Easter Eggs

This year we dyed eggs in the traditional Santa Clara pioneer way like we did a couple years ago.  We even found a source for the red root that is much closer to home.  As always I think these eggs are so much cooler than the store bought dye.  They turned out so beautiful!

Just a couple more pictures.

Logan digging up the root.

This is Chapter being really excited to color Easter eggs:)

Getting in touch with my Inner Grandma

My Grandma Holm made these for us when we were little.  I don't know if it was every year or not but I do remember being disappointed when I got the first one and my mom told me I couldn't eat it.  The one that sticks out most in my memory was white with peach frosting.  I kept that one forever.

If you don't know what this is it's basically a hollow egg made out of sugar and decorated with royal icing.  I've been meaning to make one forever but I finally got to it this year.  It was really fun to make and it made me think about my grandma:)

Easter Bunny

Chap met the Easter Bunny last week at Walmart.  He didn't really care one way or the other but the picture is cute:) I don't know if there was something wrong with the camera or the printer but everything is crystal clear except for Chapter.

I'm a Genius:)

Although I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person to ever think of this or to do it I am pretty dang proud of myself.  I've been thinking about it forever, but cutting clothing gives me anxiety, much like cutting too short yard sale pants into shorts for me does.  But with the pressure of Chapter needing something never-before-seen and spring colored to wear for Easter Sunday, I thought that now was the perfect time.  Basically I shouldn't have been procrastinated for so long because I have pulled off way worse than this before!

Chap with Grandpa Cecil

I took Chapter to see his Great Grandpa Cecil the other day it sure was a fun visit.  Cecil will be turning 95 in April and he's Logan's paternal grandfather.  Chapter's middle name came from this line of the family.  Frederick was Cecil's grandfather's middle name too. He also had an uncle named Frederick.  I had better mention that Frederick was also my great grandfather's name on my mom's side.  We loved that it was a name we wanted and it was after two very good men. Cecil's always telling us to remember that his grandpa Benjamin Frederick was the 3rd wagon into St. George when they settled it.  Not necessarily a bad person to be named after, and on my side Frederick was the first person to have a college education and was the superintendent of Garfield County School District.  So basically a very good name.

But I digress.  Chapter liked Grandpa Cecil a lot.  He dept smiling at him and talking.  Cecil like Chapter too and he said he was a fine boy:)  Having Cecil in Chapter's life means a lot to me.  I think it is incredible and wonderful for Chapter to know his Great-Grandpa.  I never even met one of my grandfathers since they both died years before I was born.  That makes if wonderful for me to have Cecil in my life too since he's the only grandpa I've ever had that I knew.  Plus, he's gotta be the cutest old man I've ever seen, and really really with it for a man of his age:) We love you Grandpa!

St. Patricks Day

St. Patrick's Day was on a Sunday this year and on Sunday morning we thought we had better live it up since Chapter only gets one first St. Paddy's:)  The only problem was he doesn't have any church appropriate green clothes.  Only some obnoxious green sneaker socks that I don't think he has ever even worn which I suppose could be worn to church, if only they weren't so ugly:)  Then I remembered that I had this pin that I got last St. Patrick's day and he wore it.  Most of the other kids were decked out in green church clothes but the pin saved Chap from getting pinched!  Phew!

We didn't get Chapter anything for St. Patrick's Day (Oh the shame!) but his Grandma's gave him cards and money and treats, you know the usual Grandma stuff.  It was a fun day!

5 Months

Chap is 5 months old!  I can't even believe it!  Yesterday was the first day that we "did" his hair and it was SO CUTE!  He is growing up so fast.  He also scooted backwards in his walker yesterday.  We bought him some oatmeal cereal instead of the rice and it tastes so much better and he eats it really well.  So far he has eaten sweet potatoes, bananas, and pears.  Pears are definitely his favorite, I think he would eat those all day long if we let him:)  He's so cute and happy and he laughs every day now.  We're so lucky to have such an amazing little boy in our home.

Dooms Day We're On Our Way

Sydney and I have been thinking that we've needed to start getting our own food storage and not relying on our parents.  Because Sydney's mom doesn't really have much and the Ron Blake Smith's isn't as full as it used to be when mom was in charge. Also we feel that Ivins might be too dangerous of a trip if and when we do need food from storage.  We don't have much so far but we got a little a months worth of freeze dried food our 55 gal of water and some other items from the cannery we're working on getting more as the funds become available.  Also as you can see, and as much as Sydney hates it, I am also working on ways to protect said  food storage. Now if only the ammo shortage would go away.

72 hour kits here we come!

Valentine's Day

Yesterday was an exciting day at our house.  It was Chapter's first Valentine's Day!
Here are the Valentines that he sent to his Aunties and Grandmas.

We had a lot of fun making these:) Super cute!

