Honey Mommy

The Ladybug Tree ( Lessons on the Lifecycle of a Ladybug)

2013-05-23T20:35:00.002-06:00

This Spring we seemed to have an abundance of ladybugs. I didn't think too much about it, but took the opportunity to photograph them whenever we found one.

There were so many ladybugs around that we even managed to gently catch a few to get a closer look at them. My kids thought it was great fun to let the ladybugs crawl around on their hands until they decided to fly away.

I even had an occasional ladybug fly through the air and land right on me!

I had tons of fun practicing my macro photography. I noticed that the ladybugs especially liked the tree in our front yard.

I didn't think anything of it until one day I noticed that there were lots of little yellow dots on the tree bark. I looked closer and discovered that they were actually eggs of some sort!

I was not particularly excited about having insect eggs on my tree! Eww! My son said he thought they were probably ladybug eggs since we had seen so many ladybugs around. So of course I googled it and found out that he was right! Our tree was covered with ladybug eggs!

Phew! I felt a little bit better once I knew that the eggs were from ladybugs. I know that ladybugs are a helpful insect because they eat aphids and other garden pests.

There were little clusters of yellow eggs all over the tree. They were hidden down low in the rough bark and high up in the smooth branches.

Since we knew that the ladybugs were laying the eggs on the tree, we started to watch the ladybugs on the tree much more closely. Before too long we were able to observe ladybugs actually laying eggs!

It was actually really fascinating to watch. Ladybugs actually hold still when they are laying eggs, so it was much easier to get a great macro of them!

The ladybugs scamper around the tree, checking out different locations before finally stopping to lay their eggs. I don't know what exactly makes them choose a particular spot.

Different ladybugs chose completely different locations for their eggs.

I was watching the ladybug in the picture above when another ladybug came by and I actually managed to capture two ladybugs moms; one who had started laying her eggs and another who chose a spot a little further up the branch!

Pretty soon there were fewer ladybugs on the tree and we started to watch for the eggs to hatch. I had to go online to see what baby ladybugs look like. They are actually called larva and they look nothing like a ladybug to begin with. They start out really small and black.

I had a hard time getting a picture of any of the newly hatched larvae because they were so tiny and they don't hold still. Then I found this whole bunch of eggs that had all hatched at the same time. It was fascinating and kind of gross!

It is a little weird to me that the ladybug larvae look kind of like spiders. They are definitely not-so-cute at this stage! But they keep getting bigger, and we have found some recently that have little red spots on the sides.

But they are still kind of yucky-looking, don't you think? Who would guess that these are actually baby ladybugs?

The next stage in the ladybug life cycle is the pupal stage, which isn't pretty either. So far we haven't spotted any pupas anywhere, but it will probably happen sometime soon! I will have to add a picture of that to this post when we find one.

This whole experience has been very educational for my kids. It has been fun to show them the life cycle of a ladybug and learn a little bit in the process myself!

Ladybugs go through quite a metamorphosis, not too dissimilar from a butterfly. Although I don't particularly love the way the ladybug looks at all the stages of its life cycle, I still think they are really cool and beautiful insects.

Buzz Lightear Goes Shopping

2013-05-21T18:42:00.000-06:00

I knew immediately that yesterday was going to be more than just an ordinary day when Buzz Lightyear came to the breakfast table. Did you know that Buzz likes Frosted Mini-Wheats?

Later in the morning when I needed to go grocery shopping, Buzz Lightyear wanted to come with me. How could I refuse this face?

I have to say that we had an exceptionally fun time at the store. We zoomed around in our rocket-powered car and checked out all the fun toys (Buzz is partial to Legos).

Buzz saved us from hostile aliens several times by shooting them with his laser gun (which he has on his handy toolbelt). We found all our groceries and even played a little hopscotch.

Thanks for the awesome trip to the store Buzz! We made lots of people smile and definitely had a shopping experience that went "to infinity, and beyond!".

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {5•19•13}

2013-05-18T22:31:00.001-06:00

Three

Three blooms from one of my mom's succulents. I have no idea what kind it is, but thought the blossoms were pretty!

Hand(s)

{linked to Macro Monday}

At our house we have a "ladybug tree". Right now there are lots of ladybugs laying their eggs on our tree, which makes it a little easier to find one and get it to crawl around on your hand. It doesn't make it easier to get them to hold still for a picture though!

Fence

I drove down by Utah Lake and caught a picture of this little birdie hanging out on the fence. Luckily I caught his picture before he flew away!

