Easter Egg Hunt April 3, 2010

My sister in law planned a great easter egg hunt/brunch at her house the day before easter. It could not have been a nicer day for it. It was beautiful outside. We had some yummy food while the last of the eggs were being hidden and then it was time. Nicholas LOVES easter egg hunts. We went to one last year at church and all year long he would talk about it. He has been looking forward to this for awhile. The kids had a great time. It was fun catching up with some people I don't see very often. Thanks Chrissy for a great day:)

All the kids who partcipated in the hunt. Most are my kids cousins.

My boys look a little scared in this one.

Jacob went with his cousin Brian which worked out great for Jake becaue Brian was in charge of hiding the eggs:)

Looking for eggs.

Nicholas would shake every egg he found to make sure it wasn't empty. (none of them were but he had to be sure.)

Jacob and BrianNicholas

He was really into it.

Jake, Brian and Nicholas.

Construction Project. March 30- April 1 2010

This project I was so excited about. In our home in NY we had a wall between our living room and dining room that I decided I no longer wanted there. Chad being the talented guy that he is (along with the help from our soon to be brother in law Ross) knocked it down dramatically changing the look of our home. I LOVE it and everyone else who saw it loved how open and bright it was. It seems like we have much better flow and I can see right from our kitchen into the living room now. Always a good thing when you have 2 little boys that seem to find trouble everywhere. It was such a messy job. I am grateful they did it though because it looks so great now.

The wall from the living room side.

The wall from the dining room side.

Chad and Ross taking layers off.

i think there were 4 or 5 different layers that were underneath the original.

Nicholas said he liked that wall paper. I don't know if he was kidding or serious.

Just the beams.

Beams Chad had to use to support the weight until he got the permanent beam in.

All the beams in place and looking great.

Happy Birthday Chad!! April 1, 2010

Chad is an April Fools Day baby. If you ask him he hated this growing up because people always tricked him on his birthday. I'm not a big April Fools day person so to me April 1st is just his birthday and nothing else. I made him pot roast with carrots and potatoes for dinner and then we had an ice cream cake for dessert. I got him the new Sherlock Holmes movie (which I loved so it was really for both of us.) Happy 33rd Birthday Chad. We love you!!


Chad's birthday cake. (I usually make the cakes for birthdays but we were out of town and I had no pans with me.)

Chad's 33rd birthday.

Happy Birthday to you!!

Nicholas wanted to "help Daddy blow out the candles so he could practice for his birthday cake" the following week. He is so funny.

Rainbow Cupcakes.

Today for St. Patrick's Day I found a really cute recipe in Family Fun magazine for rainbow cupcakes. The boys and I decided that we would make them today. So this morning we did and as cute as they turned out they were not as easy as I thought. First I made the cake mix. I seperated it into 6 different bowls and the boys helped me mix the colors. Then we had to layer the colors in the cupcake pan. That part took awhile. I enclosed the recipe at the end in case anyone wants to give it a try. They are cute and very tasty. Perfect for little leprechauns:)

The different colors. My red turned out more pink but oh well.

Layering them in the pan.

Each layer got a little harder to cover the previous.

The end result. They were HUGE cupcakes.

Really cute and worth the work. This might be a St. Patrick's day tradition for our family.

Ingredients:
White cake mix (we used an 18-1/4-ounce box)
Food coloring (red, blue, green, and yellow)
Baking cups
Whipped cream (optional)

Instructions:
Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.

RAINBOW COLOR DROPS OF FOOD COLORING
Purple 9 red and 6 blue drops
Blue 12 drops
Green 12 drops
Yellow 12 drops
Orange 12 yellow and 4 red drops
Red 18 drops

Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.

Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with a whipped-cream cloud.

The Franklin Institute.

Today we went to the Franklin Institute. What a great museum:) First we went and saw stuff having to do with the body. We walked through a huge heart, saw how muscles worked and learned about blood and plasma. The kids enjoyed crawling through the artery (picture below.) Next we went to see the trains. Nicholas even got to be the "conductor" on the train ride. We also got to see two different kinds of airplanes. One was a fighter jet that was hanging from the ceiling that Chad and the boys got to go into. Nicholas even got to make a piece of paper. It was such an interesting day with so much to see and do and we didn't even come close to seeing it all. The boys had a lot of fun and learned a few things as well. I would highly recomend if you've never been.

The boys crawling through the artery.

Jacob didn't want to come out.

In front of a train. The boys are looking at a much bigger train across the room.

The first airplane.

The fighter jet.

They all liked this part.

You could barely see him in there.

Nicholas making a sheet of paper.

Benjamin Franklin statue.

NJ Aquarium

Today we went to the NJ Aquarium. It was so great. Nicholas was excited when I told him we were going but very clearly told me he didn't want to touch any sharks. So funny. We got to see so many different kinds of fish (Nemo and Dory were there too), turtles, jellyfish, hippos, a crocodile and lots of sharks. Nicholas and Jake both touched a baby shark and a starfish. We also went through this shark tunnel which was really neat. The sharks were swimming above and around us. It made me a little sick but the boys thought it was so cool. Nicholas said his favorite part was petting the baby shark. What a fun day with lots of pictures to share.

In front of one of many fish tanks.

My boys in the aquarium.

Nicholas touching the starfish.

Jake touching the starfish. (That water was freezing cold.)

One of the 2 hippos we saw.

Jellyfish

Shark

I love how Jake is staring at the shark.

The sign next to this jaw said this was the largest shark ever. It could eat a great white shark in one bite. WOW!!!

The boys wearing shark hats. I'm surprised Jake kept his on long enough to take the picture.

Nicholas petting the shark.

Jake petting the shark.

The crocodile head.

HIs body under the water.

Piranha.

Turtles

More turtles and other fish.