Happy Easter!!

Before I change my background, I guess I better add my Easter pictures!!  :)  I know - like always - that most of you have seen the pictures on FB, but just for my own reference, I'm adding them here too!!  :)  (Sorry for the LONG post!!! ;)

We had a great Easter!!  A few nights before Easter, we had FHE & told the Easter story, using 12 plastic eggs.  (If you don't have this story, or haven't heard of it - let me know - it's great!!)  We took turns opening the eggs, finding what was inside & telling the story!  We really wanted the kids to know the true meaning of Easter & that it wasn't all about the Easter Bunny & candy!

Now with that said - - let me tell how we celebrated the rest of the weekend!!! ;)  ;)  We started out on Friday, and we had a fun little party at my mom's!!  We had lunch, decorated bunny houses, made candy Easter necklaces, did a few crafts. . . and just had fun together!!

Bunny Pretzels!!

 

 Cruz just ate the candy - I think I got him to stick one piece on his house!!!  ;)

Noah, Gage & Hunter :)

 Olivia - hard at work! ;)

 Cheese!! ;)

 Madelyn & Chloe :)

 Jumping on the HUGE trampoline!!  :)

 She had to put her glasses on!!  (No lenses!! ;)

The finished product!!  And, yes - we make these for every holiday!!  A fun & easy way to get rid of extra candy!!!  :)







After the party was over, my mom let the kids (all 7!!) stay the night!!!  They decorated eggs, watched some movies, (I'm sure they enjoyed quite a few treats), stayed up late. . . and had a great time!!  I came back in the morning & stayed with the boys & Olivia while my mom took Chloe & Madelyn to get their nails done!!  Fun!!!  :)

On Easter, the kids woke up (way early, of course!) & checked out their baskets!!  The clever ;) Easter bunny left notes for the kids, telling them what color eggs to find!!  This was so nice & fair - it went so smoothly!!  ;)  We went to church & enjoyed hearing more about the Easter story!!

Checking out what's inside the eggs!!





 

 A princess "CD player"!!  It "plays" little cd's that come with it - no words, just music!  She thought it was quite cool!! ;)






She opened her eggs & said, "More candy???. . . I don't need all of this!!!"  haha!!  She sounds just like me!! ;) ;)

Everyone groaned & complained, but I MADE them take a few pictures in their Easter clothes!!  ;)  (Told them they might appreciate the pictures some day!!! ;)

 The dumb date showed up right on Madelyn's face - - LOVELY!! :(  And like I said on FB - - Hunter's tie was not that short when he tucked in his shirt!!! ;)  We were rushed (imagine that) before church, so these were after church shots!! ;)

Bunny cupcakes!!  (and Shayne thinks I waste my time on Pinterest!! See - I learned something!!!;)

After church, Shayne's parents stopped by to give the kids a bag of fun Easter treats!!  We had a nice, (but short), visit with them, then it was back to my mom's for dinner!!  We had ham, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, salad & fried chicken!!!  ;)  YEP!  Fried chicken!!  ;)  My mom was smart & didn't want to deal with a turkey mess & knew that everyone liked chicken - so she made some!!  (I know it was still labor-intensive, but we enjoyed it!!!)  She was even so thoughtful to make me some GF fried chicken!!! ;)  The kids had another egg hunt - got a bunch more toys & treats - we had dessert & headed home!!  What a great night!!  Thanks, mom for all your hard work!!  We truly appreciate all you do for us!!!  Love you lots!!!  xoxo