Cuddly

All three of my kids have teddy bears that they love to cuddle with when they go to bed. This is my little girl and she is awfully cuddly herself!

Sign

Here is a sign I found down by Utah Lake. Can you tell me what it says?

This is one of my favorite signs on my drive home from Wyoming. Makes you want to go get some of "the woman's tonic", doesn't it?

Linked to Sunday Snapshot &

Angry Birds Star Wars Birthday Party

2013-05-14T22:50:00.002-06:00

My son just turned 7 years old and he really wanted to have an Angry Birds Star Wars birthday party. So it was up to me to figure out how to make that happen!

The first thing I worked on the invitations. I found a nice large graphic online and used that as a base for my invitations. I found a font that looked like the Angry Birds Font as well as a Star Wars font and used them to add text to the image. It turned out pretty awesome, don't you think?

Next I worked on the party favors/goody bags to send home with his friends. Naturally with any party theme that includes Star wars, we had to make pool noodle light sabers for all his friends.

I LOVE how they turned out, and they were really easy. We just cut the pool noodles in half, and taped the bottoms with chrome duct tape. Then I used black electrical tape to make all the pool noodles look like light saber handles. Each one was different, and the boys LOVED them.

We also sent home a little goody bag. Luckily Angry Birds Star Wars is very popular and I found an abundance of Angry Bird Star Wars goodies at Walmart in their dollar bins. They had pens, pencils, activity packs, notebooks, you name it! We decided to send home a fun activity pack, some coloring pages, a pencil, and Angry Birds Star Wars Bag.

I put the logos on the little black bags myself. I used my craft cutter to make a stencil of the logo and then painted it on with fabric paint. They turned out great!

As you can see, I just used black vinyl tablecloths and paper products. The boys didn't care about that stuff anyway. I did find a really cool double-sided Angry Birds Star Wars banner to print and hang up, which all the boys thought was pretty cool.

Before long we had everything ready for the party. When the day arrived, Jonah was SO excited for the party to start. He couldn't wait for his guests to arrive.

As soon as the boys arrived, they each got to pick a pool noodle. As you can guess, Jedi battles immediately ensued! The good thing is that with the pool noodle light sabers, no one really gets hurt. Especially when you lay the ground rule of "No hitting above the shoulders".

Games
As soon as all the boys arrived, we started the games. The first game was called Jedi Lightsaber Battle. We gave each of the boys a cracker tied on a string to put around their necks. The cracker represented their life force. They had to protect their life using their lightsaber (not by covering it with their hand!) If their cracker got broken, then they "died". The last Jedi standing was declared the winner.

Needless to say, the boys loved this game! It is perfect for boys this age group or older. We even ended up playing it more than once, so it was a good thing I made plenty of "cracker necklaces".

After all that lightsaber dueling, the boys were a little out of breath. So we decided to play a round of Angry Bird Star Wars Bingo.

This was a great game to get the boys to sit still for a minute, and they loved it! They got to look for their favorite characters on their game boards, and eat their candy markers when someone got bingo!

I actually made the bingo boards myself in Photoshop. They were based on inspiration I found at an Etsy shop and it was not too hard to create them using images I found online.

We played one other quick game that the boys thought was a lot of fun: Pop the Piggies. I made lots of balloons that looked like stormtrooper pigs. I drew the faces on the with marker and then added the ears.

Pretty cool, huh?
We divided up into two teams and each team had to run across the lawn, grab a pig, and take it back to his team and pop it. Then the next person in line got to go get a pig to pop. The first team done with their balloons won. It was really fun!

After our short games, we started the main game: life-sized Angry Bird Star Wars. A friend of ours recently did an Angry Birds party and built a real sling shot. They were kind enough to let us borrow it. How cool is that?

We used lots of cardboard boxes to create the sets for the boys to shoot down. They had a great time setting up the cardboard boxes. I thought about getting plush Angry Bird Star Wars characters for them to knock down, but decided they were a bit too expensive. So I just printed out images of imperial pigs online and glued them onto boxes.

Honestly I don't think the boys cared that the pictures were just glued on boxes. They just LOVED putting the balls in the slingshot and letting them fly!

We had so much fun stacking the boxes up and then letting the birds go!

The balls had bird faces painted on them and everything. They didn't look exactly like the characters in Angry Birds Star Wars, but nobody seemed to mind at all!

We had so much fun! Before long it was time for the cupcakes. I looked everywhere for cake ideas, but did not want to dish out a ton of money for fondant figures. Nor did I especially feel like making an elaborate cake myself. So here is what we ended up with.

