Let's color some eggs!

The days before Easter were beautiful this year, so we decided to take the egg-coloring fun outside. No worries about the mess that way either. The girls had a lot of fun and Ellie enjoyed her first year of official egg-dyeing participation. 

Having lots of fun

The beautiful finished eggs

And the next morning there was the excitement of finding the Bunny's hidden surprises...

Don't forget the best part...chocolate before breakfast!

Mini-Golf = Mega Fun

We have a much loved new pastime at our house...mini-golf!!! I remember loving this "sport" as a kid, even though the opportunities for playing it back then were few and far between. It was usually something we got to do only when we visited our grandma and grandpa in the summertime. Well, we decided it would be fun to introduce the girls to something new, and there are a couple of fun courses nearby, so we headed out. The whole concept of getting the ball into the hole with as few strokes as possible seemed a little elusive to them at first, so we decided to forgo scorecards and swing away. Personally, I think it's much more fun that way anyway.   

All the clubs were a little too big for Ellie, so she just carried her yellow ball around.

Trying to get this golfing thing all figured out

Maybe it will help if we all get a little bit closer...

Posing with the golf clubs

Swing,

Swing again,

And if all else fails, just drop the ball in the hole!

Getting some extra help from Dad is always a good option too!

High Ho, High Ho, A Camping We Did Go. . .

It's only logical that Jay returns from sea, and we leave to go camping the first opportunity we get. We rented a pop-up trailer from MWR, and headed out to our beloved Olympic Mountains. We weren't about to let the fact that it was April in the Pacific Northwest hider us either. We camped along the beautiful Dosewallips River. And enjoyed every moment of chilliness, drizzle, and fleeting sunshine that we got. The girls rated it as one of the best camping trips they'd ever had, so that alone qualifies it as a success. 

Enjoying the pop-up

Our humble campsite

This was how Buggy looked the whole trip.

Thank goodness I packed many extra clothes!

My grizzled mountain man

Perusing a camping book Daddy had when he was a boy

Hanging out

My official morning coffee maker, bless him!

Thankfully Ellie was prepared for the puddles.

She inspected them all!

Being silly!



Ring Around the Rosie

One of Ellie's favorite pastimes at the moment...luckily her big sisters are more than happy to indulge her...

"Ring-around-the-rosie..."

"A pocket full of posies."

"Ashes, ashes..."

"We all fall down!"

Ready, Set, Dress Up. . .

There's nothing more fun than dressing-up, especially when your big sister is your own personal stylist...

Fishing Fun

One of the first things we did after Jay got home was to take the girls to Olympic National Park. It is so breath-takingly beautiful there, and has always been one of our favorite haunts. We've been going there since the first time we lived in Washington when we were first married. Love, love, love it!!! And now it is associated with so many fun and wonderful memories, that we can't help but to love it all the more. Since it was still March, we just went for the day and brought along a picnic and the fishing poles!

Ellie enjoying the Doritos

Cheesy Face

Kate and her fishing gear

Heading to the river

We didn't have any luck in the fishing department this day, but we were fortunate enough to see a herd of elk as we were driving home. It was then that we realized the girls had never seen elk before. They were a bit stymied as to what these creatures might be. The guesses ranged from llamas to camels. We won't let our Wyoming relatives know that our children were unable to identify elk. Grandpa would be shaking his head...  

Finally!!!

After six and a half very L-O-N-G months, the ship returned!!! We had survived and now we were about to return to normal life! Well, whatever constitutes normal life when your husband or dad is in the Navy. On homecoming day I took the ferry to the base with Kate and Ellie. They were doubly excited.  Daddy was coming home! And they were also going to see Maddie. This was the first time they had been away from her for more than a day. Everyone was anxious and excited! Kate and Ellie were very patient and well-behaved considering the size of the crowd and the high level of emotion surrounding this day. Luckily, this was the first time in all Jay's years of homecomings that he wasn't one of the last ones off the ship. He and Maddie were in the beginning group of people off, so we didn't have to wait long. Kate and Ellie were ecstatic when they saw their dad! And then we hurried up to get this guy away from the ship and home with us as fast as we could! 

Waiting patiently on the pier

Almost time!

There's the ship!

Here he comes!

Finally getting to hug Dad

Ellie was so excited to have this guy back!

Home at last! No better place in the world!