Easter weekend 2022

And WE'RE BACK!! After spending 2 Easter's in isolation, minimizing risk and exposures, we finally decided to once again hold an Easter celebration. They aren't big, just adding 4 people to our home, but we also got to add one special 4 legged friend for the day...and night! 

My good friend from work always joins us for Easter and she was delighted to be back this year. It was our first Easter celebration with her newest service dog-Pepper. And boy does she love our kiddos. 

She was happy to roam the house, hoping for any dropped food, and eager to play ball in the backyard. She's so well-behaved and we loved having her. So much that she even stayed the night for a sleepover! 

I think Grandma Jan was pretty happy to not spend another Easter alone too; and boy do we love her too! She and Sidney have been exchanging books throughout the pandemic and it was time for another book exchange and a quick "book club" gathering. Such a fun memory for the two of them to share.

Although we held Lincoln off until 10am so the girls could join in on the Easter egg hunt, he still was the only one who participated. Despite a bribe of money, they still declined gathering up any eggs. 

Their loss 

No one was pleased to take this picture, but they took it nonetheless and someday will be happy I forced family photos 

And although he won't admit it, even Ryan enjoys Pepper's company. She really is a super sweet dog and the kiddos wore her out she slept the entire next day! 

 Here's hoping to future Easter celebrations! 

Easter 2021

Our Easter was not as traditional as most years, but we had a surprise up our sleeves that may turn into a new tradition. 

Lincoln woke up early for an egg hunt and to see what the Easter bunny had left him. Since he's super loud, it didn't take long before Sidney was awake and joined him. Eventually we dragged Regan out of her bed, to let her know we were headed to....

THE LLAMA FARM!!

All three of the kiddos had been begging us for months to take a trip to the llama farm. Apparently it's been a big hit since the pandemic (great for social distancing!). I had tried getting a reservation in the fall before the snow but struck out. 

And then I tried again about a month ago, only to find out they were booked out 4 weeks. At that point, the girls' softball schedule was unknown and it seemed impossible to schedule something without risking overlapping with a practice. 

So when the farm offered an Easter appointment, we knew it was perfect timing! There was no way anyone would have softball, and at the time, we had  no plans for Easter anyway (thanks to Covid). 

Everyone was screaming with excitement as we got dressed and headed to the farm. It was a beautifully gorgeous sunny day to pet, walk, feed and brush the llamas. 

And we had nearly the entire farm to ourselves :) 

Perhaps the best part of it all, was meeting baby llamas! 

They had 2 new llamas, this little guy only 2 weeks old! Regan was nearly crying as she held him, she was so happy. And boy are baby llamas soft. We had to go back before leaving to give them one more squeeze. 

Who needs a dog?, we'll just walk llamas. 

We headed back home to meet up with the grandparents in the backyard in the most safe manner we could: no food, stay outside and keep your distance from one another. 

My mom has been begging to recreate this photo for a couple of years; and unfortunately we haven't been able to get close enough to one another for even a few seconds to snap a photo. 

Until now, since Grandma Jan is fully vaccinated. We made this a quick photo and then everyone quickly scattered again. 

But sadly the girls aren't in the right order so we'll need a retake! 

Easter looked a little different, but it was 100% better over the last year. And I think it's safe to say, the llamas made everything better. 

 

Easter 2019

Just a quick post on Easter 2019, I'll have to add more pictures when I have more time. 

We both laughed out loud when Lincoln's school sent us a picture of him wearing these bunny ears. In the middle of our work days, the photo on the right showed up on our phones. I immediately thought of my favorite Christmas movie "A Christmas Story" with the bunny suit. 

Lincoln looks just about as thrilled with those ears on. 

Easter morning we started with Easter baskets filled to the brim with useful gifts (toys and trinkets that get tossed in a bin are not welcome): soccer gear for Lincoln, make-up for Sidney (because...she's 10!) and a Valleyfair pass for Regan. After an egg hunt, we ventured to church, which ended up being quite an adventure.  

