Easter Surprise

Family traditions are a funny thing, but we don't always realize how funny they are until someone new comes along and challenges them. The Honn tradition for Easter dinner is "Eggs Ala Goldenrod" (which some refer to as "poop on a shingle" or a new one I heard yesterday from our lovely pseudo relative Becky, "wet fart"). Regardless of it's mean names, the Honns have grown rather fond of this strange little dish. Unfortunately, we can't say the same for some of the in-laws (Ahem, Eric).

Eggs Ala Goldenrod

Instead of my typical bunny cake, I decide to make these little Easter/Spring Cupcakes.

Now comes the "surprise" part. After dinner, Sheri (sis-in-law) decided she wanted to try on my niece's fancy prom dress (see photo of Cami wearing the dress below)...

...so the 3 of us went upstairs so she could model it for us. And for some reason, they kept insisting that I try it on as well. Thank goodness I said no! When we all came out of the room, with Sheri all dressed up & nowhere to go, the rest of the family was waiting for us downstairs...with a huge mound of birthday gifts in the middle of the room (numbered 1-30). Evidently, the whole prom dress thing was a decoy so they could set up the surprise. Plus they wanted to see if they could really embarrass me by making ME try on the dress and then open all of my presents as a birthday prom princess. Even without the dress, I was still a little embarrassed, but I definitely felt the love.

Here's all of the loot (mixed in with some of Eric's Easter treats). There were 30 gifts in honor of my 30th year...and some of them actually came in 30s (30 sticks of gum, 30 pens, 30 easter eggs, 30 squares of toilet paper, etc.)

I loved this. On the back, it reads: By the way, this took me THIRTY minutes to make. From my clever 11 y/o niece Faith.

And, finally, my lovely succulents from my mama.

Spring is a Beautiful Thing

These pink blossom trees are everywhere, and they're gorgeous right now.



On Saturdays, if I have time, I love to go watch my neices and nephews play their sports (basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, etc.) This last Saturday was particularly entertaining. Have you ever seen 5 y/os play soccer?? It is the cutest thing in the world.

This is what my sis-in-law Sheri has to say about Cooper's first soccer game: "Cooper was super excited the night before and morning of, & couldn't wait to get into his uniform.  The quarter he sat out, he sat on my lap and he was a little ball of energy bouncing around.  He kept cheering on his team and about went to pieces everytime either team was close to making a goal.  He'd put his hands up to his mouth and started shaking and squealing (either yes, yes, yes or no, no, no!)  IN the game he was AMAZING!  We had no idea he knew how to play so well!  He scored 9 of the 10 goals that his team scored and the only time the other team scored was when he was sitting out that quarter.  He was SO into it.  It was so cute.  His intensity and how seriously he took everything was so cute.  On the field he was totally focused and aggresive.  He was awesome!  We were just giggling the whole time."

The video below if my nephew Cooper shooting a goal and then running into the goal post. Earlier in the game, he actually slid right into the inside back pocket of the goal net after his kick. I love it.



You let me down Arizona

Ok, before you read too much into the title of this post, we did have fun in Arizona, but I have to say that the weather was disappointing. 50s - low 60s. Really, Arizona? I expected more from you. With my capris and sandals, I really wasn't prepared for that cruel trick. Luckily, Eric convinced me to bring my jacket at the last minute.

Hanging out outside of Evogi, waiting for Steven to finish up a meeting before our delicious lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.

Steven & Mary's new party pad! Check out the pool! There's also a little BBQ/Bar area that you can see in the background and, you can't see it in this photo, but a funky little Tiki Hut. And tons of space for Mary to work with. She has big landscaping plans, and even bigger plans for enticing the grandkids to come visit.

Arizona Dessert Botanical Garden. I'm still not a big fan of the dessert landscape, but it was definitely interesting to see all of the different, unique plant species that survive in the dessert. I thought this one (above) was pretty cool. Mary and I decided that dessert plants look like Dr. Suess characters or maybe something from Little Shop of Horrors. I kept waiting for one of them to come alive and strangle me, poke me to death, or swallow me up whole. 

Glass Sculptures at the entrance of the Dessert Botanical Gardens



Steven, Eric and I - with a very cool backdrop

We tried to go for a nice little hike on Saturday, but we got dumped on, and had to slosh back to the car in the heavy rain, but it was a fun adventure.

Despite the weather, we still managed to stay busy and enjoy ourselves. We went to a couple of good movies (Investment Bureau & True Grit) and ate at some fun restaurants. Eric and Steven felt compelled to introduce me to the famous Waffle House which I'm glad they did b/c it gave me a glimpse into some funny Nelson memories. Although, I will say that one time was probably enough for me. :)

Thanks again Steven & Mary for having us! And Arizona, I'll be back soon to give you a chance at redemption.

Staying out of the shade

I almost posted a sad little blog post last week about our fertility frustrations, and the fact that I'm turning THIRTY this month. I tried to throw in some humor to lighten it up a bit, but in the end, it was more depressing than funny so I decided it was better to not post that one.

But, I must admit, I'm really going to miss my twenties. That decade gave me some of my best years, but people turn thirty gracefully everyday so I know I shouldn't complain.

I'm doing my best not to slow down too much (unfortunately, my metabolism refuses to join me in that effort). Lately I've been playing a lot of volleyball, twice a week for fun and once a week in a league. Last week, on a lovely sunny Friday, Eric and I, along with some friends, gave tennis a try.

I may not be looking forward to my birthday, but I am looking forward to the spring. This weekend we're headed to Arizona to visit Eric's parents. I can't wait to soak up that dessert sun...even if it just adds to my ever-growing collection of wrinkles. :)