Zane, Emerson, and Smith: Easter Weekend

We had a four day weekend around Easter. It was awesome getting to spend that extra time together.

We dyed eggs, of course. I think we only broke 4 or 5 eggs while dying them this year - it's getting better. We ended up with a lot of Charger's eggs.

This little face. Oh my.

So much concentration

Molly got to help too

Stickers

Zane lost his first top tooth two days before Easter, but somehow the Tooth Fairy forgot or decided not to come that night (I know, weird). So she ended up coming the same night as the Easter Bunny. There was a lot of speculation going on about if they would see each other, if she would just send the money with the Easter Bunny, if they would work together, etc. Zane ended up with money and jelly beans for his tooth.

I love this boy.

Zane and Em and I made crescent rolls with cinnamon and sugar marshmallows inside as an Easter activity to show the empty tomb. They were SO sticky and messy. And Emmy officially decided and announced that she no longer likes marshmallows.

I got all the kids dressed up for church on Saturday night. Zack worked all services, so I was on my own. Even though we should have left a lot earlier (since it was pouring rain outside and church was going to be so crowded), I had to take some pictures first. They were so stinkin cute.

Emmy and I had an argument half way through, so she was sad for part of it. I had to bribe her to smile again by telling her I would take a picture of just the girls next...

The girls. Emmy looks like a giant compared to tiny little Molly.

Family pictures at church. I want to crop all the people out of the background because I love this pic. I was tickling Smith. :) I'll post the updated picture.

Jord and Ben and Molly (who are about to be our neighbors!!) Woohoo.

After church, we tried to go out to eat, but it was too crowded, so we headed next door to McDonald's. What a smart choice. The kids had a blast. The food was, in fact, pretty gross as usual though.

We kept their Easter baskets pretty simple this year. I LOVE shopping for baskets. It's so fun to be thoughtful for each kid.

Easter morning, we had to get up at the crack of dawn to open baskets before we dropped Zack off at work.
So much joy.

Zane stuffed a peep in his mouth.

THEN, it was time to hunt eggs. We had someone anonymously set up a huge egg hunt in our front yard for us while we slept again this year. What a gift. The kids were beyond excited to get out there find the eggs. Smith was searching out every window.

This was at 7:30 am. :)

Then, I invited my Dad and Kris, and sisters and families over for brunch. I was wishing all day long that Grandma Fran could have been there. Last year, she spent Easter with us and loved every minute of it. She helped the kids find eggs, played with them, etc. It was one of the last days we got to spend with her. Oh I miss my grandma more than words can say. Holidays are a little bit bitter sweet each time...

Here's the kids' table.

Aunt Nell...

You have to have sidewalk chalk on Easter. Thanks, Dad and Kris!

Another egg hunt. Kids vs. Adults

Handsome. Handsome. Handsome.

Here's the adults' piles of eggs when it was our turn to hunt.

Grandpa Jack giving hints

These guys loved getting water guns in their Easter baskets. They chose "wet clothes" to wear that could get soaked. Then Grandpa Dave threw toys (clay pigeons) in the air for them to aim at.

Egg hunt #3 was with our neighborhood kids. Our neighbors hid a bunch of eggs all around the street. Smith and Molly were asleep. Zane and Em are on the right.

The three 4-year olds...

Zane was on a mission

Then, later, we headed over to Judi and Bob's house for dinner with family. Smith got this mask and cape from GJ and GK earlier and never took it off. Actually he hasn't really taken it off since then.

I don't know who came up with it, but he says he's "Fred" when he's wearing it. He saves stuffed animals, flies, and protects Mommy.

A nice moment when Smith and Molly were playing nicely together. I think this was right before Smith grabbed a toy right out of her hands. We are working on it!

Egg hunt #4...

It got a little chilly, because it was after dinner.

Smith was hilarious. He was rushing to grab every egg. We tried to make some super easy for Molly and he kept trying to get them right before her. After a while, he started to get it, but instead of letting her pick up the egg and put it into the basket herself, he had to grab it, but started handing them to her. What a sweetie pie. He and Molly just kept going and going while we kept hiding and hiding more eggs.

Fred was pretty tired after all this

The day after Easter we walked around a lake nearby with good friends. Since the big kids didn't have school, I had all 4 kids. I let Em ride her bike and counted on Zane to run alongside her to help nudge her along when she got stuck. It was the best ever. They were complete champs and rode ahead of us for the entire 1.2 miles around. They even stopped at the exercise stations along the way and then when we caught up they jumped up and kept going. I pushed Smith and Molly in the stroller and got to chat with friends along the way.