Happy Easter!

Bryce searched for eggs at the playgroup Egg Hunt...


while Drew preferred sweeping...


and sliding.

We had a big Easter weekend! It started out on Friday, with a fun Egg Hunt with Bryce's playgroup. There were lots of his buddies and their siblings, and we all had fun. As you can see, Drew was more amused by other activities, but to each his own.


The boys model their new Easter outfits from the Bertelsens and show off their chocolate bunnies from Grammy & Papa. (Thanks, everybody!)

Of course, on Sunday morning the big news was that the Bunny made it to our house. Bryce is really into holidays now, so he was very excited. Drew is getting pretty savvy as well, he knew exactly which gifts were for him!

Two eager kiddos check out their Easter loot.


The Bunny brought Drew an Elmo toy...


and a cool crocodile piano.


Bryce found Megatron (Transformer) and some Mars Mission Legos in his basket.

After a quick breakfast and an egg hunt in the living room, we packed up and headed for the zoo. It's become a tradition for us to go on Easter morning, because the zoo staff gives special treats to the animals. It's a hoot to watch them race out and tear their way through papier mache eggs loaded with goodies, jello eggs, Rice Krispie treats, etc. The carnivores get frozen blocks of bloody water with meat and fish inside. Again, to each his own! We had a beautiful, sunny morning to enjoy the animals and our picnic.


Bryce, Drew, & I wait for the animals to get their treats.


Stu entertains Bryce while Drew snacks.


Some animals get Easter treats filled with nuts & popcorn...


while others get "bloodcicles." The cheetah seemed to like his.

After an afternoon nap, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Easter dinner. The Bunny had also been to their house! Amazing! The boys found more eggs and had a great time playing outside with their grandparents. All in all, a wonderful day.


Drew & Grandma make some bubbles,


while Bryce & Grandpa fly a plane.


Drew is a big fan of the mini Big Wheel. (Mini Wheel?)

We hope the Bunny was good to you and yours, as well. We love and miss you all! Happy Spring!

Framing is complete!

The framing step is finished! We even have garage doors and windows!


Here's our new fireplace.


A view of the back of the house, complete with windows and covered patio.

These pictures were taken last Saturday, March 8th. (Paige's birthday! We hope it was a great one!) The framing is completely done on the house, and this week they are working on the plumbing and electrical work. Once those jobs are finished and the insulation is in, we'll have a "Pre-Drywall Orientation" with the construction superintendant. It seems like things are really moving quickly now. We enjoy venturing out to the site every weekend to check on the progress, although it scares the daylights out of me to have the kids wandering around with no walls, etc! Drew gets a death grip on his little arm as he explores the second floor! Mommy will feel much better once the walls are in place!

We'll update again next week with new pictures! Have a great weekend, everyone! Spring is almost here!

The new Casa de Crane!

Our new house on the 3rd day of framing.


This is what it looked like at the end of one week of framing.


This is the back of the house and the beginning of the covered patio.


Bryce shows off the new fireplace.


Drew's first haircut.


He loves to have his picture taken!


Becky, Brandi, and Denise living it up at the Wynn in Vegas.


Bryce hits the road.

The biggest development of 2008 has been the beginning of construction on the brand new Casa de Crane. After a few months of the planning process, it's pretty exciting to see some actual progress! So far, so good. We're very excited to move in this summer. Our current expected date of completion is early June. We'll post more pictures and updates as construction continues.

I've also included a picture of Drew's 1st haircut, which he got before Christmas. He did pretty well, although the whole event really only lasted about five minutes. He's pretty squirmy. He actually had a 2nd one last week, and the stylist was able to get a much better trim in this time.

The picture of me with my good friends Brandi and Denise was taken two weeks ago in Las Vegas. After 4 & 1/2 years as a mom, I finally bit the bullet and took off for a "Girls' Weekend" with my dear friends from MSU. All I can say is, why on earth did we wait so long? We had so much fun shopping, eating, seeing Le Reve at the Wynn, and catching up, we didn't even have time to gamble! We're definitely hoping to make this an annual event! Thanks to Stu, Kevin, and Brian, who stayed home and tended to the troops. You guys rock!

We're hoping everyone reading this is enjoying some springtime sunshine, and that the snow is melting away as we speak. We miss and love you all!

Christmas 2007

Bryce in his starring role as "The Biggest Billy Goat" in Three Billy Goats Gruff. A star is born.


Bryce rocks out on the annual version of "Feliz Navidad" at the preschool Christmas show.


I cuddle with Bryce, Drew, and cousins Thomas & Jillian on Christmas Eve.


Bryce and I listen to Uncle Rich read Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve.


The whole Crane Clan on Christmas day at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Yes, my sons are wearing matching snowman sweater vests. I insisted this year, since they'll probably never let me do it again!



Uncle Rich and Thomas roasting marshmallows.


Bryce concentrates on his marshmallow.


Drew and I take a swing.


Stu explains the finer points of Tee Ball to Jillian and Drew.


Drew hams it up for Grandpa.

Well, it's March 7th, and I'm blogging about Christmas. Sounds about right. :) You'll have to excuse our tardiness; 2008 has been pretty busy at Casa de Crane. More about that later...first and foremost, here's a rundown of our holiday season!

We started out our festivities with Bryce's preschool Christmas show in early December. Mommy had the brilliant idea to volunteer to make costumes for this event, so I manufactured 7 Billy Goat costumes (yes, in the story there are only 3 billy goats. However, in preschool everyone who wants to be a billy goat gets to be one. Hence, we had 7, as well as 2 trolls.), 2 troll costumes, 3 extra-long Rapunzel braids, and various other disguises. Somehow, I never received my "Best Costumes" nomination from the Academy. Oh well, there's always next year. Bryce had a great time hamming it up in the show. He is not shy. He also had a great visit from Santa at the preschool. His reindeer were feeling a little under the weather, so he arrived on a FIRE TRUCK with gifts for everyone.

Before we knew it, the holidays had arrived, and so had our family. Uncle Rich, Aunt Paige, Thomas, and Jillian came over from Houston to celebrate with us. We had a fun-filled week with them, complete with holiday light viewing, sledding, playing Tee Ball, and marshmallow roasting. The Texans were especially fond of the sledding. New Mexico has had a lot of the white stuff this year. Santa did not disappoint, either. The kids were all very lucky, indeed. Thank goodness the holidays only come around once a year!

Once we had put away all of the holiday loot and decorations, Casa de Crane went on the market. It's been two months now, and we've had about 10 showings. Not bad considering the current state of the real estate market in Albuquerque. We're hopeful that we'll receive an offer soon. More about our new home in the next post.

Here's hoping that all of you were able to enjoy happy, healthy, and peaceful holiday seasons. Here's to a wonderful 2008! Cheers!