Easter hopped up on us quick this year at the end of March. Lil bunny was older and wiser this year which meant that we had a lot more fun in store for us. We watched her hunt down at least 20,478 eggs, chow down numerous pieces of chocolate and obsess over the coins inside. Oh yeah, and we watched her learn more about the REAL REASON for Easter. Our sweet babe waved palms for the first time on Palm Sunday during church service. Thank goodness for Kristi Johnson, her brave escort! Hallie would not let go of her hand as they strolled in so Kristi was a champ and walked with her and all of the other kiddos. She was shy to say the least but did her job well and we were so proud.....
Getting some use out of last year's Easter dress
Wave those palms girl!!
That afternoon following church us girls decided to do some baking for our guests that would be stopping by that afternoon. Riley's Tulsa fam was driving in to visit his grandma at the nursing home and we thought some sweet treats would be the perfect way to greet them. Hal chose brownies over cookies and pink frosting over white. DUH!
She also ransacked the baking cabinet and decided upon some white chocolate chips for the ooey, gooey brownies....
Despite constant requests and reminders to NOT LICK THE SPOON, she just could NOT resist. No salmonella. But one paranoid momma. The brownies cooled on the counter while I took a short snooze while Hallie napped. The gang arrived at our doorstep shortly thereafter and it was clear that Hallie had been missing her Nanny....
Jumping for joy!
Aunt MaryAnn came with two big Easter baskets full of the perfect gifts for Carmen and Hallie. Speaking of Carmen, her and Aunt Katie had arrived for some family time. The girls dug into their baskets full of jewelry, bunny ears, candy, bath color tablets, coloring book and markers, bubbles, and the not to be forgotten delicious "bunny bait" snack made my MaryAnn. Yum!
I caught this goofy girl showing some love to her great aunt....
Carmen was a sport and smiled with her bunny ears on for me....
Jessi hung out nearby wondering if the girls had forgotten about him during all of the basket opening...
"Girls....oh girls....I'm still here...."
We hopped right into egg coloring a couple weeks ahead of time this year. I figured it would've been because of my impatience and love of egg dipping....however....it was this little chick's excitement over the two egg-dying kits that she found in the laundry room......
She was a natural at pretty-ing up those eggs. I didn't even mind the dye ALL OVER THE TABLE from her incessant egg re-dipping and plopping. In fact, I threw caution to the wind and embraced the Easter-ish mess!
In the middle of our project she proclaimed that we needed more dye...more colors...and more eggs. Two dozen just wasn't enough. A week later we ended up with another dozen to add to the mix. All was well. We had the eggs. Next she needed to know what to do with them.....
We had a startling amount of "practice hunts" this year. One in particular was done with a dozen pre-dyed eggs that I picked up just for that purpose. I figured she would demolish them with her not-so-gentle touch and I was every bit correct in assuming that. She and her dad hid and hunted those dozen eggs until they were pretty damaged. During this hunt she tossed the eggs all into one pile hurriedly as Riley approached. When he looked aloof, asking where all the eggs were she was less than amused. She hollered and screamed and pointed..."RIGHT THERE!!!" He continued to act confused and looked in the nearby tree, the hood of her jacket, in the bushes.....and then finally found the pile of cracked eggs. She was thrilled. With each hunt her skills became more refined and we knew after the fourth one that she was in fact ready to hunt on the big day.
Showin' some 'tude
....and some cuteness of course
The downtown egg hunt was on a Wednesday this year and I didn't have to twist Hal's arm too much to get her to go. Actually once she heard me mention it she couldn't stop jabbering about it. We plucked one of her new springy outfits from the closet and grabbed her bucket to match (we are deep in the depths of a fierce "matchy matchy" phase right now). Katie and Carmen met us downtown and the girls ran around together before the hunt began.....
Two cute chicks
I was rather impressed by her self-control (seeing as how she usually exhibits NONE). The plethora of eggs were spread around the lawn and she managed to walk by all of them.
We spotted quite a few little friends....
The ever so stylish Eden
The always dapper Mr. Sam
Sweet Kaleigh
The girls waited....and waited....and waited some more....
"Let's get goin', these eggs aren't gonna hunt themselves..."
AND THEY'RE OFF!!!!!!