We sat only about 4 rows back, which sent Ryan into a little panic..."why are we sitting so close!?". For many reasons, it's been a while since we've been to church.  

Lincoln sat quietly through the first reading (where the name Peter was mentioned), listening like he would a story from a schoolteacher. She finished and a quick song began. Lincoln immediately pointed to the cross suspended from the ceiling and loudly asked "when are they going to take Peter down?" 

Oh buddy, we have a lot to catch up on!

We enjoyed the rest of Easter back at home with grandparents, a cousin and a pseudo Aunt with service dog. It was a beautiful day to spend basking in the sun and enjoying our company. 

Easter 2017

Easter has always been one of my most favorite holidays. I love spring-time and the budding flowers, the happy colors, the sunshine and of course, the warmer weather. Easter was also the first holiday that we started to host so that makes it another reason to love it (insert: no travel!).

Sadly, this year, Easter was the first holiday without my dad. It wasn't just that he wouldn't be there with us, but historically he has played a pretty important role in our holiday gathering. He did all the cooking (while the rest of us went to church) AND he ran around hiding over 100 Easter eggs to give the kiddos a pretty big hunt. SHHHHHH, they never knew who hid those eggs all those years and Sidney has hoped for a picture or glimpse of that bunny each and every year.

This year we had to make some changes and Ryan/Arnie both stayed back from church (apparently what my dad was able to handle took 2 people to do....I'm teasing :). They did a wonderful job and the meal was great and the kids enjoys their hunt.

(no we didn't get a dog, but glad he and Angie got to spend the day with us. Baylor loved the big fenced in backyard). 

The bunny found these pretty cool inflatable loungers to give the girls in their baskets this year (they begged for them during our visit to South Padre Island but with Easter around the corner, I knew it would be a perfect gift!). The girls lounged in these things all afternoon. I hope they'll make for a comfy place to hang out this summer, especially during long tournament weekends.

 I didn't feel the same excitement as I usually do this Easter. It just wasn't the same, I could sense something was missing. We're doing our best to put smiles on our faces each day, but there isn't a day go by that I don't think about my dad and Easter was no different.

Thankfully we have these 3 to remind us of the life we have to live.

Easter 2016

Easter has come and gone, and I realize I'm way far behind on blogging! Life has gotten crazy around here.

With Lincoln's allergy to egg, he isn't allowed to even touch a carton, let alone an egg. We snatched up some fake white eggs and gave them a whirl for the egg dyeing afternoon. To say they worked is an understatement, but he felt included (for the most part) and only mildly disappointed that the color wouldn't stick to his eggs.

We prefer to host Easter at our house and had the pleasure of having all 4 grandparents, my dearest friend from work (and Baylor!) as well as Hope join us for the day. We ventured to a new to us church in the neighborhood and then back home for an egg hunt, lunch and a relaxing afternoon.

 Lincoln searched high and low for those Easter eggs in our backyard. He worked so hard each time to bend down that by the end, this was our view!

Easter fun

Easter is still one of my most favorite holidays. I love the meaning, I love the colors and I love spring weather. We have celebrated each and every Easter as a family in our own home too...bonus! It means absolutely no travel. And for that, we are all happy! 

The Easter Bunny did not disappoint, and showed up with treats and gifts for the kiddos. Sidney claimed she didn't sleep much overnight, as she was simply too excited! I don't believe the girl actually sleeps anymore. 

Regan is super excited to get her eyes on this book. She read a few pages, paused and said "wait!, this actually happened to real people!?", amazed that anyone could actually live through such disasters. Note: this book is in the elementary school age group...so I'm hopeful it's not scary for her!

As is typical, he was more interested in his "treat" than any of the gifts. 

