Decorating Eggs

In preparation for Easter egg hunts, I picked up a egg dye kit from the store so Ellie and I could have an activity to do one night. Last year, she did this activity with Mimi and Pa. This year, it was just me! I made sure to have everything ready and Ellie helped me pour the vinegar, water and tablets in so we could watch the colors form and name each one. It was a lot more fun this year seeing her understand what we were doing. The only concept left for her to grasp is that eggs are breakable. She wanted to keep picking up the eggs with the spoon and then drop them back in the dye. Maybe next year...

Decorating them with stickers the next day - notice we are missing 2 (shattered shells from dropping them)

A little song for Daddy

Spring Videos and Pics

Ellie & Callie

Making Banana Bread Together

Scary Spiders (the blind mosquitoes that are everywhere)

Scary Spider Search

The Denny Boys

One of our favorite things to do since living in our house in Knoxville has been to walk around the neighborhood at night. Usually, this consists of a long stop at the Denny's house, my best friend from FL that lives in my same neighborhood. She has 3 boys - Isaac, Micah and Thad (we call him Thadpole). Ellie LOVES spending time with them so we try to do so whenever we can. Becca's husband has to work many nights of the week in his job (athletic director at a private school) so we try to visit when we can for sanity and company. Recently, they made the decision to put their house up for sale due to having CRAPPY neighbors and they wanted to build. Their house sold in time for them to get the house they have been wanting. SO, we have been trying to spend as much time with them at their house before they moved. Here are some pics and video of them riding bikes (and Ellie and Thad trying).

Here are some pics from our attempt to get a picture of the four of them so we could document their ages and sizes before Becca moved. I put a couple of them on here so you could see how hilarious it was to try to get all 4 of them to look at the camera at the same time!

Quick Trip to Clarksville

I was excited to be able to go to my Army friend, Claire Teter's baby shower in Clarksville. There are a few ladies that I have kept in touch with after our time as active duty Army and one of my first friends was Claire. We met when Jesse and I were stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and came together to 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne. She was a rock for me while we lived there - we went through a deployment together, were in Officers Christian Fellowship together, and we worked out a lot while there in Zumba or just taking LONG walks. Ellie and I took a quick trip over so we could take some gifts for Baby Annie and surprise Claire. It had been in the works for a while and it was great to see her! Claire threw me a baby shower while we were at Ft Campbell and I couldn't wait to support her like she did for me. Ellie and another little boy, Sammy, helped Claire open her gifts and we all had a good time.

After the shower, I went to my old co-worker Carrie's house to stay for the night and we had a cookout with 2 of my other old co-worker's, Alexandria and Jasin, who are now married! We ate together and played games and laughed. It was wonderful to see them again. Ellie had a blast!

The next morning, Ellie and I drove back and stopped in Nashville to meet Poppi & Pippa (Bill & Cindy Mason) at Cracker Barrel for brunch so we could catch up with them. That helped me break up the trip. It was a fast trip, but great to see all of the people I crammed in to the short visit!

Cragwall St. Patty's Day Party

One of my favorite get togethers with Jesse's family is on St. Patrick's Day. Since Jesse's mother's family has an Irish heritage, this is one of her favorite holiday's to celebrate and she goes ALL OUT! Each year, she makes a slammin' corned beef, cabbage and potatoes meal (my favorite thing she makes) and then, the leprechan's always leave green treats for the kids. The treats usually end up being a random assortment, but everything is green! This year, she did a scavenger hunt to find the presents for the grandkids. Ellie didn't get it, but Taylor and Parker had a blast! Opening Presents from the Leprechaun's

Doing Some Messy Bubbles and a Message to Jesse from your Mom

A rainbow to finish the night off appropriately - from the leprechaun's!

Spring Break in FL

Ellie and I flew down to FL on Friday, March 2nd and this time, she had her own seat! As painful as it was to pay for 2 seats instead of just one this time, it was worth every penny! She was so proud of herself and did a great job, with the help of a few "wahwepops" and a lovely portable dvd player. I was so ready for some relaxation and a few breaks from doing everything so it couldn't have come at a better time.

Riding Ellie's Bicycle
The first weekend we were there, we went up to the Bloomin' Arts Festival that my hometown hosts each year. I found some earrings that I loved and we got to walk around and see some people we knew.

We spent a lot of time out in the sun and one of Ellie's favorite things to do was to play in the sprinkler. I got to lay out and read a lot, which was super relaxing for me. It was great to have some time where I wasn't planning meals or had to be certain places.

Playing with the Pink Kitty Sprinkler

My birthday was on Monday and how better to start my day than with my favorite Publix donuts. Then, we went on a shopping spree to Beall's (my gift from my parents) and Ellie brought her own purse, stuffed with Bunny and Bear. We got out in the sun and then ended the day with a steak dinner and Publix cake (of course)! I also got some beautiful flowers from my Daddy.

My Birthday Cake Celebration
We went to visit a few friends of mine while down there for some playdates. First, we saw my friend Becky and her daughter Hope. After playing with LOTS of toys, we went outside and Ellie got to see some cows up close and jumped on the trampoline. Later that week, we went to Ashley's house and we ran Lake Hollingsworth with her little boy and Ellie in the double stroller. Then, we spent some time letting the kids play in Ashley's backyard and of course the trampoline was a great hit!
Jumping on the Trampoline with Bowen, my friend Ashley's little boy


"I got a scatch, Daddy!"

On Thursday, Dad took the day off and we headed out to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. The Zoo was awesome - lots of great stuff for toddlers to do. It was my parent's first time going there too and I think they enjoyed it. Ellie had a great time!
Ellie's 1st Carousel Ride

We had lots of time playing in the backyard and Ellie had a great time playing in the water and with dirt. I found a water gun in my old stuff and Ellie LOVED playing with that!

Ellie's 1st Water Pistol

Our last full day in FL, we went to church and then came home after lunch. As soon as we changed clothes, I brought Ellie over to the Toddler Playground that is about 4 minutes from my house. Sadly, I didn't discover this until then but I wanted to give her some time to play. She quickly made friends with a 6 year old named Hayley that was really sweet and offered to take her around and play with her.
Bartow Toddler Playground

It was a great visit with my parents and I appreciated the help. It was a great break and very rejuvinating to get me through this last part of the deployment.