Pretty cool, huh? I found these edible cupcake toppers at a shop called Caketattoos. They are printed with edible ink on edible paper and were so easy to put on the cupcakes. I think they looked great! The boys loved them. The shop even sells images that are large enough to put on a cake. We almost went that route, but cupcakes are always good at a party!

Jonah and his friends absolutely LOVED his party. It was SO much fun that the boys didn't want to leave when their parents came to get them! Now that's what I call a party!

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {5•12•13}: Mother's Day Edition

2013-05-11T22:45:00.002-06:00

Perspective

My first son was born the day before Mother's Day. This year his birthday is the day after Mother's Day, so we had his birthday party on Friday. He chose the theme of "Angry Birds Star Wars" (and there will definitely be a post all about it this week). For the party we were lucky enough to be able to borrow a slingshot and set up a life sized version of the game. I have to tell you, when you have to set up the targets and launch the balls yourself, it sure changes your perspective of the game!

Golden

{linked to Macro Monday}

This week I noticed some very small, bright yellow eggs on our tree out front. My son told me that he thought they were ladybug eggs. Then this evening when I went out to take a picture of the eggs, I did notice several ladybugs on the tree. One of them pretty much confirmed his hypothesis.

I was amazed to discover that one of the ladybugs was actually laying eggs. How cool is that?

Bloom

Right now all the lilacs near my home are in bloom, and they smell good and look good too!

Dark

This week we have had several storms roll through, including some thunderstorms. Here is a bank of dark clouds rolling over the valley just after sunset.

Local

I live in a beautiful area! We have gorgeous mountains as well as a lake nearby. I wanted to drive down and take a picture by the lake, but the road was closed. So I drove up on the east benches and took a picture of part of the valley. I also couldn't resist taking pictures of the local plants right where I stood.

The Case of the Mystery Fever

2013-05-09T20:03:00.000-06:00

My poor little girl has not been feeling well lately. Just before the weekend she had a fever and was miserable for a few days. No cough, no runny nose, no vomiting... just a fever. Of course she was also extra tired and cranky. I almost took her to the doctor's office, but then her fever broke that morning and I thought we were out of the woods.

Then a few days later her fever came back. All my little girl wanted to do was lay down on the couch and preferably cuddle with Mommy or Daddy. She woke up many times last night, just moaning and wanting Mommy. So we made the trip to the doctor's office to get her checked out. Her ears look fine, so she doesn't have an ear infection. Her lungs sound good and her throat looks fine as well. Basically she is great, except for the fact that she has a fever, doesn't really want to eat and just wants to lay around. Awesome.

The doctor's office told us she has some sort of virus and sent us home. If she doesn't get better by Friday, come back and see us. Great! That is so helpful. In the meantime, I guess I will be spending some time cuddling on the couch... making faces on my iPhone camera to cheer my girl up.

After her nap this afternoon, Miss Aubrey seems to be feeling a little bit better and didn't seem to be quite as hot. Hopefully we are done with this mystery fever! Then my little girl can go back to being her cheerful, happy self and run around the house stealing her brothers' flip flops and being incredibly adorable.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {5•4•13}

2013-05-04T22:06:00.003-06:00

Background

I took this lovely dandelion fluff picture and thought that it would make the perfect background for a quote. I don't typically add words to my photos, but it seemed like this picture needed a little something. After searching, I found a quote that was perfect for my picture.

Spotted or Dots

My son Jonah has the best freckles! So far he is my only freckle-faced kid, and it is fun to see that little bit of myself in him. I absolutely adore his freckles, and he knows it!

Weather

We had some absolutely gorgeous weather this week! Hooray for temperatures in the 70s and pink clouds at sunset.

Motion

I tried to take some pictures showing motion at my son's soccer game this morning, but all I ended up with was a bunch of blurry blobs. So this evening my boys helped me out while I figured out the trick to panning my camera in order to get a nice motion blur. It took me a hundred photos or so, but I finally got it!

Sweet

My sweet baby girl had a fever the past few days and was completely miserable. It just about broke my heart to see her not feeling well. Luckily today her fever broke and now she is back to her normal cheerful self!

Yippee!! My New Canon 6D

2013-04-30T22:05:00.000-06:00

What a weekend! On Friday I got the best present ever! It wasn't even my birthday or Christmas or anything! Check it out:

Can you believe it?!! I got a brand new camera! And not just any camera, I got a Canon 6D! Isn't it beautiful?! I am SO excited!