Both girls got one of these talking birds....and talk they will do! Honestly, the thing repeats what we say and then sings when you pet her back. Wonder how long it takes for the batteries to wear out :) 

After a disastrous attempt at church we had our private egg hunt! A little bit about church before I push it to the back of my mind and hope to forget the experience forever. Ryan said "Lincoln in church is like oil and water" and then we all later agreed that if you look up the definition of the 'devil' you will see a picture of Lincoln in church...yes, it was that bad. Just ask those people around us, but give them a day to get their hearing back after listening to his high pitched screaming when we wouldn't let him lick the floors, climb the nearby stairs only to fall off of them, and on and on. Move him to the lobby you say?, that wasn't any better, just more screaming and a lot of stair climbing/falling. How about move him downstairs?...well there he stood next to a lovely new mom and stood watch as she breastfed her newborn with Ryan providing his supervision, which just made it all awkward. As if we needed a reminder why we don't regularly attend church with a 1 year old! 

Ok, I'm going to forget about our morning now. 

Our egg hunt was gg--rrr--ee--aaa-ttt!! Again, it takes a village, and I'm so in love with our village. 

The kids all scurried through the back yard in search of plastic eggs filled with money and candy. 

That bunny was clever, hiding those eggs both high and low. The girls were sweet to let Lincoln take the low-lying obvious eggs and they searched for the hidden ones. 

It took him a long while to catch on, but eventually he joined in the fun and realized those plastic eggs did not belong in the bark of a tree, beside the rocks, or setting in the empty window basket. 

Happy Easter from our family to yours! 

...later dudes! 

Easter prep

In true family fashion, we headed down to a nearby lake for the annual Easter egg hunt. This year, Regan was too old for the stated ages, and although we saw many kids who were older than her participate, she was happy to instead help Lincoln. Sidney's age division moved her up to the "big kid" area and her hunt was a real hunt....like in the woods sort of hunt! (More about those woods later).  She was pretty excited, and even though she walked away with just a fe in her basket, she said it was a fabulous day and can't wait for next year.
Score! 

Lincoln was surrounded by fellow 1 year olds in his area. Less of a hunt, and more of a 'just try to stand on the grass, bend over and pick up an egg', sort of deal. 

He was super cute, not really sure what to expect, and just staring at all of those colorful-jelly bean-filled eggs. 

Regan was a great helper to him, and it allowed me to catch some pretty cute shots of the 2 of them, working together to fill his basket. 

We got a good laugh out of a boy nearby (older than Lincoln), who choose to stomp on the eggs and crack them open letting the contents explode instead of picking them up. He ran faster than his dad could catch him and made for quite the sight! 

While we waited for the countdown, I was able to catch a few fun pictures of the kids in the woods. These woods would later prove deadly as we trampled through them to find Sidney/Ryan, me carrying Lincoln, tripping on a branch, and tumbling to the ground.
Yes, I bit the dust in front of probably 200 people. With Lincoln in my arms. 

Awesome. 

Looking back, I'm a bit surprised that no one offered help, seeing as though I had just fallen while holding a 1 year old! Evidently, I make falling look graceful and his lack of a real cry meant he was fine.  

Lincoln is one independent little boy. He walked a good 3/4 of a mile back around the lake to the parking lot, all while dragging his filled basket. We pleaded to let us carry him (again, there were 200+ people around us), but he was having none of that. And so, we let him walk. 

On the bright side, at least the parking lot was fairly empty by the time we were ready to leave. His bunny basket on the other hand....the thing was filthy!

Later in the day we colored eggs. Of course, Lincoln had to stand on his own chair, without help, while coloring his egg. That boy was content and happy to play in his orange food colored water for as long as we let him. 

Both of the girls love coloring eggs. We got creative this year and opted out of kit buying. Instead, we ventured into Pinterest land and found that we could use food coloring to create our own colors (their favorite...TEAL!) and later made a second batch of eggs and used crayons on the hot eggs which then melted into some fun colors. Cool!! 

Sweet Sidney continues to be our little animated child. She was so excited to be coloring eggs with her siblings and loved our Easter prep day!