running around preparing for our day trip to Rolla .

Normally that last minute errand stuff would bum me out....but with the windows rolled down and the music turned up.... it was good....even enjoyable.

Saturday morning started very early with a departure time of 6:00am. Emily, Dalen and I were expected in Rolla by 8:30. After a quick stop at Krispy Cream for fresh hot donuts...we were on the road. No problems and we arrived early. (What did you expect).

Meanwhile back at home Rowdy and Jake started their day with plans that consisted of baseball practice,

lunch and multiple parks for treasure hunting (metal detecting)

Emily, Dalen (my nephew) and I arrived in Rolla and settled in for a long day of competition.



Dalen competed on 2 teams- they took silver and bronze. Emily's team took Bronze.

They all did so well. I am proud of them for all the hard work they put into this competition. I am especially proud of how emily played the saxaphone in the play. She did so awesome...I was wispering to everyone that the music coming from behind the backdrop was Emily.....


Sunday is not finished yet...but I can tell you I am enjoying the beautiful weather...and going to pray that this weather stays just like today.

More soon.....