My first DSLR was my Canon XSi, which I have had for years. I loved that camera and learned a lot in our years together. I started out shooting fully automatic, but as the years went by I learned more about aperture, shutter speed and ISO. I branched out into other camera modes, and finally learned to shoot in manual mode.

Then it happened... I started getting frustrated with the limitations of my camera. It wasn't fast enough, I couldn't shoot video, I couldn't crank the ISO high enough for those low light situations, and the list goes on. Fortunately my husband and his father are big supporters of my passion for photography. So they started conspiring to upgrade my equipment. Obviously the result is the beautiful piece of equipment above, and all I can say is thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!

This weekend my new camera and I have been getting to know each other. We have done a little star gazing and got caught up in the moon glow.

We have looked up high...

and searched down low.

We chased after the kids and cheered as my son scored a goal at his soccer game.

We decided to follow the wind and go fly a kite.

We couldn't resist sneaking into my daughter's room while she was napping and crank up the ISO.

I guess you could say my new camera and I are getting to know each other, and I think it is the start of a beautiful friendship.

Now I just need to find the perfect camera bag for my new big girl camera. It seems I didn't just outgrow my old camera, I also outgrew the bag! I have been searching online and LOVE all the beautiful camera bags that are being made with women in mind. So tell me, what camera bag do you carry?

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.

April Showers gave me Flowers!

2013-04-26T11:17:00.001-06:00

Most of the month of April has been SO cold and rainy! But I guess it is true that April showers really do bring almost-May flowers. This week it has finally warmed up and there are flowers everywhere!

There are little purple wildflowers blooming everywhere! They may be just weeds, but they are still beautiful to me. I also found some flowers blooming at the library where I work.

I am pretty sure that these are forget-me-nots, but I might be mistaken. In any case, they are lovely little flowers.

Closer to home are my neighbor's grape hyacinth, which I can't seem to get enough of! I may have to plant some of my own because I like them so much.

Best of all, my tulips are finally blooming! I love the color they bring to my flower beds.

How about you? What's blooming near you?

Mommy on Wheels

2013-04-24T15:25:00.001-06:00

In five and a half weeks I will be doing my first 100 mile bike ride of the year. So I need to get out on my bike and really start training, or I am going to be in a world of hurt that day! I have been doing my best to get out and ride, in spite of the weather which has been cold, windy and wet.

Yesterday I managed to go out for a 20-mile ride, and it was awesome! Of course, I had to dress for the weather. It may have looked nice outside, but it was only in the high 40s and a little windy. This is what I wore to go out cycling.

I had to post this picture to show my friend Andrea (who is doing the ride with me) what I have had to wear to go cycling lately. She was complaining that it has been getting a little too warm in St. George during the day already! I would LOVE some warmer weather, so send it on up!

Of course, I can't complain about the views.

While I was riding I had to stop and take a few pictures with my phone. I love being able to ride my bike and enjoy the beautiful scenery, plus it is great exercise. I was happy to discover I enjoy cycling, because I don't really enjoy most other forms of exercise.

Fortunately the weather is supposed to warm up at the end of the week, and I can't wait! I would love to go riding without my long sleeves and tights!

Linked up to Wordful Wednesday, Wordish Wednesday, and Wordless Wednesdays all over.

Disappearing Spring

2013-04-19T10:06:00.002-06:00

Where did Spring go? This entire week has been cold, cloudy and windy. I don't mind wet weather, but does it has to be so COLD?! It has actually been below freezing a couple of nights, which is not good news for my apricot tree. Oh well! We may not get any apricots at all this year. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Despite the cold, the grass is turning green and the plants are still trying to bloom.

The little weeds and wildflowers near my home are making an appearance.

I don't think I normally notice these tiny plants, but the dreary weather has had me seeking any signs of spring and new life!

The buds on my tulips have started to show their colors, but haven't opened yet. Luckily my neighbors tulips and dahlias have bloomed and I can admire them.

So while we wait for warmer weather, I guess we will just have to hang out inside and maybe eat an enormous cookie or two.

Or discover that sometimes the best toys are the ones that you don't buy. Just look at how much fun you can have with a cardboard box!

Miss Aubrey had a great time driving her box car around. She also thought it made a really fun hiding place.

I am seriously tempted to go hide in a box (or under the covers) until Spring comes back, but I don't want to miss it. So I guess I will keep wandering with my camera in hand, hoping and waiting for some warm, sunny Spring weather.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {4•14•13}

2013-04-13T22:57:00.002-06:00

Glow

For some reason I had a hard time with this prompt, so you get two pictures. First is a photo that I took of the glowing lights of my city after dark. After that is a picture of spring buds with a sunlit glow.

