Easter!

It is so fitting that we celebrate Easter in the spring. Everything about this time of year just shouts resurrection. New life. Joy! As I see the flowers, the leaves, the grass springing forth after their long winter's slumber, it is such a tangible reminder that death is swallowed up in life, that victory is ours! He is risen indeed! We had a wonderful Easter trip to Canada filled with sunshine, good friends, precious family and delicious food. It was altogether too short, but we loved every second. Here are some captured moments of our time and this beautiful season.

These eggs are not merely festive decorations-they are also Iain's favorite toy!

He loves to throw them on the ground and laugh and laugh...!

Delicious "Good Saturday" brunch with family and friends in the homeland-a precious tradition!

Our little bunny opening his Easter basket

Handsome little Easter fella!

Iain and his new best friend Abby!

"Not all those who wander are lost..."

Last weekend we did something we've been talking about doing for a LONG time! We had a Lord of the Rings marathon with Graeme and Ashlee! Becky and Courtney joined in the fun too, although they were less marathon-ers and more just companions, as they didn't watch any of the movies! We were lucky enough to be able to enjoy our marathon at our Pitman parents' lovely home, which has a very cozy family room, just as nice as a hobbit hole, and a wonderfully large flat screen TV, which made almost 12 hours of movie watching much more enjoyable! AND, as if the marathon wasn't fun enough in itself...to make a good weekend even better...we also ate like hobbits! If you know anything about hobbits...that means seven meals a day! We did, however, break up our seven meals into two days, because it seemed a little excessive. But, don't get me wrong...there was still a LOT of food! And since it was hobbit food, it was DELICIOUS! We had a fantastic time, and think that it needs to become a yearly tradition! Here are some pictures of our fun weekend...and I realize that they are nearly ALL of food...but when you spend a whole weekend watching movies and eating during the "intermissions"...that's what you get!!

Our elven "lembas" wrapped in "leaves"
(or Grandma Shedden's shortbread, wrapped in tissue!)

Neil feels this is what lembas bread must have been...dense, sweet, and a mouthful fills you up! (Unless you're a hobbit or Graeme!!)

Our awesome commemorative t-shirts!

"But the only brew for the brave and true...comes from The Green Dragon!"

The littlest hobbit of the Shire!

Elevensies: sausage, taters and field greens with mushrooms

Afternoon tea and scones with jam and cream....mmmm!

Dinner: hearty stew and crusty bread

Supper: individual apple pies and home-made cream

First breakfast: berries and cream

Second breakfast: eggs, taters, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, crumpets, coffee and cream **Please note that this very hobbit-y portioned plate is NEIL'S! (But in all fairness...he skipped the "first breakfast" fruit offering!)

Luncheon: mince and taters with glazed carrots and crusty bread

Not shown: "Last Resort" bread pudding and tea for dessert

It was such a fun time together, and watching the movies all in a row made them seem so much more epic. (I realize this word is over-used A LOT, but in this case, it really does fit!) For all of you Lord of the Rings fans...grab your best hobbit friends, and have a marathon! You really won't regret it!

NOTE: For the "oh-so much more beautiful" photos of our weekend, check out the ones taken by my awesome photographer brother-in-law, Graeme, AND find yourself a lovely new blog by my wonderful sister-in-law Ashlee....here's the link to Ashlee's Blog! Enjoy!

Little Leprechaun

It's a great day to be Irish! Even though we're mostly Scottish in the Pitman clan, (and incidentally, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Dad Pitman...the most Scottish man ever to be born on St. Patrick's Day!!) there's a little bit of Irish heritage there also, thanks to my Grandma Kathleen. So we sported our green, and partook in all of the festivities, along with all the other Irish folk. Our little green family went to Iain's first parade, in downtown Galena. We thought he'd be so excited to see all the action, and ESPECIALLY the tractors and fire-trucks "zoomin' down the street", as they are the lead characters in his most favorite song. However, he wasn't quite as excited as we anticipated. He was mostly indifferent to the tractors and other floats, and was EXTREMELY scared of the fire trucks AND the marching bands! Oh well...maybe next year! We did capture some good pictures though!

