A First for Mugger and Bug

Yesterday, the kiddos and I went to their first concert. It was only 30 minutes long and they spent most of it playing with Aunt Jen who met us there, but fun was had by all. So yes, it was worth the 3.5 hour total drive time!

So who did they see? Only their favorite "kindie" (kiddie + indie) artist, Justin Roberts. Mugger was a little disappointed that Justin and the band only did one song off of "Meltdown", the only Justin Roberts CD that we have, but it was great to hear some of his new songs off of "Pop Fly" and some others to see what we've been missing.

Aunt Jen, if you need a birthday idea for Mugger, there you go! I'm pretty sure he'll be getting this from us since "Imaginary Rhino" is his favorite song (as witnessed by the fact that he and Bug kept yelling for Justin to play it in between songs. OK, Mama was yelling, too...)

Resurrection Sunday

Easter Eve had ended with a very sad Bug being sent to bed... she didn't quite understand the Resurrection Cookies and why she had to leave them in the oven overnight. She was quite happy to discover them this morning as we finished our Easter devotion.Both kiddos were happy to open their Easter baskets from Grandma and Grandpa first thing. See how nicely Bug smiled when I told her the picture was for Grandma? (Yeah, none of the rest are worth posting!)Then it was time to get dressed for church. Such cheesy grins to go with their Easter outfits!
Once Papa got home from doing five church services, it was time to head to Nonnie and Gramps for a late Easter lunch. Mugger's favorite part of the meal was helping Aunt Jen make the whipped cream for dessert. Such a pro in the kitchen already!
Besides doing their egg hunt at Nonnie and Gramps' house, the kiddos also got Easter baskets from Nonnie and Gramps. (Can you see why Mama and Papa saved theirs until Monday morning?) Both Mugger and Bug enjoyed Bug's pop beads from Nonnie-- Mugger helped decorate Bug as well as himself!And here's our silly little Bug, in pop beads from head to toe! Happy Easter, everyone!

Christmas afternoon, 2007

So after a morning of opening family presents and going to church, it was time to head to Nonnie and Gramps for a Christmas dinner of roast duck-- thanks, Aunt Jen! Both Mugger and Bug loved it to our surprise-- we never know what they're going to love from one day to the next.

When it was time to open presents, Mugger was very excited for Gramps to open his Cookie of the Month Club. We delivered the first batch: train-shaped sugar cookies. Mugger is looking forward to our monthly baking adventures... and to sharing with Gramps.I think Bug was a little confused by the present I made for Aunt Jen: a felted bag made out of an old wool sweater. As purse-crazy as she is, I guess I should be glad she didn't try to take it from her!

Thanksgiving '07

Thanksgiving this year was one of our quieter ones, just the 4 of us and my sister, Jen. The kiddos were more than happy to have Aunt Jen all to themselves, though. She came early to play games with Mugger and help us cook-- though with some interesting logic Mugger tried to convince all of us he had made most of the meal since he had helped me shop for all the dishes!After our feast, we headed down to the beach. The kiddos and Papa did some sandcastle-building (the only reason the beach exists, as far as they're concerned) until Jen & I came to get them to check out all the wildlife in the tidepools. Mugger had fun rock-scrambling with Aunt Jen, spotting the little fish and hermit crabs, and both he and Bug liked watching the "sea enemies" (sea anenomes), as he called them.
At dark we headed home for pumpkin pie. Mugger seems to be as crazy for pumpkin pie as his parents, so the 4 pies I made Wednesday were gone by Sunday. (Well, one went home with Jen...) Good thing the kiddos were such good help at making them!