Old

I passed by this old Studebaker and couldn't resist stopping to take some pictures. They don't make them like they used to!

Shadow

Hey, shadow! Have you been going on vacation without me? I planned on taking a shadow shot outside today, but we had clouds and rain! So we had to improvise inside the house.

Smile

This is my son Jonah at his soccer game today. Yep, he is smiling even though not only was it cold and cloudy, it was also first thing in the morning!

Spring

I found these beautiful little flowers not far from home. I do not even know what kind of flowers they are. Bluebells, maybe?

Let's Go Fly a Plane!

2013-04-11T19:46:00.002-06:00

For Spring break this year my kids and I went to visit my parents in Wyoming. Not many people go to Wyoming for spring break, probably because there is still SNOW there in April!

Regardless of the cold, we had a great time visiting Grandma and Grandpa. My kids are lucky because their Grandpa is a pilot. That means we got to go for a plane ride!

What a gorgeous view! Since it is a single engine plane, my kids get to experience flying pretty close to the ground. It is so fun to see all the houses, roads and rivers. Plus my boys each got a turn to "help" Grandpa fly the plane.

Of course the boys absolutely LOVED flying. We had the boys switch places halfway through so that they both got a turn. My five-year-old says he is going to be a pilot when he grows up, which is fine by me. At least he already has some experience, right?

My kids have actually been on several small plane rides, thanks to Grandpa. To give you an idea about how small the plane is, here is a picture that my Dad took with his phone from the front of the plane. It would have been fun to have a wide angle lens to take pictures of my kids in the plane, but we had to make do with the lenses I had and our iPhone cameras.

Don't we all look like we are having fun?! Even Miss Aubrey wasn't too concerned about the noise and experience of being in the plane. Probably because she was sitting with mommy.

We love it when we get to go flying with Grandpa! My kids enjoy it so much, and I love the unique viewpoint we get from up in the air.

Thanks Grandpa!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {4•7•13}

2013-04-06T21:17:00.001-06:00

Outside

Outside is a glorious place to be in the springtime! Right now all the flowers, trees and bushes are budding. Nature is slowly but surely turning green and growing. I LOVE it!

Chatterbox

This is our little chatterbox splashing in an enormous puddle. She just barely turned two, but she has quite the vocabulary and regularly says 3 and 4 word sentences (like "me no want it" and "give me that!"). I guess it's true what my dad says, that once a girl learns to talk she never stops!

Comfort

Yes, my five-year-old still takes naps on occasion. Don't be too jealous! I have to say that this is a fact that definitely gives me comfort!

In the Kitchen

While I was on spring break with the kids this week, my awesome husband painted the lower half of our kitchen red. I love the color and think it will make for an awesome photo backdrop!

Trees

I looked out the window and what did I see? Blossoms popping on my apricot tree! There are also leaves budding on my willow tree, both of which make me HAPPY!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {3•31•13}: Easter Edition

2013-03-30T22:17:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter! I spent most of today traveling, but still managed to get my hunt done- hooray! Now I am off to go play Easter bunny.

Water

Today I packed up my kids and headed to my parents' house in Wyoming for Easter. Along the way we saw some very pretty rivers and I had to stop and take a few pictures, even if it made the trip a little longer.

Empty

I had some ideas for this prompt, but my week got away from me. Luckily I found an empty nest at my parents' house. I had to climb up a ladder (with snow still on the ground) to get this shot, so it's a good thing it turned out well!

Fresh

I must be crazy to come to Wyoming for Easter weekend because they still have snow here! At my house the daffodils in my flower beds are just starting to bloom. Here is one of the very first daffodils on the morning it opened up. Flowers don't get any more fresh than this!

Weathered

Last week I went to an old abandoned house to find my texture photo, and this week I returned there for this old bike seat. This is just how I found the seat, with the rusty chain draped across it.

Ordinary

One ordinary egg amongst all the brightly dyed ones.

Hooray for a Warm Day!

2013-03-28T20:47:00.000-06:00

What a beautiful day! Sunshine, white puffy clouds, birds chirping... it was heavenly. It was actually warm enough for me to put clothes out on the line.

The weather in March can be so wet, windy and wild! It was nice to have a sunny spring day for a change. The kind where you can sit back and relax on your porch swing.

Or go for a walk in the sunshine and see if you can spot the first flowers of Spring.

