Easter Monday

Today was our first day back at school after Spring Break.  Our day went pretty smoothly - aside from being a little tricky to wake up so early, everyone got off to a great start.  I was able to leave work shortly after my school day ended, and I got the kids early so we could come home and relax.  Hannah had her jammies on hours before bedtime, and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out!  Jack wasn't far behind.  We'll see how we do tomorrow, when the "newness" of being back at school has worn off.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some pictures from our Easter festivities.  Yesterday was a day packed with family and fun!

Hannah's Basket

Jack's Basket

This year the bunny left their baskets on the TV console instead of on our coffee table.  When the kiddos looked over the balcony first thing in the morning, there were no baskets to be found!  I had two crying little lovelies waking me up at 7:15 to exclaim that the Easter Bunny didn't come.  I don't think the bunny realized that he's always left the baskets elsewhere...luckily, I was able to dry their tears and show them that, in fact, the Easter Bunny did come!  Poor things...

Early morning light and an Easter egg hunt

Family photo - and yes, we matched on purpose :)

Uncle John, Dylan, and Aunt Ryan

Cousin Love

Dessert table

Family photo

Easter table - so lovely!

My carrots!  New recipe found here

My favorite holiday meal

We did an egg hunt for the cousins - one indoors with egg fillers and one outside without fillers.  How cute are these egg hunt signs I found at Target?

Everyone did a nice job of helping one another find their eggs!

And, of course, Hannah had plenty of time to love on Buddah-Bear!  Note: She shared her baby blanket with Buddah because she just loves him so much!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and enjoyed the beautiful day outside!

Gearing Up for the Bunny

Today was a day spent getting ready for the Easter Bunny to visit.  Because of Spring Break, Hannah didn't have a soccer game, so our day was free.  The weather was perfect for our community egg hunt (last year the kids had to wear their winter coats), and this year, we invited Dylan to come along and join in on the fun.

I love the way our neighborhood creates "obstacles" with twigs and logs :)

Getting ready to search for eggs

Ryan told Dylan to get ready and he got right into position!

After the hunt - which took all of 45 seconds

Visiting with the Easter Bunny

We came home to relax mid-day, but in the evening, we'd made plans to go to Grammy and Grampy's to dye eggs and have dinner together.  Since we all dye eggs anyway, it seemed like a good idea to do it all together...until we had cups full of dye and three little people in the near vicinity - then we began to question my great idea.  It all worked out well - I brought our messy mat that I've had since the kids were babies, and we covered Grammy's chairs with towels.

A few tiny cracks, and lots of glitter, but they are so pretty!

The evening was a success, and Grampy's chicken quesadillas were a hit.  The kids are officially ready for Easter tomorrow :)

Silent Sunday

Three Peas in a Pod

Grampy's Birthday

Dylan loves a party!

Also - chocolate frosted cupcakes :)

Happy Birthday, Grampy!  We love you, and we're lucky that we got to spend this evening with you to celebrate you on your day.  

Trick-or-Treating Fun

The kids had such a fun Halloween!  The day was definitely packed with activity.  I decided to work half-day so that Brad and I could attend Jack's 1st grade Harvest Party together.  We had a really good time - I ran a pumpkin investigation station, and Brad was able to travel around to the various stations with Jack.  We had a lot of fun before heading over to Winwood to set up for our first experience with Trunk or Treat.

I've never signed up before because I'm always rushing from work to make it to school in time for the parties, let alone the parade, but this year, I decided to volunteer since I had the time.  I'm not super-creative, but I found a cute idea on Pinterest, and I was happy with the way it turned out.

Our campsite

A candy campfire :)

The kids did great posing for photos with their classes and then walking around the parking lot for the parade.

Can you spot Mikey?

What about Raphael?

Our happy girl

Digging for the perfect lollipop

Our handsome turtle

After the parties, we took the kids and while they were still in costume, I took some photos before it started to get dark.  I was happy with the way they came out, and I need to remember to do this every year!  Then we went inside for some dinner and jack-o-lantern carving.  Grandma and Grandpa came over to visit, and the littles were so excited to receive some special Halloween treats!

This boy is so easy to photograph!

A tiny, pouting turtle

Brad, carving the jack-o-lantern

Hannah and Grandpa

While Jack was resting, he decided to take the opportunity to draw a candy guide and a map of the neighborhood to be sure they visited all the homes and didn't forget anything important.  Such an organized way to tackle Halloween!

As the kids were finishing up dinner, Grampy, Aunt Ryan, Uncle John, and Dylan arrived for some trick-or-treating.  Poor Grammy wasn't feeling well, so she had stayed home for the evening, but we took plenty of pictures.

Our three amigos

Spooky

Daddy, Hannah, Jack, and Grampy - post trick-or-treating

Hannah, enjoying some fudge provided by Aunt Ryan :)

It was a good night, and I'm glad everyone had such a nice time.  

The kids have already started to plan their costumes for 2015.  I told them we have plenty of time...  And seeing how Miss Hannah decided five days before Halloween that she no longer wanted to be Elsa and, instead, she wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, I've decided we won't be making any rash decisions.

We hope your Halloween was just as fun-filled as ours!