Happy Easter!!!

We had some fun and sweet memories connected to Easter this year.

On a late-night Walmart run one night, I made an impulse buy when I discovered the egg dying kit in a cardboard box that we used to get when I was a kid.  INSTANTLY, a nostalgic, visceral feeling washed over me as I bent the wire holders and pulled apart the shrinky plastic wrappers!!!

So the girls and I spent Friday morning in an -- EXTREMELY STRESSFUL -- egg dying experience. :)

(it started well...)

Seriously -- I just kept feeling the need for so many rules connected to glasses of incredibly vibrant vinegar water with a 4- and 2-year old!!!  And poor Eliza...she got cut off early on for violating multiple rules all at once...which led to many tears.  I finally just gave her permission to continue peeling her egg (one of the forbidden acts)...which she did gleefully...and then proceeded to eat her entire egg!  So she was fine.

Julia was a little more patient (a.k.a. obedient) with the process...

...but it was short-lived. :)

(notice the egg shells in front of her?)

In any event, it was a (kinda) fun morning together. :)


We attended the annual Egg Hunt at our church again on Saturday, which was fun with them a year older.  They were READY!

Though, at the starting line, Julia was trying to talk to everyone around her and ask if they could please not pick up any pink or purple eggs, because they were her favorite. :)

Here's an action shot...

 And if you watch this video from a camera that the local newspaper mounted in the ground, you'll get a close up look of her run! (we had fun watching it a second time once we could see where she was from the start!)




Afterwards, Julia spent some time with Aunt Diane and Uncle David checking out her treats...

...before also helping Eliza look at hers! :)

There was a pretty photo op that the church had set-up...but our kids wouldn't stop checking all of the (empty) egg props!!! (like candy much?!)

(a quick cooperative moment from Julia)

Easter morning, the girls and I had some sweet times as they discovered their baskets, before we joined Chad at church.

(New pencils, new notebooks, and new ears!  

And you'll notice Froggy is wearing his Easter bonnet...)

And, our hugest "fail...win" moment was our attempt to get a family picture.  After SEVERAL horrific attempts (at both church AND home)...we finally managed to grab this timer shot MINUTES before naptime! :)

Happy Easter everyone (finally)!  He is risen!  He is risen indeed.