What made today even more wonderful was that I actually managed to go for a bike ride. I have been dying to go riding, but the weather has killed my plans every time! I am going to be doing another century ride the first weekend in June (that's 100 miles for you non-cyclists), so I really need to get some time in on my bike.

Today I managed a little over 16 miles, and it felt awesome. I certainly hope that Spring is here to stay!

Scavenger Hunt {3•24•13}: The Late Edition

2013-03-24T18:25:00.005-06:00

Asian

Chinatown in San Francisco is a wonderful place to visit! This photo is from our anniversary trip last summer, and probably the closest I will ever get to experiencing Asian culture.

Wavvy

There are some industrial buildings in my town that have very wavy sidings. I couldn't choose which picture I liked best, so you get both.

Draw

I really can't draw much beyond (very) basic figures. Perhaps that is why I think graffiti and wall murals are so cool. I can't even draw on paper, let alone on a wall with spray paints! This is just some of the great graffiti that I discovered in San Francisco.

Soft

Would you believe that it snowed here yesterday?! The snow was soft and fluffy, but it was definitely COLD too!

Texture

I went to my favorite old photography house, sure that I could find some lovely textures there. Sure enough this time I found a strange box that housed some sort of machinery. It had been left out in the weather, so it definitely had lots of texture!

Sorry I am SO late with my hunt today. I managed to freeze up the computer last night while it was doing all sorts of things and it took my husband a while to get it back up and running.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {3•17•13} Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2013-03-16T23:26:00.001-06:00

This week's Scavenger Hunt prompts were all geared towards today's holiday, which made it something of a challenge!

Lucky

Two years ago we were extremely lucky to welcome this beautiful little girl into our family! Oh how we love this girl! Today was Miss Aubrey's birthday and we had a fabulous day together!

Irish

This was the hardest prompt by far! I don't own anything that is Irish, nor is Utah known for its Irish population or celebrations. Luckily when I went to the school this week I found these cute leprechauns that my son's class made!

Daylight

Today we celebrated Miss Aubrey's birthday (and the lovely warm day) by going to the park to play with friends. We fed the ducks, rode scooters, played on the playset, and had a marvelous time!

Pot of Gold

I thought this was going to be the hardest prompt, but it turned out to be the easiest! The crocuses are currently in bloom outside in my flower bed. Aren't they gorgeous?!

Clover

It is too early for us to have any green clover around. Luckily I found some garland that was covered with shiny clovers!

p.s. Don't forget to check out my list of St. Patrick's Day books!

29 Easter Books for Kids

2013-03-11T15:40:00.001-06:00

Can you believe that it is almost Easter? My kids and I loved reading about St. Patrick's Day, but we have moved on to Easter, since it is almost here. Plus I really need to return all the Easter books I have checked out so that other people can read them too! I love being a Librarian because it means that I get to look at the great holiday books. Here is a list of all the fun Easter books we have been reading. Be sure to scroll to the bottom to see a list of our favorites!

Max's Chocolate Chicken

Hopper's Easter Surprise

Rechenka's Eggs

Duck & Goose, Here Comes the Easter Bunny!

The Biggest Easter Basket Ever

Happy Easter, Mouse!

The Golden Egg Book

Night Before Easter

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes

Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs

The Easter Egg

Queen of Easter

The Bunny Who Found Easter

Owen's Marshmallow Chick

Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail

Max Counts his Chickens

The Story of the Easter Bunny

Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Artists

The Egg Tree

Who Hid the Easter Eggs?

Little Bunny's Easter Surprise

Looking for Easter

Ollie's Easter Eggs

Easter Egg Farm

{Religious Easter Books}

Our Favorites

There were so many great books that it was hard to choose our favorites! The books I got from our library were mostly secular and did not explore the religious aspects of Easter. However I did include four books at the bottom of the list that do talk about Jesus Christ and the true meaning of Easter. Here are our Easter selections:

1. The Easter Egg
As always with Jan Brett, the illustrations in this book are wonderful. Each page is an incredible compilation of detail and visual storytelling. In the story the bunnies are all working to see who can make the most beautiful egg for the Easter bunny, and in the process they learn that helping others is truly the greatest prize.

2. Looking for Easter
This is an absolutely adorable story of a bunny who goes searching for Easter. What exactly is Easter, and where do you find it? As the little bunny searches for Easter and helps his meadow friends, he comes to find Easter in his own special way.

3. The Story of the Easter Bunny
We loved this story that told how the Easter bunny took on the task of weaving baskets, coloring eggs, making candy, and delivering the gifts to children. This is a charming story with beautiful illustrations that we would love to add to our book collection.