Eden and her pretty momma on the go
Riley arrived just in time to help her hunt and then the two of them emptied her goodies together. She would shake and keep if it sounded like money....if it didn't make a noise she'd hand it over to him....
The girls (plus Nanny hiding in the back) made the front page!
Katie and I took the gals to the park afterwards and let them roam free while we caught up on life.....
They got their adventure on in their tiny matching Crocs....
Later that afternoon we had ONE. LAST. HUNT. before Easter day. I promise. This one was at the assisted living center where Nanny organized the Spring Fling. We met Aunt Ky there along with her new boyfriend as well as Katie and Carmen. The lil girls entertained the residents out on the patio.....
Speaking of the kitchen.....I wanted to burn it down to the ground by the end of the day. But before I go into the madness that went on in the kitchen that day I must share about the most dreadful ten mile run E.V.E.R. Kate, Savannah and I braved the warm, humid temps and completed our long run for the week. A mix of dehydration, fatigue and sheet exhaustion led to me in a pile of muscle cramps, nausea and dizziness on the couch that evening. But here's the deal....I didn't have time for that....so I let myself be ill for about ten minutes and got right back up, chugged water and tore up the kitchen until 1:00 a.m. Six straight hours of dessert and breakfast prep. Oh and I suppose I should mention that I was preparing to meet my dad's fiance for the very first time on Easter. I wasn't nervous at all.....nope....not one bit. Ok, I'm a liar. I was in a tizzy of anxiety and wanting everything to be perfect.
Strawberry cake....check.
Colored deviled eggs.....check.
Orange cheesecake carrots.....check.
Oreo truffle brownie, green bean casserole, breakfast casserole muffins.......after all of that was complete I felt like curling up in a ball on the floor and thanking God that my dad was bringing the meat and potatoes for Easter dinner!!!! I my gut is telling me to spare you the drama but my back would say to let it be known just how much pain my body was in after that lovely afternoon run. Long run day SHOULD NEVER be combined with hours in the kitchen. NEVER. Luckily I got some solid sleep (despite those nerves I mentioned) and was happy to present Hallie with her Easter basket Sunday morning when she came tapping on our door. She was on happy princess after discovering her new dressup outfits complete with some sparkly new heels.....
Sparkly eggs, ring pops, jumbo sidewalk chalk and a new bunny sippy cup left her jumping for joy. Well actually she was running for joy...in her new heels....
The smile on her face is something I just can't get enough of. What a fantastic way to start off Easter Sunday....
Here's where we ran into a slight snag. Turns out that sassy wasn't big on the idea of switching into her real Easter dress. Try explaining to a two-year-old that she can't wear her princess dressup outfit to church. Uh huh...it's great fun. This Easter dress wasn't just any ol' dress....it was one that she was fascinated with...or so I thought. Apparently dressup dress always trumps real dress....write that down.
More cooking and baking prep went on early that morning and it finally came to an end about thirty minutes after the early church service had already begun. Which meant we arrived a mere 35 minutes late. Which meant we were hurrying into the church. Which meant that the container holding the breakfast casserole muffins I'd just finished baking were in Riley's hands as I carried sassy. Which meant that the breakfast ended up banging the door and spilling everywhere as we walked in. Which meant that I walked back to the car crying and went home. Ok, I am a liar again....but that it so what I wanted to do. I composed by hot mess of a self and dropped Hallie off in the nursery while Riley picked up what he could salvage from the floor. Oh joy. Oh wait, did I say that I dropped off Hallie?? What I meant to say is that I tried to reason with sassy who was crying in my face about all of the reasons she didn't want to stay. So we ended up shamefully finding a seat outside in the foyer (a mere 40 minutes late by this point) and I heard approximately two words of the sermon. Ok, maybe three words..."Let us pray."
Things began to look up during the church wide breakfast and Easter egg hunt. Here are some shots from our morning with our wonderful church family......
;)
Carmen and Hallie had the same dress, just different shades of pink.....
Don't even get me started about how adorable they look walking hand in hand....
Abigail, Carm and Hal after the egg hunt
Cousin Bowen and Carmen
Oh so sweet with Aunt Ky
Riley stayed at church to usher during late service while Hallie and I hurried home to take some pictures in the backyard. Ok, actually we went home to finish preparing dinner, vacuum like I should've done the night before....and take lots of pictures.
