Easter '11

Easter Sunday 2011 proved to be extremely busy. Fun, but busy. I don't think we could have crammed anything else into our crazy, yet wonderful day. It started out early at 7:15 with a treasure hunt ending in some fun-filled baskets.

Then we hurried and packed our bags and headed to my parents house to get ready for church. Why? Well, because our hot water heater decided to go kaput late Saturday night. Yes, we discovered the problem (a small flood in our basement) around 11:30 pm and did not go to bed until 2:00 am - 7:00 am came all too early on Sunday morning. Anyway, so we took nice, hot showers/baths at my parents home while my Dad and Mom fixed us a delicious breakfast of french toast, bacon, and fruit. Then we hurried to our ward (we skipped Sacrament meeting) just in time for Trent to give the 2nd Article of Faith in primary, which he did completely on his own from memory. It was adorable.

As soon as we got home from church, we had just enough time to eat a snack, make the necessary potty breaks, re-comb a couple of heads, and head back out the door. We didn't feel too bad about missing our Sacrament meeting because we went to listen to Mindy and Marty speak in their ward. They both spoke on the atonement and both did an amazing job. It was a great meeting. When we got back home, I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of my three beautiful children. (I never did take pictures of them in their Christmas outfits and I feel terrible about it.) Anyway, it usually takes forever to get a picture of all three of them together that I am satisfied with, but by some miracle, I got a perfect shot on the third click! This is my new favorite photo:

They really are beautiful, aren't they? I love my kids.

After the photo op, Brian took Ashlyn and Trent to visit the Smiley's while I stayed home and put Luke down for a much needed nap and made a couple carrot cakes. When Brian and the kids got back, we dyed a few eggs and even though the photos might say otherwise, they really did enjoy themselves!

After all that excitement ;o), we headed to my parents house yet again for yet another yummy meal. After filling our bellies with honey-glazed ham, creamy potatoes, homemade rolls, green bean casserole, layered salad, fruit, and deviled eggs (my mouth is watering!), we sent the kids out for an egg hunt.

The great surprise of the hunt was personalized eggs for each of the kids sent from our favorite Missourians! Each egg contained a note from both Ben and Maggie stating a reason why they loved each cousin. It was priceless! After the Easter egg hunt, there was visiting, skyping, some more eating (it's what we do best!), and clean-up. We were exhausted by the time we got home and got the kids to bed.

And now I have to share just one more photo to prove just how well these two are getting along lately. I knew they would both eventually come to the realization that the other wasn't so bad!