Easter

 

Easter 2021 was SO refreshing and fun and happy.  First off, check out our new dining room table, with room for EIGHT.  Since moving into this house we've planned to get a big ol' table for the dining room...and the plan was that Ryan was going to build the table himself out of an old oak tree cut down in my parents hard.  We've already had the tree milled (cut into boards) but the process if drying is turning out to be much more complicated (and well, longer) than we expected, so we finally decided to just buy what we wanted and we'll figure the rest out later.  Back right after Thanksgiving we ordered this custom table/chairs and buffet (not pictured) and just a few days before Easter it showed up.  I even pulled out the china and this might just be the best looking table I've set yet!

What's better than a beautiful table spread and new dining room furniture?  Having the people we love most sitting around the table, all together...in person....!  And, that's just what happened on Easter Saturday.  For the first time in over a year, we were finally able to all get together and there is nothing better for my heart than that.  

We celebrated our big Easter meal on Saturday because Ryan flew out again on Sunday afternoon.  Doing it on Saturday let everyone enjoy the day to it's fullest without feeling rushed or dreading the time when Ryan had to get in the truck and head to the airport.  Sunday afternoons are quickly becoming our least favorite part of the week.  But, just a few more months and the majority of the travel should finally be over.

Sunday morning the Easter Bunny came and for the first time since the kids were born we were able to do Easter eggs outside.  Easter weekend this year was beautiful.  It was nearly 80 degrees and sunny both days and while we've slipped back into the mid 50's now for the foreseeable future, we were glad to have a few days that felt like summer.  The grass is green now, most of the trees are fully budding, if not leafing, our spring flowers are popping up color everywhere and the kids play outside most every afternoon.

Easter was wonderful.  The prefect amount of family and food and fun, mixed with lots of time for just sitting around socializing and enjoying the beautiful weather.

This is how Erin and I felt about a 6 am wakeup for Easter Eggs....but...the kids were just too excited to wait.  We found all the eggs, ate chocolate for pre-breakfast before having a big brunch and then spent the rest of the day drinking Margaritas, playing Yahtzee (we taught the kids), doing Kiwi crates and just enjoying our Sunday.

Spring Knitting

When I look back at my blog posts/books over the years, I notice that my knitting doesn't get featured often.  I think it's because the projects are completed over the course of weeks, often months and progress is slow.  However, much like my reading, I'm typically working on two "handy crafts" at any given time.  Usually one knitting and one quilting and slow and steady I have completed projects to gift to new babies or for Christmas presents.  In order to have presents ready and wrapped under the tree, I'm usually knitting/quilting year round.  Handmade gifts are not fast, but they are filled with love.

So - in this post I'm doing a round up for some of the things I've knit since Christmas.  First up, these ADORABLE bunnies.  They came up as a suggested post on Instagram (they know me!) and I'm now addicted to this little shop based in Madison, Wisconsin.  Back when I first started knitting, Joey bought me a knitted animal pattern book and I've used it for baby gifts since then (in fact, there is one of these posted further down in this post).  Most often patterns for animals like this are crochet which I never really picked up.  So, when I saw these adorable knit bunnies, I knew they'd be perfect for Hazel...who loves bunnies more than I can tell you....and for Easter.

They are small, no bigger than 8 inches tall, so they are a relatively quick knit.  I got one done and quickly moved to the second (blue) in hopes that I could finish them in time to gift for Easter.  I made it with just a few days to spare!

The blue bunny turned out a little bigger than the pink because I used some cheaper yarn from Joann's instead of the nice yarn that the kit came with.  Lesson learned...won't make that choice again!  I was much happier with the finished product of the pink bunny....and the yarn for the blue was a pain to work with.  

Up next, this strange alligator - if I'm honest, he's not my favorite pattern from the book.  But, over the last 10 years now I've worked through all the super cute ones and it was time to try something new.  He turned out much bitter than I expected!  I bet he's 18 inches from nose to tail and while I see mistakes when I look at him, I have a feeling some future baby boy will love this guy.  He's been added to my "to gift" pile and is just waiting on a new baby to love him.  

Lastly - it looks like I've got a little crafter in the making!  Abby got this cute first sewing project kit from Grandpa one weekend when she and Hazel had a sleepover with him.  It was the prefect size for a first project.  Small enough to complete easily within a few sittings but soft and fuzzy enough to be loved once it was finished.  Abby actually ended up gifting this project to Hazel which made this Momma very proud.

Working together through this she learned some valuable lessons.  Knotting, threading and probably most important, what to do when you make a mistake and have to go backwards.  There was more than one mistake and maybe even a few tears of frustration but it was a good experience and she's onto making her third sewing project as we speak.  

1 Family x 12 (March)

 

For some reason I always struggle with getting our monthly family photo in on time in the early months of the year.  Once summer hits it's like we're always onto something!  So technically we snagged this family photo on Easter, a few days into April.  But, I'm posting it for March and the photo police can take it up with me later - LOL!.