Don’t stand back and watch, get creative and dive in.

This year for Spring Break, we took the kids to Southern Utah for a few days.  Then we have spent the rest of the time at home having an awesome STAYCATION!!!

I love Staycations.  I NEED more time with my kids just being at home.  I LOVE having all our activities and sports canceled for the week, and having time to just chill; and cross some things off our list.

Plus, I don’t love our kids thinking that we always have to big or go home!! It’s ok to just be together @ home. …or go small and travel via car to places closer to where we live.  I grew up that way, and I had a great childhood.

This was the perfect week for us to dye Easter Eggs.  Since the kids are older now, it was finally time to break out the magazines and try some of the fun stuff we have seen other people try.  I thought it would be fun to show you what we did. I thought it would spark some ideas for you for this upcoming Easter Holiday.

I was ready to dive in and get creative too.

I thought I would give each project we tackled a level of difficulty.

Then you could assess if you want to attempt it with your age of children and decide if it would work with your family.

You don’t have to do all of these that we did.  You could just choose one to try if your looking for something fun and new.

Level 1 being Easy- 5 being Advanced. 

1) means it’s something that a 5 year old could manage

2) something that my 7 year old can do on her own

3) something that my 7 year old can do but might need help with in some areas

4) something that my 9 year old can manage on his own

5) something that my 12 year old can do, but she is super capable

(these all really need ADULT supervision)

OK.  Lets dye eggs

We had such a great time together.  Usually I stand back and photograph, but mostly I participated this time. Oh! and I just realized that the girls and I decided that it was a bun day today.  It is going to storm today so why do your hair? Buns for the hair it is!

  Jex didn’t join us, because it is the last day of ski season.  Skiing is everything to that boy, so we let him pass this time.

I found that these mini muffin trays, hold the eggs so well.

I picked this one up at our local thrift store this last week.  I even spray painted it to make it look adorable, not even knowing I would use it for this purpose.  So go search out your thrift stores.  I’m going to use it for jewelry or little craft supplies when I’m done with this.

We just used the normal dyes that you buy at the grocery store for egg dying.  I made a few fun colors out of vinegar and food coloring too. I always buy two egg dying kits because none of the kids are patient enough to wait on colors.  I also never like the process to take hours.  That was a trick I learned a long time ago.  It’s worth the extra $1.50.  

We made sure to leave a few eggs white, because we had some plans for those.

The kids and I liked trying to make some of them hombre, and dipping in two colors and seeing what happens.  We tried all sorts of fun things when it comes to the dying part.

THE GOLDEN LETTERED EGG

Ok!  One of our favorite decorating tricks was actually with spray paint.  We took a white egg, and added a sticker.  Make sure to press it down hard.

Then we took the egg outside and spray painted them gold.

Once they were dry we took the sticker off

Seriously so much fun!!  These would make great place cards at the dinner table on Easter.

Level: 5 because of Spray paint

GOLD SPONGING

We did another fun one with some Gold Paint.

We did some sponge painting on the eggs.  We used gold paint and some sponge brushes.  If you don’t have sponge brushes, you could use sponges cut in strips.

They give the eggs such a fun feel. 

Level: 3 for sure.  Tess did this mostly on her own.  For sure needs a good hand washing after.

PUFF PAINT POLKA DOT EGGS

We have had a good stash of puff paint on hand for a while, so I thought why not?

The important thing to remember with this is that it takes a while to dry. 

So you can only do about half of the egg at a time.

We did polka dots mostly, and even wrote a few words like Stella’s IDK for I don’t know.(cause she ran out of things to say)

Notice how only half of the egg is polka dotted.  This is the kids tray.  They need to come back and finish the egg.

Level:I would say this is between a 3 and 4 for difficulty.  Tess needed some help with this, and Isaac just needed help getting started.

WASHI SHAPES AND STRIPES

Can you say WASHI?

We use it for everything at our house.  We put washi tape on everything.  We decided to put it on the eggs to.  It made them look awesome.

Some we just put around the middle of the egg as a stripe around the middle.  I cut teeny tiny triangles, and put them all over an egg.

Depending on what you are doing with the washi depends on the level.

Level:1 for just a simple wrap around stripe.  Difficult shapes would be a 5.

GLITTER EGGS

Glitter is just too fun not to be added to the mix.

This was simple.  We just used a simple glue pen and added it to our egg where we wanted the glitter to be.  You can draw shapes, symbols, letters or words.

Then with the help of a big person, the glitter was added.

Tessa wrote the number 8, because she is turning 8 this year.

8 is a big year in our church.  It is the year you are baptized, and she is excited about that.

Level: 1 for using a glue pen and drawing the design, 5 for adding the glitter

NOTE: I like the Heidi Swapp glitter it can be found at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.