4. Owen's Marshmallow Chick
I have loved this board book for many years! The colorful illustrations and simple story make this perfect for toddlers. Owen gets an Easter basket and eats through all the candy, declaring each, "My favorite!", as he eats it all up. But what will he do when he gets to the marshmallow chick?

5. Minerva Louise and the Colorful Eggs
Minerva Louise is enjoying springtime on the farm, until she discovers eggs that are oddly colored and sitting around in the strangest places! My boys love to laugh out loud at the silly chicken and the ways she misinterprets Easter.

6. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes
This is a classic story of a Cottontail bunny who wants to grow up to be one of the five Easter bunnies, but all the other bunnies laugh at her dream especially when she becomes the mother of 21 babies. In the end the Cottontail bunny gets her chance to be an Easter bunny because of how well she has trained her children. This book has lovely pictures and I liked the message that anyone can aspire to greatness, despite humble beginnings or divergent paths.

So there you have it! These Easter books are kid tested and Librarian approved.

Did I miss any of your favorites? I would love to hear in the comments, if there are other Easter books that you think are missing from our list!

If you enjoyed this book list be sure to check out:

Honey Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, but I promise that I will still love these books whether you buy them or not!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {3•10•13}

2013-03-09T22:11:00.002-07:00

Five

Today we had an awesome birthday party for my Eli. I don't quite know when he got to be so big! He is turning five today! That's a whole hand!

Word of the Day: PIRATE!

In case you couldn't tell, the party theme for the day was pirates. We had so much fun! I loved making the message in a bottle invitations and the pirate ship cupcakes.

Sharing

I am so excited that Spring is coming, so today I am sharing a shot of the tulips that are growing in my flower beds.

Wiggle

This is what happens when you drive up on the hillside at night, set your exposure for a second or so, and give your camera a good wiggle. Cool, huh?

Cookies!

Birthday week means lots of cake at my house, so I didn't really want to make cookies. So when I was at the store I grabbed a box of Cookie Crisp, which my kids have never had before. They were very excited to have cookies for breakfast!

Signs of Life

2013-03-07T20:17:00.002-07:00

It's coming! Spring really is coming after all.

It has been so cold here that I was starting to wonder. The groundhog said we would have an early end to winter, but it did not seem to be forthcoming. But as I wandered around my yard today the proof was undeniable.

My tulips are starting to sprout.

My crocuses are pushing up out of the dirt.

Signs of new life are everywhere!

I am so excited for the green, the buds, the warmth!

Welcome Spring!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {3•3•13}

2013-03-02T21:28:00.001-07:00

Red {Bolt}

I went on a walk with my kids this afternoon to see if we could find the colors of the rainbow. Along the way we spotted some older fire hydrants near our neighborhood with some great textures.

Orange {Away}

Speaking of texture, check out my fence! The previous owners painted the wooden fence and were not too happy when it turned out much more orange than they expected. Needless to say I am not sad that the paint has started to flake off. Maybe we can finally get around to painting it a more neutral hue.

Yellow {Rays}

Would you believe that the flowers my husband got me over a week ago still look good?! I particularly love the long thing petals of the yellow flowers that I have discovered are fuji chrysanthemum flowers.

Green {Glitter}

Here is little St. Patrick's Day shimmer for you. This is a close-up of a sparkly green shamrock decoration. I love the glittery bokeh!

Blue {Sky}

Today was absolutely gorgeous! We enjoyed blue skies, sunshine, and temperatures in the fifties! It was heaven. We went walking, did yard work, and played outside. I am SO ready for Spring.

Purple {berry bonus}

We are trying to eat healthy and loose a few pounds, so our fridge is stocked with fruits and veggies. Blueberries are so yummy! I was going to use this photo for "blue", but decided that on the outside blueberries are more purple-ish. So I included this photo to complete my rainbow!

27 St. Patrick's Day Books for Kids

2013-02-25T10:30:00.002-07:00

I'm excited to share a fun book list with you for one of our favorite holidays - St. Patrick's Day! Sometimes St. Patrick's Day is almost forgotten because it is sandwiched between Valentine's Day and Easter. We have two birthdays in March right before St. Patrick's Day, so it is a big deal around here! My kids love books about luck and leprechauns, and I don't even want to mention how many picture books I have checked out on my card right now (good thing I work at the library)! We have had so much fun reading these books, and here are some of our favorites. Scroll down to the bottom of the list to see which titles made our favorite five!