It's not hard to tell that sassy was being extra silly as I tried to get her to pose for me. She posed, alright....poser extraordinaire. ;) A few short minutes after I gave up and came inside Aunt B and Uncle S were knocking at the door. Hallelujah! I'd been missing my sister like crazy and frankly I needed a big hug at that moment. She came bearing LOTS of gifts for Hallie. Gifts that were just begging to be tried on apparently.....
Days of the Week panties
These two have my heart <3
Chocolate, tattoos, panties, eggs filled with coins and a sign made by Aunt B!
Spencer and I hid the Easter eggs that Hal had worked so hard coloring and Gman and Meg pulled in right as we were finishing. They came with some lovely gifts as well.....
A beautiful lily from Meg and a basket of goodies for Hal
We giggled as Hal showed us where she wanted her new cross to hang
Hal donned her bunny ears for yet another hunt. I think this was the moment she realized that she'd hunted eggs five thousand times already......
"Actually, mom, I think it's 5,001 egg hunts"
Dad egged Hallie on (no pun intended...seriously...but that was a good one though) as he would place an egg in between his feet and ask her to come find it....
Is there anything more angelic than a child in an Easter dress smiling in the sunshine??? That's what I thought.
The table was set. The family had met. Is it time to eat yet?
Hallie served as the unplanned entertainment during our meal as she stood in her chair and sang a solo of "Jesus Loves Me." You can imagine my surprise as I stood next to her wiping her messy hands with a washcloth when all of a sudden she started belting out a song that I didn't know she even knew. Wow moment for sure. The tears started flowing immediately. I also got a little teary-eyed as she sat with Gman reading her new Easter resurrection book.....
We returned very quickly to the house where we spent time getting to know Meg and just chatting it up while Hallie ran around showing off her newest tricks and toys. Around 3:00 I suggested we take a trip out to Boiling Springs since it looked like Hallie was going to skip her nap that day. Riley stayed behind to take a snooze while the rest of us took a short hike and watched Hal play on the playground. That is the abridged version. The long version includes some whining and an a very unusual peepee accident at the park in which we watched Hallie stand in the middle of the playground and let pee run down her legs. It seems as though she was just as nervous as I was that day. ;) Either that or too tired to realize she needed to go to the bathroom. Needless to say we loaded up and headed back to town with a naked baby in the backseat who nearly fell asleep on the way. Poor Spencer caught a lot of her sass in the backseat as she swatted his hand away a few times. Seeing a trend here? We made the best of the afternoon thought despite Hal's less than cooperative outlook.......
I realize by browsing through the pictures it looks like she was happy as a lark. A happy yet temperamental lark I suppose you could say. ;) She spent a moment getting back in Spencer's good graces before he left the house.....
Two peas in a pod right here.....
Carmen and Hallie found the ginormous amount of eggs that Aunt Ky and Michael had spread throughout the backyard and garden.....
Teamwork
Us mommas helped the babes get every last egg. Well actually we hear that Papa is still finding eggs in the backyard still so I guess we didn't do a very thorough job. ;)
Hal sat and pondered her day full of fun (and exhaustion).....
"Whew, this is hard work being a kiddo...."
"...but I wouldn't trade it for the world."
We had a delicious dinner and then watched the girls laugh their bunny tails off.....
Nanny offered to watch the girls while Papa, Katie, Luke, Riley and I took out the Stangs. Let me tell you how cool we looked in the beat up green machine next to Papa and Luke's shiny red hotrods. I swear Riley imagines what his hotrod is going to look like the whole time he's driving it . The guy has a look on his face like he's on top of the world. I suppose that's all that matters. He was happy. And so was I. And so was she....
And so were they.....
I sat down that night (after the fourth sink full of dishes in less than a day was complete) and breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that we are together and happy and celebrating such a meaningful holiday. Relief that my dad is happy. Relief that I didn't have to enter the kitchen for a good long while. Relief that although I am a sinner through and through, I'm saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. I know that for certain. Something else I know for certain???
This bunny was pooped.
HAPPY EASTER!!!
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