MARBLE EGGS

The last one the kids loved was the marble eggs.  It seemed to work best with white eggs; not dyed. I tried it on a colored egg, and it worked but not as well.

It involves fingernail polish and a bowl that you don’t care to keep.

Fill the bowl with warm water, and add a few drops of finger nail polish.  Then stir with a small straw.

Drag egg through the polish until it is completely covered.  Then just allow the polish to dry. 

The pink one in the center is mine with mint nail polish on it.  It didn’t work as well.  You can see though, how we have done a few of these different techniques together on one egg.  This pink egg is dyed, it’s got mint polish, and gold glitter on it.  So try doing a few together and see what happens.

These polish ones look really cool and have a great marble effect.  If you want to use another color when using the polish, just rinse out the bowl, and then pick a new polish color. Start the process over.  When you are finish, throw the bowl away.  You may want to use rubber gloves for this technique.

Level: 5 for sure!! Stella did these all by herself.  She even did mine. I just supervised.

So… here is a little taste of how mine came together:

I do have a couple words written on mine with puff paint, but I am saving those for a later date. You will have to stay tuned to see what those say. It was fun writing on them in cursive with cursive handwriting and puff paint.  That is something to try also.

The kids did awesome too!!

…and I had so much fun hanging out with them.

I love spending time with my kids being creative.

I hope this sparks a few ideas, and makes you want to dive into the egg dying process with your kids this year.  It really was so much fun. 

I am so glad I joined in this year!!

 

Baptism

In our church, we believe in Baptism by Immersion.  The Savior was baptized by Immersion, and in order to become more like him we should follow his ways.

Immersion is symbolic of the death of a person's sinful life and the rebirth into a spiritual life, promising to be dedicated to the service of God and His children.

We also believe in being baptized at the age of 8.  We believe that is the age of accountability.  That’s the age that children become accountable for their actions, before then Satan cannot tempt children.  We believe that little children are redeemed through the mercy of Christ.

Our sweet Isaac turned 8 this year.

He chose to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

We believe that in order to become a member of the LDS church, you must be baptized.

He wants to be a part of this amazing church. I couldn’t be more proud.

He was baptized by his father a few weeks ago in our church building.  Each church building has their own font, allowing for baptism by immersion.

After the baptism, he received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Remember when Jesus promised the apostles that he wouldn’t leave them comfortless?  That he would send them a comforter?  We believe that gift is a gift for all who receive the gospel into their lives.  Isaac was given the special gift of the Holy Ghost, also known as the comforter.

I am so thankful to have the Holy Ghost in my own life.  I rely on him daily.  God really doesn’t leave us to walk through our life alone.  He is there, and he sent a comforter to be there too.

After the special ordinances that took place that morning, we celebrated the day with family and friends.

I loved having people that mean so much to Isaac be there with us to celebrate his choice.

(CTR-stands for Choose the Right)

I know it helped him recognize how loved he is, and just how important this decision is.

We had a delicious waffle bar back at our house, and enjoyed every moment of celebrating such an amazing young man.

For more information about what we believe about baptism and the Holy Ghost; click on the links above.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest gift I have, I am thankful to share it with my family. 

I am thankful to share it with Isaac, and I am willing to share it with any one else who may want to know more. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask me. 

Oh happy day Isaac, we love you!!

All about number 2.

I have been trying to write about each child here on my blog, so I can remember all about them at this time in their life.  I have already shared about Tess and Isaac.

Now it is the second child’s turn.

Stella is almost 11 years old.  I am not sure where the time went.

About 12 years ago when we were contemplating having another baby, I had a dream about her.

In my dream, I saw this beautiful baby girl named Grace.

When I got pregnant just a few weeks later, I knew we were having a girl.

When she was born, we named her Stella Grace.  She was born in Utah, while her dad was away at school in the Caribbean.  She decided to come a little early, and he didn’t make it in time.

I think she knew she had to come.  The cord was wrapped around her neck 2 times and was choking her when she would turn her head.  I knew then that we had a smart, strong, brave, little cookie on our hands.

Stella met her dad for the first time in the SLC airport when she was 1 week old.

That has not stopped them from having a close relationship. 

Stella and Jonathan share a special bond.

Stella loves to have lots of friends, and is all about having fun.  She has always enjoyed having lots of friends. 

She is also very free-spirited, and doesn’t worry much about time or working quickly.  This has been some what of a struggle for me, because I always have my time mapped out and work very fast.

 

We have learned not to let it get in our way.  We are learning to meet in the middle.  I slow down some, and she will speed up a little.  There are many times I wish I was a little more carefree like Stella.

Stella came knowing what she wants.  She has always been very opinionated. 

She always knows what she wants things to look like.  She always knows what she wants her birthday cakes to look like.  Every year, I have to work hard to replicate her ideas.

She has always wanted to pick out her clothes, and has in mind how she wants everything to be.  For example, she usually has her Halloween costume picked out 6 months in advance. 