Another great Pitman family photo...

Iain in excited anticipation of the fun to come

A bird's-eye view from Daddy's shoulders!

Hearing the SCARY fire trucks!!

A VERY concerned boy with his mama!

After our fun at the parade, we headed home for a delicious Irish dinner, courtesy of Deborah...my most Irish friend! With her mom's shepherd's pie and Nanny's soda bread for the main course (accompanied by an Irish (green!) salad and a cold mug of Guinness of course!) AND some bread pudding and a nice cup'o'tea for dessert, we were feeling as Irish as Paddy Murphey!

In the words of the Irish, "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

Birthday!

Neil's birthdays always seem to turn into a lengthy event, and this year was no exception! Maybe it's because it falls in February, and everyone needs a little fun at that time of year. No matter the reason, it was another great weekend!

We started the celebrations on Friday night with the Pitman crew, and Neil wanted pizza. So we got pepperoni pizzas from Hy-Vee and a ton of toppings, and made "made-to-order" pizzas. It was fantastic! We finished up (in keeping with the theme) with a brownie-chocolate-caramel-peanut butter cup dessert pizza. Oh. My.

Saturday, Neil and I took off for our first weekend away without Iain. He partied with Grandma and Grandpa Pitman, Uncle Stu and Aunt Becky, and Cousin Courtney, while we went to Madison overnight. We had a ton of fun meandering around in downtown shops and bookstores, sitting and talking as long as our hearts desired in coffee shops and pubs, taking our time over lunch and dinner, soaking in the whirlpool for hours, and staying up late without fear of having to wake up early. (You know...all the things you take for granted before you have a baby!!!) We did miss him a LOT though!

We finished up the three-day birthday weekend with lunch together in the afternoon and presents and a steak dinner last night, along with portabella mushrooms that were about the size of my head!

All in all, a great weekend. Too bad birthdays only come around once a year!

Neil's scrumptiously delicious birthday dessert


Enjoying the snow in downtown Madison

Having fun together!


Iain's balloon "for Daddy"


Neil's present "from Iain"-matching "vintage" tape t-shirt and onesie!

Perfect gift for a rock star and his son!

Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's Weekend was a hit from start to finish! It consisted of a road trip with good coffee, a Pitman-sibling-sleepover-weekend at Stu and Becky's, Babysitting Swap: Date Night, much Olympic watching with the sibling crew (Go Team Canada!), "fun" in the snow with the babies, lots of good (and much needed!) naps, trading of carefully chosen Valentine's gifts and cards, and the traditional heart shaped pizza. Of course there was also a lot of reminiscing and mushy moments as well! Here are a few pictures of the fun we had!

At The Brown Bottle in Iowa City, for a fun, romantic, perfect Valentine's dinner

After-dinner tea, dessert and live music at The Java House

Saturday's adventure was "playing" in the snow with Iain and Courtney

It wasn't a big hit!

Iain was quite concerned....

...and VERY sad!

Our attempt at a Valentine's "family" picture...and this is the best one we got!

Iain's Valentine's dinner-green beans!

I Can Crawl!

Love-Mail

Valentine's Day is almost here, and we're super excited! It's always a nostalgic time for Neil and me, as it celebrates our first date, (we know...so cheesy! But it was a coincidence...I promise!) and it's fun to think back to those memories. We're planning a "Babysitting-Swap: Date Weekend" for Valentine's Day, and are excited to get dressed up and try a fun new restaurant. We'll probably commemorate the actual day by getting a heart shaped pizza, (it's become a tradition somehow!) but we've been celebrating all month in the Pitman home. We've designated it "Love-Month" and have been having fun stuffing our mailboxes with "Love-Mail". (Best $4 ever spent...Thanks Target Dollar Spot!) There's no end to the fun...Valentines for Iain from us, notes of adoration for Ella from Iain, cards for me from Neil, tokens for Neil from me, "tolerate" notes for Iain from Ella...and the list goes on! We've had baked goods, coupons, poems, and even a balloon! Iain loves "checking" his mailbox every day, (which for him, entails chewing on the flag!) and I love to wake up in the morning and see my flag up. Love is in the air!