a is for aagard: Pictures I know you want to see

I'm tired.

Normally, I wouldn't bombard you with 50+ photos of my family, adorable as we are. Unless you are my mother, you just aren't invested in me like that.

Normally, I wouldn't make you read through my play-by-play of each photo, telling all about the boring-to-you, exciting-to-us day-to-day details of our lives. Unless you are my mother, you just aren't invested in me like that.

Normally, I wouldn't wait a month to post, thus creating the problem of needing to catch you up with 50+ photos and boring captions. And unless you are my mother, you just aren't invested in being caught up, anyway.

Nevertheless, I'm tired. I'm still teaching preschool 2 days a week. I'm still teaching Gospel Doctrine every Sunday. I'm planning my curriculum for a ballet class I'm teaching this summer. And I'm slaving away in the yard, trying to prep our garden bed for the seedlings that need to be transplanted soon, and trying to make the front yard look like we might actually care. Which is debatable. And all this fresh air and sunshine means that I'm spent by 9:00 every night. So blogging became the inevitable casualty in this equation.

However, for my mother, here are 50+ photos and their boring descriptions of everything we did over the Easter/Conference/Michael's birthday weekend. (Notice that none of these pictures have anything to do with Conference or Michael's birthday.)

And to all my other readers, come back soon!

First up: Going to the science center to pet real bunnies, get our faces painted, make bunny hats, and eat on their little chairs in the cafeteria. (I think eating on the little chairs was Shaelyn's favorite part of the day.)

Yes, that is Shaelyn touching a bunny. BIG deal. She is afraid of all living things other than humans, and even most of those.

I thought Rachelle looked like such a big girl sitting in a little chair a the table! (See how boring these details can be!)

Shaelyn loves this picture. (This was not deliberate - this was the result of her saying "Cheese!" She never poses for pictures, even if it's a funny pose.) She laughs hysterically every time she sees it and requests looking at it several times a day. Maybe I should just frame it and put it in her room.
PS - What is Michael thinking in this picture?

Another BIG deal - Shaelyn normally would have never stayed still for something like this, much less let a stranger touch her. Signs she is growing up.

And proud of it, too.

We decided to let Rachelle have a go at the face painting. She's mild-mannered, after all.

Babies don't like paint on their face.

Next up: Good Friday cookout at a friends' house. We don't actually celebrate Good Friday, so we ate burgers and other non-Good-Friday foods.

This is Shaelyn's surrogate big sister. They love each other. And could play together for hours. That smile says it all!

I have two front teeth! Just wanted to show them off. They're 1/2 of what I have!

L-O-V-E this picture.

Next: Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch at another friends' house. You'll start to see a theme. By the end of this weekend, we were sick of seeing our friends. (See Mom, since you're the only one reading this, I'm allowed to say that.)

Rachelle's first official egg hunt. She finally got the hang of it. (Mom, remember this dress?)

Next day hunt (at home). Getting the hang of it and holding her own pail.

Victorious!

The expert hunter.

Enjoying the spoils. Sugar coma soon to follow.

Cozy Coupe sisterly love

The hit of the party? Live chicks! Notice who is super excited to reach out and touch them, and who is nowhere to be found in any of these photos.

Happy about Easter. And a rare smile captured on camera!

Next day: Easter Sunday! General Conference! (So I did mention it.) The Easter bunny delivered his goods and we had a whole morning to enjoy it (and egg hunt outside) before the 12:00 session. Next year we'll start the tradition of the Easter Bunny coming on Saturday.

More Candy!

Forget the candy. It's a BUNNY! With a carrot to eat! In this little girl's always-existing pretend world, this is better than a basket full of candy. He remained uneaten, and played with, every day for a long time.

Finally: Easter Dress. Since conference was on Easter Sunday, we wore ours the Sunday before. I bought these dresses when Michael and I were first married, WAAAAY before we were ever even thinking about having kids, for a friends' two little girls. But I never gave them to her. So I held on to them, and years later, my own two little girls are wearing them.