Then he also got a card with money from Grandma Deb and a card and stuffed puppy from Grandma M.  We also got him a balloon.  There is only so much you can do when he can't eat candy! He also got his sweet bib from my sister Kristy and the shirt he is wearing underneath (that you can't see) but it's really cute too, it has a raccoon on it and it says Love Bandit:) His girlfriend or godmother or whatever she is calling herself these days (Allie Madsen) also brought us some cookies.

This year was similar to last year in that we had dinner at home and had the rest of the fancy steaks we bought for my birthday in December.  Super yummy!  I also made cherry drop dessert.  This year to mix it up we set a $5 limit for each other to get gifts.  We basically have a ton of junk food, but it really made it more fun to scheme what we could get for only $5.  Logan got me a bunch of Reeses Eggs.  I got Logan some orange soda, swedish fish, baby ruth, and chocolate covered pretzels.  And much like all the other events since Chapter was born, it seems we only managed to take pictures of him:) He's so much fun, but we're going to have almost no material to put on the anniversary video this year. Maybe it will just be a Chapter video:)  But anyway, yesterday was quite memorable!

4 months

My boy is 4 months old!  When we took him to the doctor he did a great job with his shots and only cried for a minute.  He has been rolling over intermittently and laughed for the first time on Feb. 8 (other than in his sleep which he has been doing his whole life pretty much). We tried feeding him rice cereal and he ate it the first time like a champ, but he hates it now and he cries the whole time.  His eyes are still blue and he's pretty amazing.  I'm so worried that I won't be able to remember every little detail of his whole life and that terrifies me.  I want to remember every moment just the way it is and remember how happy we are and how sweet and adorable my boy is.

Baby: $1,000/lb

What do you do when you need to decide if it's time to move your baby to the next diaper size and you don't have a scale?  You take him to the local grocery store and try to get your friend Kali to weigh him in the deli department, but when she won't, you do the next best thing and weigh him like a melon on a produce scale.

Turns out, we don't need to move him up a diaper size and he has gained about one pound in a month.  I guess that Costco formula is working:)

New Years 2013!

Since Chapter got his first sickness the day after Christmas we spent New Years Eve day at the Dr. office with half of St. George.  We decided to spend the night home and start our own traditions.

 Since we are "rolling over" to a new year we're going to make Rolo cookies and eat them.  More things will come later I'm sure, but it's a start.

Also since Chapter is 1/8 Danish he get's visited by Mother Goose, who leaves a present in his shoe on New Years morning.  Mother Goose brought him the three month nipples for his bottles, because tomorrow is his three month birthday.  We all know Chapter likes to get his milky as easily as possible.

Our House Turns 40

My Parents moved into the home they built on January 1st 1973.  It was a modest home with some peculiar quirks, but it was a place of love and laughter for many years.

 Over the years the home evolved into what it is now.  As you can see it got a tan, it grew a foot or two, and it also has many more neighbors.  

We moved in about a two and a half years ago and we love it.  The house is now on it's 1st automatic sprinkler system, 2nd set of windows, 3rd Generation of Blakes, it's 4th TV, and 5th child.

Happy Birthday House! 

Stuff you Pawn

This year for Christmas we treated ourselves to some things we've been wanting.  I've been wanting to get a new gun of some sort and I thought it was a good time to buy my first AR-15.  I was going to get another shot gun for mom and Chapter, but I thought I would be more likely to be able to purchase one of those down the road.  Sydney blames Glen Madsen for me buying this "Tacky" gun, but she really should blame Glenn Beck.

For Sydney we got her a new opal ring.  a few years ago after we hiked Coyote Gulch, Sydney bought an opal ring to commemorate her first backpacking trip.  You see Sydney has a fetish for birthstones and opal happens to be my birthstone.  Last spring while listening to Elder Oaks at Stake conference the opal fell out of her ring and we lost it.  I guess you can't expect a 30 dollar ring from Ruby's Inn to last forever, but at least more than 3 years would be nice.  With Chapter deciding to be born in October instead of September. We decided that instead of getting two birthstone rings we should get one nice one.  Luckily we found a simple yet beautiful black opal at Mack and Sons Jewelry  which was good because every where else was out of them or had lame settings even the pawn shops.  I like the Black opal because it's different and blue, so it matches mine and Chapter's eyes, seems more fitting that way don't you think?

Chapter's 1st Christmas

This year was the very 1st Christmas for Chapter.  It was an eventful one at that. We started out at home and took some pictures after we had the "Christmas" dinner with my family.

We decided that we needed to participate in the tradition of eating soup and listening to the scanner in Elsinore, so we went up there for a couple of days and had a white Christmas. It snowed all day on Christmas Eve.   

 Chapter couldn't quite open his presents, but he tried, we think next year will be his year.

 He did like the left overs...

and sleeping on his Christmas pillow.

This year Chapter was also the star of the show at the ward party.  He played baby Jesus and made all the old ladies cry with his moving performance.