Brodd Family Fun Time

Easter Easter Easter!!

We are finally getting around to posting the Easter blog.

It all starts off out at the cabin. The girls hadn't colored eggs yet this year, so we took the opportunity to make the mess at the lake instead of at home!

Violet mixing up the color tablets

Two artists at work

Dipping eggs

After nap it was time to check out what goodies the Easter Bunny brought. Since it was wet and muddy outside, the good Easter Bunny decided to hide the eggs in the porch.

On your mark, get set...

GO!!!

The girls did a great shop working together to find all of the eggs. The ones with the coins in them were a big hit! After some dinner we cleaned up and headed back home.

Easter Sunday was spent up at Grandma and Grandpa Chickens house. One of the few nice days in April!

The girls in their Easter outfits

EASTER EGG HUNT!!!!

Not to be left out, the chickens even joined in the fun...

We didn't get too many pictures, but their loot was pretty solid. Tons of jelly beans and chocolates to keep the girls wired for months to come!

Last weekend, we got together at the Tanious' house for one last Easter egg hunt. As with most days, the weather was cold and windy, but that won't stop some kids from hunting through the grass and bushes for some candy!

12 eggs / child was the quota. Violet needed to confirm...

Sylvia needed to help out her little sister...

Sylvia showing off the find of the day. The "Golden Egg" contained a bunch of candy and a $5 bill.

She was very proud of finding the golden egg and wanted something special with it. The next day we went to Target and she was able to buy her own Lego set. Thanks Tanious family!!!

Sylvia's 1st Lost Tooth

The girl spends four days between grandparents and all the sugar and sweets have rotted her teeth away!

p.s. the tooth fairy leaves $1 coins at this house

p.p.s this is how we were informed - a text from Grandma

Birthday Planning

Sylvia brought home a piece of paper with names of kids in her class. She said it was her birthday list. Originally, we thought she split the list into those that were invited (Ava, Ingrid, Judith, and Leah) and those that are not invited (Rishi).

As it turns out, she just split her list into "girls" and "boys". I guess that is much better than already making list of kids to not include in her social gatherings!

Home Depot Day

The first Saturday of every month is Kid's Home Depot Day. Basically it is a small wood craft that kids can assemble and paint (or apply stickers).

It is a great reason to get out of the house on these cold weekends and spend some time with the girls - as well as pick up a few items from the local hardware store.

This month was a "trojan horse piggy bank".

Sylvia was very proud of her work

Over the past few months, Violet has really been improving with her building "skills"

A proud big sister

Violet is very focused on applying the sticker perfectly.

The girls showing off their completed projects.

A quick video showing off Violet's hammering skills. It would have been a longer video but Sylvia jumped in front of the camera. She must have wanted more attention!

X-Mas 2013 Marathon

Like most years, we have a very busy Christmas day. Christmas 2013 began with the girls running downstairs in the morning to see what Santa left. First they checked out to goodies in the stockings.

Look, Santa left me some yogurt!

Sylvia was very happy with her Frozen dolls. Just what she asked for!

We packed up the car and started the trek to Northfield. We didn't get more than a mile down the road, and we turned back home. Adam was driving Jamie's car and the roads were pretty slippery. We decided to go back home and take the other car. No big deal... just repack the entire trunk!

It did take a bit longer to get down to Northfield, and we passed several cars in the ditch, but we made it fine.

Presents and Dan and Kelley's new house

Cousin Shaelyn showing off her new blanket

After a quick bite to eat, we got the girls changed into their Christmas dresses and headed over to the farm for lunch and more presents.

Getting ready for the present exchange

All opened, but getting ready for the 5 minutes of swapping

Sylvia "throwing a fit" because something "wasn't fair"

Sylvia spent a couple days with Grandpa and Grandma chicken following Christmas day, so Violet came home with Jamie and Adam to try to get back into a "normal" routine.

The one big change this Christmas season was celebrating the Brodd Christmas in the same calendar year! We all headed out to the cabin on Saturday the 28th.

Opening presents after lunch.

Still opening presents...

Grandma Cabin showing off her new scarf and mittens from Jamie

It isn't a Brodd (Lickfett) Christmas without making homemade ice cream. This year both Sylvia and Violet helped out in the cranking.

Snack time!

Sylvia helping Grandma make the cookie salad

Sylvia got to lick the beaters off - Yummy!

Last, but certainly not least, we celebrated our last Christmas on New Year's Day at Mike and Charleen's place. It was the start of the arctic chill, so we didn't have a chance to play outside, but the boys got their fix of hockey and football, while the younger kids stayed entertained.

The girls opening presents

Violet with one of her new dolls. This one is super soft!

Ahhhh - so that was Christmas 2013. Hard to believe that January is almost half way by us already. The weather is finally above 0 degrees, so time for some outside playing again! Hope to share some pictures soon.

Merry Christmas (Eve)

Merry Christmas everyone! Today was a day filled full of old Christmas movies (A Christmas Story, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Home Alone to name a few), a little bit of shopping, and some fun craft time.

Full on craftin'