Little Miss Firecracker

Here it is July again and I have failed to come in and update the blog. It sure isn't for lack of things to share, I just haven't taken the time to do it - once again. I need to dedicate a time of day each day to do this, sort of like a job.

Until then, we had a fabulous July Fourth celebration. JillyBean had been looking forward to July Fourth for weeks. Although I had been talking to her about why we celebrate the date, she mostly saw it as a time to shoot off fireworks. We had a couple of neighbors come over for a cook out and to let the kids have some fun. Jilly's buddies weren't as jazzed by the popping of the fireworks she and Daddy purchased, but they enjoyed the sparklers. Jilly didn't want to like the explosive rockets, but I think she forced herself to enjoy them since she had been looking forward to shooting them off for some time.

I really love the Fourth of July and have great childhood memories of family gatherings in Kansas. We would get together with my dad's cousins and spend the day tying black cat firecrackers together to make huge explosions. They all had cellars in their backyard so we would light the suckers and throw them into the cellar to hear the echo of the boom. We'd shoot off bottle rockets that we set up inside soda bottles and throw cherry bombs across the yard. It was so much fun. Then we would all have a picnic, play a game of softball and gather in the town park to watch the fireworks display that was put together by the local volunteer fire department.

Easter

We were all pretty worn out from Easter activities so this is the first chance I have had to come in and talk about it.

I have always loved Easter. I have vivid memories of dying and hunting eggs and receiving a special dress each year. Apart from the religious aspect of the holiday, I always felt it was one of the more special events of the year. Most of those memories include my Grandmother and New Mexico and I found myself looking back at family photos of us preparing for Easter and celebrating and a rush of wonderful memories flood my mind. I want Jilly to have that same feeling and memories as she grows older.
We did not get the chance to hunt or color eggs last year so we made up for it this year - threefold. It was almost overdone, but JillyBean had such a fabulous time that it was worth all of the jellybean- and chocolate egg-induced sugar highs she experienced the past two weeks.

Our first hunt took place two weeks ago with our fabulous MOPS group. I think that Jilly had more fun gathering eggs than she did trick-or-treating.
We hosted an egg hunt at our place for our mom's group. A dozen two- and three-year-olds came to our place and we scattered eggs throughout the courtyard behind our house and the kids went crazy. It was so much fun watching them charge out to pick up eggs to place in their baskets. Afterward they munched on cupcakes and fruit and played together. It was a great spring gathering.
The Easter Bunny brought Jilly a basket filled with gear to explore the great outdoors. She received a butterfly net, a bug house, flashlight, binoculars and magnifying glass - all from a super cute line called Sunny Patch, a division of Melissa and Doug. She also received some toy snakes because, for some reason, she's obsessed with the creatures.
She also got some more lip gloss and a color book of her beloved Wonder Pets. The candy was kept to a minimum - just a chocolate bunny - since she had plenty by this point.

This year's Easter dress was a custom frock that had her monogram embroidered on it. It was a sweet little pink and green apron dress that looked so dainty on her, in spite of her newly skinned knees and elbow. I had wanted to experiment with sponge curlers (another childhood Easter memory), but I never bought them. Still, I thought that she looked adorable.
We spent the afternoon at our good friends' house where we enjoyed a lovely after church brunch and, yet, another egg hunt. The kids had a blast. You would have thought they would have been done with hunting eggs, but I am pretty sure that we could do it again and they would be just as excited.
This was the best Easter that we have had since Jilly has been with us. Well, that's not exactly true. The BEST Easter was three years ago when she was born. She is the best gift the Easter Bunny has ever brought me and I doubt that gift will ever be trumped.