Happy Easter!

We managed to fit in a quick Easter basket hunt before church this morning.

Braden's required a shovel to hide.

Ryder and Lynden didn't have it quite so hard.

Poor Lynden hasn't graduated to chocolate yet. 

Besides a brief and messy interaction with his birthday cake, 

chocolate is still an unknown substance.

Thanks to Pop & Mimi for the fun books.

And for their sweet outfits!

Ryder found his basket first and gave Daddy lots of tips. 

Nope, not in the tumbleweeds.

We helped Lynden find his basket.

Finally Daddy found his Easter basket in the sand. 

Happy Easter from the Appersons.

HE IS RISEN!

Keeping Up With Traditions

Holidays always bring with them a lot of memories.

I love sharing childhood traditions with my kiddos at times like this.

The first of which is Paska.

My Mom would make Paska (Mennonite Easter Bread - baked with fresh orange and lemon) 

and then top it with buttercream frosting, jellybeans and shredded coconut. 

Even then, I didn't really love it as a child.

But I do now, even though we only get as far as toasting and buttering it.

Here are my 5 loaves baking in the oven.

It turned out light and delicious.

Don't ask how many of the five are left...

One other family tradition was going out to breakfast on Good Friday.

I guess most Americans don't get the holiday off, but we were still able to get out for a delicious breakfast at our favourite spot before Daddy had to head to work.

This is a tradition we've inherited from my husband's family.

I had about given up on an Easter Egg hunt for the kids this year because EVERY SINGLE EGG made and sold at Walmart, Target, and everywhere else I looked was made in China. 

And then I saw a social media post from my favourite WA toy store - Fairhaven Toy Garden - advertising that they sold American made plant (not plastic) based reusable Eco Eggs.

Wohoo!  

Thank you Amazon Prime for free 2 day shipping!

It looks like we'll be carrying on this tradition as well, 

and supporting an American business at the same time. 

Double win.

The Week of the Salad

I can feel that Spring is in the air.

I'm so ready for green, warmer weather, and a break from our winter hibernation.

Last week I decided our dinners needed to reflect the fresh aspect of this upcoming season, 

so I casually called it 

The Week of the Salad.

I'm blessed with an awesome husband who puts up so well with these kinds of crazy ideas. 

And gives great feedback.

Our first dinner wasn't actually a salad, but it incorporated some yummy fresh ingredients and was pretty healthy - basically a salad in my books.

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

I was in Reno for the day and just picked up a rotisserie chicken that was ready to go.

This was quick and delicious for a super fast dinner prep.

Our next dinner was beautiful.

The picture definitely caught my eye on Pinterest.

Thai Steak Salad

with sweet and spicy tahini dressing and sesame child-lime cashews

Isn't it beautiful?

Just a word of caution:

If you're thinking 

'throw a few things in a bowl and toss them together for a quick salad'

like I was,

this is NOT the salad for you

From toasting cashew to boiling and peeling eggs, this is a time consuming work of art.

And I even skipped the fresh mint.

If I had known how long it would have taken I might have skipped out on it.

But a delicious end to all of that work!

Up next was a

Thai Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce

This one was delicious and a lot less involved.

Plus, Braden grilled the chicken, so less mess and cleanup for me!

Just because we were eating salads didn't mean we were about to forego our beloved bacon.

Uncured and nitrate/nitrite free, of course. ;)

BLT Chop Salad

with corn, feta, and avocado

I mixed this one up and actually swapped quinoa in place of the lettuce, 

adding extra olive oil to the dressing.

It tasted even better as leftovers the next day.

On the menu tonight:

Chickpea, Pesto, Tomato, and Mozzarella Salad

I have a few grilled chicken breasts left over from the weekend to round out the meal.

Who else is feeling like Spring?

Feel free to pass along your fresh dinner inspirations!

Saturday At Its Finest

Growing up, Saturday was our day to get things done. 

I still love Saturdays for that reason.

So, after a yummy breakfast of our favourite Belgian waffles with fresh strawberries 

and a morning music practice at church, 

we got busy.

Braden had a friend over and the two of them were out in the shop working on a change table for their new little baby coming soon, so I had the house to myself.

My first project was a Pinterest-type craft that I've been forming in my mind over the last week.

These days it's rare that I don't have a helper close at hand.

And here it is.

My new burlap Easter banner. 

That's what Easter's all about anyway, right?!

Here I have to pause and tell you a little story about what happened yesterday.

I had been working in my sewing room and Ryder was sitting next to me playing with a calculator. 

He pressed the plus (+) sign and was so excited to show me the 'cross' that showed up on the calculator screen.

"Look Mama, it's a cross. 

Just like where Jesus died."

Little conversations like this make my heart to happy.

I finished up the productive part of my day by preparing my garden bins and two big galvanized metal tubs for spring planting.

Fertilizer is in and the soil is turned and ready for planting.

Now if only I could find those herb seed packets that I bought last week...

All Things Green

I woke up yesterday with my to do list on my mind. 

But a few minutes into my day I realized that it was St Patrick's Day!

Though I'm not Irish, 

as a Mama I'm always looking for ways to add a little more fun to our days. 

So, after a quick spinach tinted breakfast smoothie, we headed out the door to a local cafe where we were pleasantly surprised to find green frosted cupcakes. 

I think they're called muffins at 9:00am, right?!

We normally try to avoid artificial dyes, but this was an exception.

Lynden wasn't quite so lucky and just had to share my cherry scone. 

Ryder learned how to draw a four leaf clover and followed that up with a beautiful rainbow. 

Daddy was so happy to see his beautiful artwork when he got home from work.

 Second breakfast was followed up by a trip to the library.

I do enjoy reliving my childhood through my boys. 

Bill Peet books were some of my favourites as a girl - I don't know if it was the fun animals or engaging artwork, but I still love most of them.

We chose a few of those and Ryder chose an additional train story to bring home.

Eventually we had to get to a few of those to do things:

Ryder was a great helper with my yard work, picking dandelions for the garbage man.

While the boys napped I was able to finish up two Etsy orders.

 And my rainbow of Fiestaware came in handy to hold macaroni with green peas (and black beans) for a delicious green lunch. 

Sure do love these precious boys and the fun we have!

We're Back - And Celebrating a Big First!

It's been a little over a month since I last updated my blog. 

A busy month full of the everyday life of wife and mama.

The most notable thing that happened in my time away was this sweet boy's first birthday.

Lynden is such a happy boy.

He adores big brother like no one else and is always up for a cuddle.

He is opinionated and vocal - I wonder where he gets that?!  ;)

He is our precious gift from God and we are so thankful for the year we have had with him.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy <3