Easter

Happy Easter !!!! We traveled to Ottumwa this Easter as it had been 2 years or more since were celebrated it there. My brother and his family were able to come down too. With everyone home, we were able to celebrate with my grandparents at their farm for the big cousin egg hunt.

C. sneaking bunny ears behind her sister.


Easter treats from Grandma Ann.


Look at all of my eggs.


O. found plenty of eggs in the yard.


A. checking out his candy stash.

My life. In pictures. Day 5

The final photo for the week is of something old. My most favorite and most comfortable pair of sandals are my Birkenstocks. I absolutely LOVE them!! I was hooked on buying them when I was at college. At the University of Iowa, they were very popular and I bought them in the summer of 1993. I have no idea how much Birks cost these days, but back then I paid about $95 for them. That was the most I've ever paid for shoes before in my life. Now, I hate to spend $30 on shoes. I wore these shoes all the time in my college days and then after too, but I didn't notice many people wearing outside of the Iowa City area. I still hung on to them. Style wasn't more important than comfort. One reason why I love these sandals so much is that they fit perfectly on my foot, like a glove. Hence, if I remember correctly, Birks are to form to your arches of the foot. I often wear them my home like slippers.

Over the years, my Birks have weathered, but I bought the glue to preserve the cork sole. The sales person hooked me into buying it. I think that is what has helped them last so long. They are rather tacky looking now. However, I still wear them but only around the house or neighborhood. At times, I've caught myself with them on a quick run to the store. They are great to paint in because they slip off so easy.

I don't think I'll be parting with my Birks anytime soon, even after 15 years. They have been one of the best shoes purchases that I have ever bought. I'm not sure if any shoe compares to the quality of a Birkenstock. For $95, 15 years of wear, totally worth it!!

Thanks Amber at Everything Except the Grill for this fun week of photo challenges.

My life. In pictures. Day 4

Everything Except the Grill hosted by Amber continues on with the photo challenge My life. In pictures. day 4. Here's what I have to share today.

Today's challenge was to photograph something that you do everyday. Well, I begin my day each morning at 5:50AM, except on the weekends. The first place I go is the bathroom. I turn on the curling iron to heat up. While it is warming up, I start putting in my 'must have' contacts then put on my make-up. I use a mixture of brands...MaryKay, MAC, and Revlon. My pink MaryKay compact is so old that it doesn't clasp anymore since I dropped it. I bought it in my college years, 13 plus years ago. The only thing I use in it is the blush, but I hate finding new colors that don't work for me. Anyway, this is a little something that I do each and every day.

My life. In pictures. Day 3

Today's photo challenge is "A view from your front door" hosted by my good friend Amber at Everything Except the Grill.

When I came home from work(teacher) today, I knew I had my own homework assignment to get started on...to take a picture from my front door. I put down my stuff and the doorbell rang. I grabbed my camera, and when I opened the door, there was Little Miss C. She loves to ring the doorbell. I quickly snapped a photo of her and also of my son playing a quick game of house in our driveway. With the weather being not too cold for the first day of April, the kids were enjoying the outside weather.

My kids are always outside when the weather allows. I live on a cul-de-sac and very little traffic runs by my home. Which I absolutely love. There are also a lot of children in my neighborhood and often in the spring/summer/fall many of the neighbors are out in their driveway barbecuing and hanging out. This is a very social, fun neighborhood compared to my previous address a little more than a year ago. Another great attraction in my neighborhood are the bike trails that are behind the houses across the street. My family will take walks or bike rides on these paths regularly when the weather is nice. These trails are all through the city that I live in.