Drift Creek Falls

Yesterday we headed to the beach for some fun family time. Before leaving, M found a nice trail head that led to a waterfall we could hike to. We loaded up the van and headed to the beach. On the way, K got sick and threw up in the car. Luckily we were able to get it all cleaned up and it didn't really smell. I think she just got car sick from all the windy roads we were on. She felt better after we got out of the car for a while and didn't get sick again. So that was an adventure to start out our day.
We got to the beach and dropped our stuff off at my aunts beach house then headed to the trail head. We got there around 1:30pm. The hike is about a mile and a half through a beautiful forest. I still can't get over how green and pretty the forest's are around here. Anyway, the hike was nice and there weren't a lot of people so we could listen to the woodland creatures and the babbling brook. K found a stick at one point and used to to "walk" with. She mostly just poked it at things. L did a decent job of walking but about halfway down to the water fall she broke down in a tantrum because she wanted to be held. After a while she realized she would have to walk and was fine.
When we got close to the falls, we found there was a cable bridge you had to walk across to see the falls. M had purposely left this out when we discussed going here because he knows how scared of heights I am and didn't think I would go. He walked about halfway out on it and I decided to venture after him. The bridge was swaying in the light breeze and once I was away from land, my equilibrium started getting all wacky. But I persevered and made it across the bridge. He was very proud of me and so was I. We went down to the creek and had a little snack while daddy ventured off into the creek bed to get better shots of the waterfall. While we were eating, some curious and hungry chipmunks came to visit us. They were very brave, getting within inches of our feet. The kids were very curious but I was a little to nervous to have them so close so I would shoo them away when they got too close. M was able to get some very good pictures of them. After the snack, we hiked back up to our car. It was a great day and a fun adventure.

L walked most of the way up and down but
here I am carrying her when we started.

K with her walking stick.

L taking a little rest.

Daddy and L by Pheasant Creek.

Such a cute family.

The bridge.

Here is a picture of the falls and the bridge in the background.
See how high off the ground we were?

Waterfall from the ground.

Drift Creek Falls.

Eating our snack.

One of the three chipmunks.

From above.

Conquering my fear.

Daddy and L on the way to the van.

Easter Morning

Easter morning the girls awoke to overflowing baskets in their rooms. Inside they found a scripture bag for church, sidewalk chalk, a gardening hat, a my little pony, a hollow bunny and tons of chocolate flowers, eggs and bunnies. They also each found a gardening tool. K received a green rake and L a red push broom. They were both very excited about their gifts and spent a good half hour or more going through their precious haul. After they were done, we all went downstairs where they searched for Easter eggs.

L checking out her basket contents.

Dumping out all of the candy.
In case you are wondering, she won't be eating that candy.
It will probably be me, but what fun is a basket without candy?

L excited about her basket.

The girls playing with their stash.

K showing off her stuff all lined up against the wall and hamper.

K's frog gardening hat.

L's ladybug gardening hat.

Using their new gardening tools to pile up the candy.

K finds an egg.

L was so excited when she found eggs.
Although she kept breaking the shells every time she got one in her hand.

The hunt is over and each has some eggs.

Coloring the Eggs

We had the girls decorate their eggs with crayons this year. It worked well for K, but L just poked holes through the shell and pretty much destroyed her eggs. After K and M decorated what was left, there were only about 10 eggs. I wasn't happy with so few eggs for them to find so after we put the kids to bed we boiled some more and dyed them the old fashioned way.

K is drawing herself with an Easter basket under the clouds.

L before she jabbed her crayon through the egg.

All the pretty eggs before they were hidden.
M used a pencil to do a few of his and they turned out quite nice.

Church Easter Activity

On Friday night M took K down to the church for an Easter FHE lesson and egg hunt. M said there were tons of people there and the kids had a great time stuffing themselves on the sweets they got to decorate. Then they all went to a classroom and hunted for Easter eggs; each child got to take home 5 candy-filled plastic eggs. Originally the egg hunt was going to be out at the pavilion, however it had been so windy and rainy all day it was moved indoors. I heard from many people it was a great success. I didn't attend because it was way past L's bedtime when they started and she had been a little moody that day.

All assembled for the Easter lesson.

K's cookie she decorated.

The eggs K found.

Spring Break at Grandma's

K got to go to her Grandma's for a few days during spring break. While she was there she found a huge mound of ants while riding on the ATV. She got to ride her horse, Red and play with Jack. She also got to drive the riding lawn mower and mow down some grass for Grandma. Her driving was a bit squirrely off the get go, but got better as she went on. When they weren't playing outside, they were inside making jewelry and drawings for Daddy, L, and me. They all turned out beautifully. And if that weren't enough, she got to go to the cookie store TWO times! Man, Grandma sure knows how to have a good time!

K on the lawn mower.

K's mow job.

With Jack.

Red and K.

My Creations

I have been working on a few creations this past month. Our Relief Society made these adorable scripture bags one afternoon last fall. I was unable to attend, but got a pattern and made my own for the girls. They will be a gift at Easter. I also made a much larger one for myself to carry my church items in. They were easy and cute.

L's is the pink and brown one. K's is the purple butterfly one.

Here is mine.

While K was at her Grandma's I finished decorating her room. I have been looking for some cute pictures to hang in her room for a while but have been unable to find anything that I really liked, so I decided to make some myself. I am not a good painter by any means, but these turned out okay. I used butterfly ribbon, dragonfly ribbon and floral ribbon to hang each painting.

Butterfly.

Dragonfly.

Ladybug.

My last creation is one of cake. I was asked to make a cake for our Relief Society birthday party and I was happy to help. I have made this cake before, however I had forgotten to take a picture. So here it is in all it's glory. It is definitely my favorite cake recipe and the grapes turned out nicely.

Beach Trip!

Friday was a gorgeous day so M took the day off work and we headed to the coast. We found a secluded little beach that we could hike to from the highway. We parked and headed through the beautiful wooded area. After about a half mile we were out on the beach. It was sunny and 70 degrees, a great day to be playing in the sand and surf. We played for a while in the morning, searching for sea shells. Then we headed to town for a yummy lunch at an old 60's diner. They have real cars you can sit in while you eat. They also had some fun old kids rides that the girls enjoyed playing on while we waited for our food to arrive. After lunch, we headed back to the beach to build some sand castles. Before heading home, we stopped for some ice cream at a local favorite parlor. It was a wonderful day spent together.

We hunted for shells and found quite a few whole
sand dollars with just a small piece missing in the fronts.

L found lots of rocks she liked too.

Walking on the beach enjoying the view.

Towards the end of the trail there was this little overgrown area
we walked through before hitting the beach. It was cool and inviting in there.

On our way to lunch we had the windows down.
L didn't like her hair blowing in the wind.

Walking on the trail back down to the beach.

L playing in the sand concerned about the waves coming in to get her.

K and L playing in the sand. K would try to make a sand
castle and L would come and stomp on it.

The little alcove area.

So beautiful in the trees with the sun streaming through.

After a long day, L conks out in her seat.
I guess she should be tired, we hiked about 2 miles.
We didn't carry her for much of the trip.

K is 5 Today!

We took K to a pizza place in town for her birthday today. In the back of the restaurant there is an old merry-go-round. After we ate, she and her freind Hannah went for a couple of rides on it. It was K's first time on a merry-go-round and she loved it! She wanted to go again and again. I must admit, this is one of my favorite rides at the fair, sadly only people under 100 pounds could ride on it. L wasn't so sure about the horses, she had to sit in the non-moving bench at first. But soon we had her on one of the horses and she liked it too.

K enjoying the ride.

L riding on a horse.

K and her friend Hannah.