Easter Morning

 Easter at the Brown house!  Margie went all out as usual, and had lots of fun planned for the kids! 

Easter baskets, loaded with lots of goodies!

 And of course, the annual Easter Egg hunt was LOTS of fun!  This year, Rach had some help!  Charlie's grandsons were both helping her find some of the hidden eggs!

Someone sure looks happy about her basket full of goodies!

Ma Nishtanah

This year, Passover started on a Monday night, so since we love to celebrate the holidays at home, we decided to do a little Passover Seder at the end of the holiday so that Tommy could be home with us.  I made a brisket for the first time, and was VERY pleasantly surprised by the outcome.  It was really delicious!
We had my parents over, as well as Margie & Charlie.  The meal turned out really well, and we had a very nice evening!

I hope by next year, maybe Rachel will be able to read the 4 questions!
I can't wait until she really understands what the holiday is all about.

Hatikva

Passover is once again upon us! Since it falls during the week, I decided to make a Seder on one of the last nights instead of the first nights!  So we will do our little family Seder on Saturday night!
On Tuesday we went to "Auntie Ruth & Uncle Dick's" for 2nd night Seder. Rach had a very good time.  She ate Gefilte Fish, Chopped Liver, Hard Boiled Egg & LOTS of Matzo Ball soup! 

She sat like such a big girl at the table.   She's growing up so fast!

In the Garden

With all the medical garbage I had to deal with the past year, the veggie garden was pretty much the last thing on my mind.  Well, I finally got fed up & made a little trip to home depot to check out the available plants.  Picked up a few things that looked good & Tommy  cleared my little garden out for me to get ready for the haul!
Naturally, as soon as we started talking about planting, Rachel insisted on getting dressed and helping her daddy in the garden!

 When all was said and done, Rachel & Tommy planted Banana Peppers, Cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green Beans, Tomatoes & Watermelon.  I sure wish I was able to get down & dirty with them, but at least I got some cute pictures! LOL...
Oh, and no sooner were they back in the house for a cool drink when Rachel wanted to know if she could go pick the vegetables!  Took a little bit of time to convince her she will have to wait till they GROW!

Sleeping With The Dog

Our latest fun is that Rach desperately wants Penny to sleep with her. Whether it's nap time or bed time, she pleads with me "Can Penny sleep here with me?"  I have to keep explaining to her that Penny will cuddle with her for a little while, but that I'll leave the door open in case she decides to come in or out during the night... the result is poor Penny getting put into a sleeper hold every day!  LOL... 

Hot Hot Hot

Stuck my head outside & realized just how hot it was out.  Well, guess it's time to start jumping in the pool again!  Margie & Ness came by with Baby James to take Rach out for a bike ride.  We decided after they went around the block on bikes and then had lunch, it was a good time to swim.  Ok, so I forgot the fact that the air may have been sweltering hot but the pool water was... well... NOT... it was FREAKIN COLD!!!!  Glad Ness had more guts than me & was willing to get all the way into the water!  It always amazes me how the kids don't seem to notice the cold AT ALL!!!

It was the first swim of 2011. Too cold for me, but our little fish was more than happy to put up with the chilly waters...   She is an expert as long as she's wearing her floaties! LOL... she actually swims the whole pool really well!   Good thing, since we had to throw all the pool toys into the garbage after they died from being in the hot Florida sun!!

Oh, and just take a look at the goofy grin on this kid when she is happily swimming!

 Time to wrap up & dry off... I think she was so tired she would have fallen asleep like this!

And of course, after a good hard swim, there is the mandatory "Baby Cheese" snack!

Scene from an Italian Restaurant

So it started out that Mom asked if we wanted to go to Olive Garden to use the gift card they gave us over the holidays... Next thing I know, we are getting a table for 12 !!!  Well, it turned out to be a really nice evening! The kids were both great, and the food was as yummy as ever.  I am hopelessly hooked on their Chicken & Gnocci soup!

 Most of our crew. Mom & Dad, Margie & Charlie, Baby James, Linda & Tony & Tom & Rita!  We scared the staff when we walked in, I think!

 We had 2 people waiting on our group... BUT... one was beastly & we actually complained to the other one and he ended up taking over the whole table... perfect!

Mom was already testing out her cruising hat!  (They are leaving for their vacation in the morning!)

Play the Game

Today was Dad's Bocci Picnic.  Rach had a blast playing on the slide & swings with "Luna Linda" (we still can't figure out how she came up with that nickname for Linda!) & her Papa too!!!

Believe it or not, it was PAPA'S idea for the two of them to put their heads in the holes!!!  I even have proof on video of him telling us of his plan! 

After the picnic, we went home for a little bit of a nap!  Then it was time for an evening bike ride with her best bud Baby James!

 These 2 are just way too adorable together. They give each other the cutest hugs & kisses!  But Rach tends to boss James around just a bit!

After just a couple of evening rides, she is now a real little expert!
She even knows to move onto the grass to wait for passing cars!