Spring Things

Evangeline started her first season of softball this past week.  She's been practicing a lot with Kyle.  It was funny because when we got to the field for her first practice she said to Kyle, "so what do I do after I hit the ball?  Run to first place?"  She has a little more to learn.  Below are pictures of her first practice.  

 

 

We never miss the Earth Day celebration at St. Mary of the Woods if we can help it.  It was an absolutely perfect day.  There are so many wonderful things for the kids (and adults) to do.  Evangeline got to color a shirt, do some planting, watch an animal show, do a few crafts, etc.  Tons of fun.  Grandma went with us which made the day extra special.  In the picture below of Evangeline coloring her shirt you can see the button she made which says "I love Mom and Dad" with a picture of the three of us. This girl is just the sweetest.  She wore it all day and now it's on my purse.  

 

Evangeline was super excited about the pony rides.  She picked the biggest pony.  They told her she was a natural, of course.  She enjoyed every minute of it. 

 

 

Then we enjoyed every minute of stuffing our faces full of vegan cupcakes and date/nut balls.  

 

Mom found a tree that looks like me.  

 

 

Then we found a really beautiful hollowed out tulip tree. 

 

This is How They Roll

The Daisy Troop used some of their Girl Scout cookie money to have a skating party.  This wasn't just your average skating party, this was the works!  They had the whole place to themselves, pizza, drinks, a DJ, glow jewelry, etc.  It was a blast to watch these girls (most of them first-time skaters) clomping around on the rink to Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.   

 

I am so thankful to have a mother that's active and up for anything.  If I wasn't pregnant I would have been tearing it up out there, but grandma stepped in to take my place in the skates.  It was nice though, because the roller rink let us walk around the floor in street shoes, so I didn't have to miss out on too much of the action and I got to be there in case I had to scoop anyone up off the floor.  

 

I did a lot of little girl floor scooping in the beginning. They had these cool little skate walkers for the kids to use.  Evangeline used one quite a bit at the beginning, but my goodness, she caught on so quickly and by the end of the evening she was skating around by herself with so much confidence. 

 

Evangeline had so much fun.  When they turned off the lights and the black light came on she exclaimed, "this is much more fun then I thought!  They turned off the lights, and now my mom is glowing!!" She talked about the party the whole way home and the next day with so much enthusiasm.  We will definitely be going back for more.  

Easter Again!

This sweet little child of spring is back to her flower-picking ways.  She always has a bouquet for me.  

 

Easter was celebrated at my dad's house last weekend.  It was such fun.  The food was delicious.  Dad constantly outdoes himself.  He made some kind of garlic-crusted pork loin with mustard sauce, edamame succotash, garlic mashed potatoes and homemade bread.  I finally got to make persimmon pudding from the persimmons we harvested last fall.  I was planning on making it at Christmas, but since I was so sick I didn't get the chance.  It was a special treat to have it at Easter.  I used a new recipe from a cookbook I got at the farm, which was coincidentally called F.A.R.M..  Oh my, it was amazing. 

 

With two kids around there is never a shortage of cuteness.  Evangeline enjoyed feeding her little cousin and always likes to refer to him as "sweet, chubby Cale". 

 

She loves to play with and admire him when we see the little fella.  I hope she's as excited about our permanent fixture. 

 

Ha, Grandma finally got the sweatshirt we ordered for her birthday back in January.  Zach placed the order, then we all totally forgot all about it.  The shirt says "I'm a kayaking Grandma.  Like a regular Grandma except much cooler."  She was thrilled.  

 

These two...

 

 

 

 

Spring Break and BIG news

Spring Break has sure been eventful.  Evangeline and I did some special Spring Break activities like go swimming at the Lincoln Hotel and go see Cinderella at the movie theater.  Let me tell you what a joy my first time in a maternity swimsuit was.  Nothing will boost a person's self esteem like a good old romp in a maternity swimsuit.  Oh well, Evangeline had a marvelous time and I have to say, it did feel nice to float around in the heated pool.

At home we made Resurrection rolls, which I haven't made since I worked at the church years ago.  Evangeline made them last week at KFC and was determined to be the chef.  She did them herself and we had them for breakfast.  We also did some Easter egg decorating.  I've always wanted to do the natural egg dyes with plants and vegetables, but there's something about the old Paas kit I just can't let go of.  They bring back the ol'childhood memories of dropping in the pellets and listening to them hiss and bubble as you wonder what color they will turn the vinegar.  Evangeline loves it too.  Maybe when she's older we will try the natural route.

 

 

Kyle had a part in the Last Supper service held at our church on Mundy Thursday.  He was John.  He did a wonderful job, all the men did that participated.  It was fantastic.  On Good Friday we walked with a group of people from our church from the Court House across town carrying the cross and singing hymns.  We carried the cross the about the same distance Jesus carried the cross.  This is something our church does each year.  It was freezing and rainy, but it was meaningful. 

(These are the best pictures I have right now.  These were taken at the dress rehearsal.  I'm hoping for a better one soon.)



 

The biggest event for us Hutsons was my 20 week ultrasound and finding out the gender of our new baby.  We made a morning of it.  It was a fun one too.  We woke up early and went to eat breakfast at the Cracker Barrel before heading to the hospital for my appointment.  The radiologist took the first few pictures before letting have a long overdue bathroom break.  I overheard her asking Evangeline what she wanted, a boy or a girl.  I heard Evangeline tell her she wanted a boy and that Daddy wanted a boy.  I was barely back on the bed when she confirmed that we were indeed having a boy.  I was in total shock for a little bit, but then the shock turned to excitement.  Kyle and Evangeline were absolutely full of excitement.  After we left the hospital we had to make a stop to buy a birthday gift for my niece.  We ended up purchasing our first little boy outfits as well.  It was a very special time for us.  I spent a few hours that afternoon purging the girl clothes.  I'm feeling an intense urgency to get rid of all the baby things we will not be using. 

 

We went to dinner that evening in Terre Haute with my family to celebrate Zachary's birthday.  Evangeline got to make the announcement to them there.  They were, of course, thrilled.  Being around my sweet, adorable nephew makes me very excited to be having a boy.

Easter morning started at 6:30 at our house with a little girl creeping into our room to ask if she could go outside to see if the Easter bunny came.  The bunny did not disappoint.  She had a blast hunting for her eggs and checking out her Easter basket.  Evangeline could not contain her excitment over wearing her Easter dress to church that morning.  Ammie has started a tradition of taking Evangeline, Savannah and Lily shopping for their Easter dresses each year.  They all get to pick out the one they want.  (I love all three of these pictures and couldn't narrow it down to just one to stick here.)

 

Evangeline told Kyle's family the news of our boy at our family Easter celebration at Papa and Karen's on Easter Sunday.  Everyone was really hoping for a boy on that side since Peggy and Wayne have all granddaughters, so it was really fun to make the announcement to them. 

 

I meant to take more pictures of the family and grandparents, but somehow this is the only one I managed to get.  It's a good one though of Ammie with her girl wearing her dream dress. 

 

This was a very special weekend for us.  One I want to remember forever.