Easter 2010

Here are a few pictures from Easter. I really had to sift to find just a few to share. It was hard! Who knew you could take so many pictures of kiddos hunting Easter eggs??
So let me give you the short version of our Easter and then I'll show the pictures....

First, Easter is my second favorite holiday. I love it! I love the promise of rebirth, the most importantly, the fulfilled promise of the resurrection. For me as a child, Easter was more about bunnies and candy than anything else. While that's lots of fun, it is not what Easter is about. I really, really want my children to understand that while it's fun to have those things, Easter is truly about Christ.

So, we did a few activities to emphasize that. Resurrection eggs are great, the kids loved those.

I think my favorite activity is one Puddin did at school. She made a craft of Jesus ascending into the clouds. I'm keeping this one forEVER as part of our permanent Easter display.
Ok- back to our Easter events... the short version:
First we went to church. It was great to celebrate such a special day
We came home and took pictures.

The kids found their Easter baskets the Easter bunny left for them while they were at church. (Our morning is too crazy, busy to have Easter baskets when they first wake up).

We changed clothes and I finished cooking while hubby and the kids play with their stuff from the baskets.

I feed the kids lunch- except when they have already eaten their chocolate bunnies from their baskets for lunch, then I just feed the babies.

Our family starts to arrive and we visit... some how I don't have pics of this part of the day!

We hunt Easter Eggs

We have Easter dinner

We have Easter dessert... buffet! Ha! We had sooooo much dessert! Yum-yum!

We play and enjoy each others company.

The family leaves and we do a quick clean up/bath time/bed time
We rest.
I love Easter!

Ok, so here are a few pictures....**smile**

The after church, before the Easter basket shot... It is not easy to get 5 kids to look at the camera at the same time with a smile, especially without dum-dums! These were the 3 best shots... out of 37!

Because we can't take a whole family group photo yet, and we always forget to do it when we have people around, we switch up being in the picture. So you have one with me and the kiddos...
And one with Hubby and the kiddos! Again, the 2 best shots out of waaaayyy too many!
Daisy checking out her basket goodies... the must haves on this years list- mum-mums, a new pink cup and a bunny bib!
Bud and Daisy with their baskets. They each also got a board book in their basket.



Monkey See and his new rubber boots! You can't tell from his face...he's my thinker, remember? But he LOVED them!

Ahhh, a girl and her love of chocolate starts early around here!

Monkey Do also got new boots, that he also adored (he is a shoe man after all)! But each year they ALWAYS get a bubble wand. He was super happy about seeing his!

Chocolate bunnies for lunch, anyone?

BTW- I didn't make the Easter dresses for the girls. Nana generously provided the girls with their Easter dresses this year! In fact, I haven't smocked a dress in 3 years!! Who has time to smock these days?!

Next is lunch for the babies, and a quick wardrobe change...
I LOVE this face!!!

This one too! Yes, Daisy is wearing a tiara, thanks to big sister Puddin!

She is so generous, she is sharing one of her most prized possessions on Easter Sunday!

BTW- this was totally un-prompted.
I was changing one of the boys when I looked over and saw this so I grabbed my camera.
(I did make these outfits.)

Now, onto the big Easter egg hunt!
Each of the 3 "big" kids hunt differently... I've already mentioned Puddin's idea of Easter egg hunting. She has since learned about quantity rather than princess quality. I'm not sure that was a good idea. Monkey See, my thinker, does exactly what I would expect. he does not go for the eggs out in the open, but rather the ones off to the side, actually hidden. He really does hunt for his eggs. Monkey Do, on the other hand, does the opposite. He drops his basket and runs to get as many as he can find as quickly as he can, then he runs back to make the drop. Unless, he can find someone to follow behind him and hold his basket. It's just too cumbersome for him.
Monkey Do runing for an egg... where's his basket now??

Puddin searching an egg. I guess if she has to get eggs that aren't princess colors she can at least look like one while she hunts. Her idea, not mine. While she is wearing gloves and a tiara, notice, she is barefoot! Ha!
Cousin J with the monkeys...I wonder whose basket she's carrying? hmmmm. Monkey See surveying his loot...coming up with his next strategy...
and it pays off!! Cousin A with Bud getting his 1st Easter egg!
Uncle T helping Daisy get an egg
Monkey Do...still on the hunt Puddin decided she needed a bigger basket so ran off to find one... here she is dumping her loot into the "GIGANTIC-EST ever Easter basket!"

And we finished with a shot of all of the cousins. Each of these children is so special to me. I love them all so much!

A, Bud, Puddin, J, Daisy, G, Monkey Do, Monkey See

Easter 2010