Easter Bunnies

 

 I'm such a sucker for holidays.  I couldn't resist warming Cal up for the festivities by partaking in a large scale egg hunt in Burlington the weekend before Easter.  Having only hunted for eggs with small groups of people, she had no idea what to think about this event-- where they "hide" 10,000 eggs over the course of an hour.  The 2-3 year olds went first:

There was an Easter Bunny, a Moose, and a Beaver all ready and willing to give high fives or hugs.  Cal wasn't really sure what to think about that either.

And it wouldn't be proper to go into the Easter holiday without what has become our annual visit to the lambs at Shelburne Farms.  And this year, our special guests were Nana and Grandpa, who came down to see the kids for a quick visit.

It was fun to see Hazey fired up about the little critters.  Cal even got to feed a few with a bottle.

And a visit from Nana wouldn't be complete without a new "shrug" and a hat:

Because I have such fond memories of great Easter Egg Hunts with family and friends, I felt the need to organize an event for our friends this year.  John, having thrown me a fantastic 40th birthday, was a little too burnt out on the entertainment thing, so I threw it out to the Wombats for a volunteer to host.  Mary G jumped at the opportunity to host, but made it clear that she was/is not into dyeing Easter Eggs, hiding plastic eggs, and wanted nothing to do with "fake grass".  Accordingly, Medora, Jen and I boiled and/or dyed over 40 eggs and E bought dozens of foil wrapped local chocolates that we hid for the kids.  Because most of this motley crew is old enough to really care about getting loot, Jen had the great idea of "pooling the finds" and then distributing equal "Easter Goody Bags" to each of the 10 kids involved. 

So the day before Easter, my sous chefs, stood on the adored Learning Tower and helped me boil eggs, make a carrot cake (and lick the batter), and put together an egg strata for the Easter Brunch at Mary's.  We then moved on to dyeing the eggs.

 The Easter Egg Hunt was a huge success.  Addy and Claire took Cally under their wings and spent the whole time helping her find eggs.

 Hazen wasn't sure what to think of this whole ritual:



But he clearly did get smiley about finding an egg:

 And after egg hunting, we ate an amazing brunch and watched Cally get herself involved in the latest dramatic production by Addy and Claire.

I can't end the entry without a photo of the Easter Bunny Carrot Cake that John and I created for the gathering.  Now we are in trouble..... such a cake will be expected:

But the day wasn't over!  Our dear friends Adam and Colleen came over to hide more eggs (filled with more high fructose corn syrup).  Here's a shot of Cally being introduced to Peeps for her first time!?!?!?

Here's to a happy spring with blue skies and maple cremees!

Lordy, Lordy Look Who's 40!

Last week the unthinkable happened. And to think it began as a day like most others in our house...

Hazen woke up early as usual, standing in his crib yelling, "Mahmah!"and was soon whisked into her clutches. Soon after, Cally came into the room to show off her latest fashion disaster and she enthusiastically told her beautiful she looked and what great taste she has. A few days before, we spent a glorious day in the early spring sunshine, skiing the fading snow ribbons on the flanks of Madonna & Sterling, with and afternoon detour to Sterling Pond.

Who is this incredible woman you may wonder?

 On this morning Katy, our dear friend, extraordinary mother and my partner in life adventures gracefully, positively and energetically turned 40!  After adventures in Africa, years in the mountains of Montana and a glorious return to Vermont, it happened without fanfare. Hazen shoveling eggs with his hands, Cally talking about the upcoming day between dropped bites of breakfast and a couple candles on specially prepared cinnamon rolls... Katy's 40th year ended and she seems to be happier than ever!

Happy birthday Kate! We love you. Welcome to the good life of your forties...

Summer in March

Who'd of thought it would reach 85 degrees in March!  Yep, it's been downright summery here in Vermont for the past five days.  While it's wonderful to be able to go outside without jackets or socks, it's also weird.  For those of us that live in Vermont, we expect gray or snowy days throughout March.  We assume our ski passes will be utilized through early April.  In fact, we usually plan on a spring skiing day on Easter!  I'm pretty sure we haven't seen the end of the gray and snow, but I do think the days of skiing this season are numbered.  For that reason, we seized the opportunity and made some fun turns on Saturday. While Cal and I skied the sweet corn, John and Hazey offered some great encouragement.  Mom and Dad even got to ski some turns together because of a wonderful posse of friends (Thanks Anton, Amy, Colleen, and Adam!)

 

 On Sunday, we opted from some sidewalk time on the scooter and some fun in the sun up at High Meadow. 

 Since the naps never really happened on Saturday, we decided to make that a priority on Sunday.  And while the kids snoozed, I picked up two grocery bags full of dog poop, John raked, and then we cleaned the cars.  A little friend came down to join us for the car cleaning part when he woke up:

A day in the sun is not complete without a stop at the Country store for our first Maple Cremee of the season.

Since we didn't ski on Sunday, the kids and I decided to join John and a group of Outing Club students to honor Avi on Monday afternoon at Bolton.  After loading the kids and ski gear, it turns out Bolton is closed for the season and the chairlift wasn't running.  Cal had her heart set of skiing, so being the committed ski/adventure parents that we are, we hiked up the mountain.... Hazen on John's back, Cally on my shoulders, skis in hand (I decided to forego my skis), we hiked half way up the Timberline lift.  The snow was soft and not easy to turn upon, but Cal was gung ho to go for it.  Dressed in her new favorite dress, she was off-- even skiing through grass to get to the next span of snow.  Who's going to deny a gung ho 3 year old from a skiing adventure,especially when she feels so at home with any conditions.

 But, these warm days don't come without their draw backs........ Folks who rely on sugaring (maple syrup) are finding the takings much lower than normal and the dirt roads around here are horrendous!  Below is a picture from a friends road in Lincoln, VT..........

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to take part in an absolutely beautiful event.  UVM had a memorial service for Avi Kurgonoff.  John spent the day with his family, driving them to the places that Avi loved (the Mad River in Waitsfield for kayaking and Bolton Mountain for snowboarding).  John bonded with Avi's Argentinian grandmother, aunt, and cousins.  He couldn't wait to introduce them to our children (because they have a bunch of red heads in their family).  After a truly amazing service, I felt like I got to know a truly amazing 20 year old.  A guy who was generous in so many ways, wise beyond his years, and lived life to it's absolute fullest.  After the ceremony we all gathered together in the sunshine, with amazing views of Lake Champlain, where his family played music and celebrated Avi's life.  The family truly solace in playing music together-- and Hazen seemed pretty into it too.  Below he is enthralled by Avi's dad's harmonica playing!