Thursday, April 28, 2011

Egg Hunt – Volume I

Though I was a little concerned that all the chaotic weather we’ve been experiencing could put a damper (a favorite pun for sure) on all the Easter festivities I had planned for my little big girl, the Big Man pulled through for his celebration weekend and everything went swimmingly. So many reasons to be thankful this Easter holiday!

I’d really hoped to find a community Egg Hunt that sounded like “us” and when I heard about The Colony’s Annual Egg Extravaganza, my interest was peaked. Though a long morning of Ellis Ranch exploring made for a late and long nap, nearly causing us to miss the excitement, we made it in time. They had all sorts of activities set up!

We met the Easter Bunny (B thought he was hilarious from afar, but when it was out turn she pulled a “Santa” and clung to me like a barnacle to a whale) together:

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Met new friends on the playground:

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Decided that we’re still not ready for big-kid slides without Mommy or Daddy going with us:

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Allowed Mommy a chance to remind her of a new vocabulary word we’d discussed early that morning at the ranch…donkey:

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So pretty!

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Fed animals at the Petting Zoo:

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Soon enough we heard the announcement for B’s age group to head to our designated baseball field. We were in the largest group of all!

 

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The BLACK FIELD…look out!

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The long, long line of hunters + one parent filed into the field and starting lining the entire homerun fence. We stretched over the whole thing!

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I think we’re ready for this!

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HONK!!! The bullhorn blew and everyone went running! My little B didn’t get scared for a second and went right on our with everyone else into the field covered in eggs. She knew exactly what to do!

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Meanwhile, I was a) trying to compose myself and stop crying ‘cause I’m pretty darn sure I looked like a sappy idiot, and b) hiding my tears behind the camera trying desperately to catch all the fun on film (well, I guess its not film anymore, eh?!):

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How much do you love that beautifully crocheted clip from Lyd and Oli?! It looked perfect with her dress!

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Doin’ her egg huntin’ thang:

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That field was 100% clear in about 3 minutes!

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Surveying her loot. Glorious loot!:

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Even though Daddy rushed as quickly as possible from work, he still missed the egg hunt :(. He got there as we were checking out her glorious loot and we were so thrilled to see him!

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Bridget led Daddy right over the cool craft table we’d noticed. Each kid got a plastic cup for a pot, got to fill it with potting soil, and got that choice of annual flower. Ours is out back!

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Thanks for your help, Daddy!

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She quickly moved on from wanting to carry her egg basket to wanting to carry that plant:

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We wanted to show Daddy the petting zoo, and on the way we spied the big kids’ bounce house. She was certainly intrigued:

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Aren’t these two the most adorable ever?!?!

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Mommy likes herself a good petting zoo, too!

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As you could imagine, we had a little crasher on her couch when we finally got home and ready for bed. My little angel. My heart was so full!

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Neighborhood Egg Hunt is up next, followed by our glorious Sunday filled with lots of cuddly family time. Can’t wait to share!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Our little Ranch Hand!

Our tour through the Ellis Ranch in Era was just a blast. I was only disappointed that we couldn’t stay longer! Bridget loved seeing the “moos” and also gave them a new name…”push” (because that’s what Grammy taught her when they opened the cattle gate for our car). What fun us farm girls had!

*apologies for the iPhone pics, my camera decided to take a nap while we were there*

Grammy and Bridget having fun with puppy Arnie (we look forward to returning to the ranch in a few weeks to pic him up once he’s big enough!):

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GC and Mary’s house is just beautiful! Bridget took a particular liking to this “moo”:

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The entire back wall of their great room looks out over the whole landscape…envy!!!

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This kitty had a bone to pick with Mary and Lupe (the dog) because she wasn’t allowed in the house during the puppy weeks…not a happy kitty!

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You KNOW this one was excited to ride in the car with no car seat!!! Shh…don’t tell on us!

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Our friendly neighborhood cow herd, just going about their way:

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Mary and Bridget taking a peek at the wild pig GC had trapped inside this trailer (no discussion on her fate). She was MEAN!!! And we could see why as soon as we peeked in and saw that she had 5 baby wild piglets in there with her:

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Sorry its blurry…but can you see those babies?? They have the most amazing stripes. Such a cool teachable moment for Bridget!

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So many wonderful new things to talk about with my little farm girl. I was in heaven!

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Helping Grammy with the gate, and getting back to our Iowa roots!

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Baby moos everywhere!

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And do you notice the rocks in B’s hands? She’s OBSESSED. Purely, a woman OBSESSED.

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Can’t wait to come on a pretty, sunny day so we can see some “quah, quahs” on the lake or maybe get in for a nice dip!

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Back at the hacienda, Bridget notices a cool water feature…

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Before lunch, it was time for another recent fav…hand washing!

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Big girl! Rode in the car with no seat (again, shhh!), opened and closed the gate, and sat in a big girl chair for lunch and didn’t crawl out once! I’m so blessed to make these wonderful memories with my precious baby girl. What amazing things are in store for us tomorrow??

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I can’t wait to share with you all our fun stories from this year’s Easter celebrations! B’s first year for egg hunts = ADVENTURES!

Hoppy Easter, everyone!