Okay so I think my problem (well one of my problems...) is that I am very lousy at getting pictures from the camera to the computer to the blog.  This makes for very lousy blogging...

It's July 4th weekend and we have nothing planned.  No agenda.  No commitments.  We've done what we want, when we want.  Which is actually very nice and has resulted in the following:

A trip to the farmer's market

4 zucchini squash and 3 yellow squash

Tomatoes

(Both of which I have growing in my garden but just not ready to pick)

13 ears of Amish Peaches n' Cream corn (drooling yet?)

Peaches

4 smoothies

3 bags of handmade pitas

2 ridiculously large cookies

A visit to the very busy pool with Daddy.  (Love it when Daddy comes.  Means mommy gets to lay by the pool and soak up the rays.)

Delicious afternoon naps for 3 members of the family and a High School Musical marathon for 1 member of the family who refuses to nap *ahem* Grace.

A family water fight with the water hose.

Feeding of tadpoles.

A clean bicycle.

Snowcones.

A trip to Walmart.

A night with no baths and a late bedtime.

I am quite aware that summer is half over.  How did that happen?  And there is lots to document.  And not one picture has been downloaded to the computer.  My memory card on my camera is super duper full...

I'm gonna start with what I have...

Pictures from Easter.

Naturally...

I've had this post in my "Que" since, well, Easter...

Would you like to read it?

I hope so...

I certainly would like to get it posted...you know, 3 months later.

Ah...the smell of vinegar and boiled eggs...

can only mean one thing...

An Easter tradition.

Dyeing eggs and then hiding them in strategic places in the backyard and crossing your stained fingers that the children find them all so you don't find them in late July (it is early July..so far I haven't found one egg...lucky me)...

This "whisk method" was not my invention.  I stole it from somewhere.  A magazine...another blogger.  I dunno...but it is absolutely brilliant!  No spillage.  No cracked eggs.  No eggs rolling out of the cups, off the table, onto the floor...into the dog's waiting mouth.  Where ever, whoever I got this idea from...thanks from the bottom of my egg dyeing heart.

Sam demonstrates how easy the "whisk method" of egg dyeing really is...

1. Put the egg in the whisk

2. Put the whisk/egg in the dye.  Have your Daddy steady the cup.

3.  Concentrate really hard.  Swish the egg in the dye.  The more swishing, the better.

4.  Smile a super cute smile.  Break your mama's heart.

5.  Take a break from egg dyeing to go to the potty.  It's okay.  Your mama will take a picture of you're amazingly hot daddy.

Hi Earl...

6. Remove egg from the whisk.  Hold it up so Mama can take a picture.  Smile and break your mama's heart all over again. (This kid has me snowed...)

But seriously folks...next Easter...Git a whisk. 

And now a picture of my two favorite men.

I think Sam is doing a combo Spiderman web throw/Easter egg demo here in the picture below.  I can't be sure. 

Then I handed Earl the camera because there are so few pictures of me.  I am always behind the camera.  What was I thinking??!  I wonder if I even tried to fix my hair...

I think I'm working on making the "Ugliest Easter Egg in the World"...A family tradition from my side of the family.  My dad started it.  And he always won.  Seriously...he patiently mixed color after nauseating color until his egg was a nice shade of brown/green/yellow.  Some years he even purposely cracked the egg.  Ewww.

I think it's important to pass on family traditions.  Even those weird and slightly demented ones.

Here is the one and only picture of Grace I am posting.  We had the kids strip down to their undies during the dyeing process.  Makes for easier clean up. You understand...right?  Well...I just felt a kinda weird about sharing nekkid pics of my girl.

The final product.  Beautiful.

And a silly little boy eager to go on an egg hunt.  For reals ya'll...this kid is a mess.

And below...

in the foreground: my "ugliest egg"

in the background:  Grace's "ugliest egg"

Naturally I say I won...Grace says she won. In the end, it was a toss up...

Then Earl went outside and hid the eggs.  Over and over and over.  He has got to be the most patient man alive.  I was done by the second go-round.

And so that is our yearly Easter egg dyeing family event.  3 months later. 

I'm really hoping to do better with the blogging.  I've got so much material to work with.  We are having a great summer.  The kids are so fun this year.  They both love to swim, both enjoy being outside, and they both know how to turn on the TV and make chocolate milk in the morning so Mama gets to sleep in.  Life skills people...I'm teaching them important life skills.

Happy Easter Happy 4th of July