She was not very excited last year when I made her be Anna, because Isaac and Tess were being Olaf and Elsa. 

We took a trip to Disney for the Disney Halloween party, and I wanted them to have coordinating costumes.

She was not!, however, being Anna for Halloween at home!!  This was a battle for us because I put so much time in to making her costume. Once again, we compromised.  She wore Anna to school, and borrowed Batgirl from a friend for her evening with friends. 

I am learning with kids, it’s all about the compromise.

Stella discovered last year that she loves to run.  She took second place in the North Park Mile for our school.  She has such long pretty legs, and makes such a good runner. 

This year, she let discouragement overtake her during the race.  She had to fight her way to the front in the beginning and wore herself out very quickly.  Then she psyched herself out over it, and decided that she couldn’t do it.  She literally stopped when she was right in the front about 2/3rd of the way through.  My friend Emily grabbed her and helped her keep going, and she still finished in 5th place.

  She learned that day that she can do hard things.  This saying hangs in her room to remind her that she is awesome, and she has to remember that.

  I think that can be hard for young girls to remember.

Stella loves to bake. 

I started teaching her when she was three and she is pretty self-sufficient in the kitchen now. 

Last year, she baked with her friends for several days. 

Then they put on a bake sale.  It was fun to see her work so hard for something. 

She is a delicious baker. 

We recently went to the public library.  All she checked out were cookbooks.  That’s what she wants to be when she grows up.

She has always loved being a mommy.  She loved both times we brought new babies home.

When Tess was born, Stella was 5. 

She would hold Tess on her lap when she was a newborn for hours.  I would make dinner and Stella would sit and hold Tessa.  She tries to be the mother figure a lot with the kids, and I think it’s because she is the oldest girl.  It is so helpful when I’m not around or I need her help. 

The little kids don’t like it though when I am around.  They think she is being bossy.  I think she will be a wonderful mother.  She is very interested in babysitting for other people now.

She has been very good to help take care of her nieces and nephews.

Stella came to our house tough.  She rarely cries.  She is not the type of girl that wants to open up about girl problems or something bothering her, and just let it all out.

If she does, then she will cry!!  I mean really cry.  When she finally lets it all out, she can cry hard.  I just let her lay on my lap when that happens and cry it out.  I think she cried the hardest when she moved from Kindergarten to 1st grade and didn’t get to see her Kindergarten teacher every day.

  She just sobbed because she missed her so much.  

Stella had her tonsils out at 5, and was so tough. 

Since then, she has broken 2 bones.

The last bone was her foot.  She came over to me with tears on her cheeks.  She wasn’t sobbing.  She just let the tears roll, not making a sound.  I knew immediately that she had broken a bone, because she doesn’t cry when she gets hurt.  I knew it must be bad enough if she was going to cry. 

Jex has always been her best friend. 

They share a special bond.

One of her favorite things to do is just have mom all to herself.  She wants to go shopping with me, or just chill on the couch and watch a girl show.  She loves watching HGTV with me, or talking about house design with me.

Stella loves comfortable clothes.  She doesn’t care to be all dressed up.  She loves to be comfortable.  You will usually see her in running shorts with her hair in a pony.  This love of comfort also adds to her opinions about what clothes she wants.  She has always been this way.  At a very early age, she would ask me to cut the tags out of her clothes because she couldn’t stand them rubbing against her.

Stella has become an awesome photographer. 

She has a very good eye for composition.  However, she hates to edit pictures or deal with unloading them on her computer.  I’m helping her learn to love it. 

She wants to start her own photography business.  She might have to train her brother to edit for her. 

Stella is very creative, and always wants to be working on some sort of project.

She comes up with some great ideas.  When she plans FHE she puts lots of thought into it.  This is her photo booth she set-up for Family Home Evening one night.

Stella also likes to be funny, the life of the party and very sarcastic.  She is very witty.

Her favorite food is salad.  She really doesn’t like to eat unhealthy things; unless it’s cotton candy of course.

Stella started taking dance when she was really little.

After a few years she decided that she didn’t want to do it anymore.

Now, she has taken it up again, and has had to work really hard to learn all the stuff she missed during those years that she took off. 

I am very proud of her.  She worked hard this year, and made a competitive team.

There is only one thing in life that Stella really wants, and that is a Dog.  She has been begging us since she was so little.  She is thrilled that we finally caved and gave in.

  

We hope that Saba settles in, and I pray that Stella can do all the potty training. 

Stella has picked up skiing beautifully, and has turned into someone who can keep up with her dad on skis.

Stella adds so much to our family.  We are so blessed to have her in our home. 

I pray she continues to grow up to be such a fun, spunky, brave, and amazing girl.

 

I pray that as her mother, I can give her what she needs and embellish the beautiful qualities that she possesses. 

…and that is a little bit about Stella.