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day

Too Many Leprechauns

Green Shamrocks

Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato

The Story of the Leprechaun

Good Luck Bear

Tim O'Toole and the Wee Folk

Fiona's Luck

The St. Patrick's Day Shillelagh

Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever

Ten Lucky Leprechauns

The Leprechaun's Gold

Shannon and the World's Tallest Leprechaun

The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow

The Luckiest Leprechaun

Tales from Old Ireland

Harp O' Gold

Traveling Tom and the Leprechaun

The Luckiest Kid on the Planet

The Leprechaun in the Basement

Leprechauns Never Lie

Lucky Tucker

A Fine St. Patrick's Day

That's What Leprechauns Do

Jack and the Leprechaun

St. Patrick's Day in the Morning

The Leprechaun Under the Bed

OUR FAVORITE FIVE:

1. The Leprechaun's Gold

In this Irish folk-tale, two harpists are traveling to a competition to name the finest harpist in all of Ireland. With the help of a leprechaun we see that kindness and humility beats selfishness and greed. The illustrations are beautiful and eye-catching, and they include "hide and seek" images that we love in picture books.

2. Fiona's Luck
We love this story of an Irish lass who is determined to use her wits to triumph over the leprechaun king and restore luck to the people of Ireland. Fiona is a clever heroine, and this charming original story is beautifully illustrated.

3. Good Luck Bear

Foley draws the most wonderfully expressive bear with the simplest illustrations. Little Bear spends his day looking for good luck. He faces disappointment, but with the help of his friend Mouse he realizes that luck is what you make it.

4. Jack and the Leprechaun
I can't tell you how many times my four year old has asked me to read this story! Jack the Mouse travels to Ireland to visit his relatives and ends up chasing a famous leprechaun. Along the way we learned about shamrocks, soda bread, shillelaghs, and much more. Fun story, lots of Irish culture and history, and great illustrations!

5. The Story of the Leprechaun
How did the pot of gold get to the end of the rainbow? Find out in this entertaining and funny story about a leprechaun who outsmarts a greedy man after he catches the leprechaun in hopes of getting his pot of gold. This is a clear case of being careful what you wish for, with hilarious results. The illustrations are very colorful and complement the story nicely.

Did I miss any of your favorites? I would love to hear in the comments, if there are any more fun St. Patrick's Day books that you think are missing from our list!

If you enjoyed this book list be sure to check out:

Honey Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, but I promise that I will still love these books whether you buy them or not!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {2•24•13}

2013-02-23T22:38:00.001-07:00

Time to Eat

This week whenever it is time to eat, I am greeted by some gorgeous flowers on my kitchen table! My husband knew that the weather was going to get grey and snowy at the end of this week and he also knows I am SO ready for Spring. So he figured he would bring me home a "little bit of Spring". What a great guy!

Getting Ready

Miss Aubrey decided that she wanted to get ready to go to school. Never mind the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon and both her brothers were already home. She decided she needed to put on Jonah's hat and Eli's "backack" so she could head to "cool". What a cutie!

Playtime

This seems to be my boys' preferred kind of "playtime". Even when their cousin comes to visit, they all want to play on their devices at the same time in the same room while they all discuss their games. It is hilarious, but also makes me glad that we have set limits on this kind of play!

Sweet Dreams

I am getting better at sneaking in to take pictures of Miss Aubrey while she is asleep. It's a good thing too because these are some of my favorite pictures! She is such a beautiful angel baby.

Scrub a Dub

Saturday evening it is bath time at the Honey House! So I got a cute picture of a ducky in a tub full of bubbles. I also couldn't resist another one of my baby girl! She loves to take bubble baths, but then again, what girl doesn't?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {2•17•13}

2013-02-16T22:41:00.003-07:00

Candy

I have to say that I think conversation hearts are the most disgusting Valentines Day candy ever! They are fun to photograph though! The boys and I had a great time playing around with them.

Pink or Red

For Valentine's Day I made some pink chocolate chip cookies using a strawberry cake mix. They were yummy and PINK!

Love

This photo is from my archives, but it was perfect for this prompt and I couldn't pass it up!

Kisses

I also made some yummy suckers in the shape of lips for Valentine's Day. I thought they were hilarious! My boys both wanted one, but I told them that in order to eat one they would have to let me take their picture with the lips in front of their faces. I am sneaky like that!

Smile

One day this week Miss Aubrey randomly decided to get one of my pots out of the cupboard and use it for a hat. Needless to say, she thought this was hilarious as did her brothers! I had to smile too and then laugh when I called my husband later and told him that his daughter was a pothead. Hehe!