Easter Par-tay

Easter morning started off with a bang!  The Easter bunny had stopped by sometime during the night and left three really cool Easter baskets for the kids.

Jackson got a baseball Easter basket that he thought was way awesome.

Lila got a really cute bunny that said, "Happy Easter" when you pushed his belly.

And Maddie got these adorable bunny ears to make her feel even more festive. 

After singing "Happy Birthday" to Miss Lila (yes, my baby turned 2!) and eating donuts and sausage rolls for breakfast, it was time to go to church.

These three goofballs looked so precious in their Easter outfits:)

After church we came home for a little downtime.  By mid-afternoon the party really began.  First, Aunt Lyndsie and Uncle Scott got here with even more presents for the kids. 

These kids opened Easter presents four different times on Sunday!  It really was a bit like Christmas around here.

Since it was also Lila's birthday, we had plenty of sweets to celebrate.  We made our traditional bunny cake on Friday and then Aunt Lyndsie very sweetly agreed to make Lila's cake and cupcakes.  She really outdid herself!  They were sooooo good.

We spent the first part of the afternoon in the kitchen.  While Jared and I worked on fancy mac and cheese our moms helped out with the dishes.

Our dads didn't work on dishes, but they were there for support:)

I really didn't sit down all day except for about 30 seconds with my husband! 

I was way too busy cooking and capturing sweet moments like this one...

and this one.  Lila would run from one side of the living room to the other.  Every time she ran back to see Aunt Lyndsie she would get this huge grin on her face and laugh so hard, then take off running again.

By 5:30 we were ready to chow down.  We were so excited that our whole fam was there to celebrate this very special day with us.

After dinner we got a big surprise...the sun came out!  Hooray!  The Egg Hunt was back on!

We had at least 200 eggs, maybe more, for our hunt and the kids were pumped.

Since it was muddy from the rain they put on their boots...

and went to town gathering all of the eggs into their baskets.

Maddie struck gold up on the trampoline...

while Lila worked hard to fill her basket in the middle of the yard.  No help needed this year!

J man finally realized how many eggs were covering the trampoline, so he ran over to snag a few.  Within 5 minutes they had all been gathered and the kids were spent.

So did we all go in and rest?  Nah--time to get out the pitching machine to play ball and jump on the tramp.  There is no rest for the weary!  It was a really nice afternoon and we were so thankful to be able to spend it outside.

Stay tuned for pictures of the birthday girl!

Easter Scrooge?!

Since Lila's birthday fell on Easter this year, we got to celebrate both events on the same day.  My sister-in-law, Lyndsie, offered to make the cake and cupcakes for the big occasion, so I thought that I should probably forgo making our traditional bunny cake.  When I shared this with Jared, he told me that I was being an Easter Scrooge!  And that I just could not have...

so on Friday afternoon the kids, Chippy (J's class mascot) and I all gathered in the kitchen and made our beloved Bunny Cake.

By the time it was ready to be decorated all three kids were busy jumping on the trampoline.  Maddie was the only one who wanted to come in and help out.  I think she and I did a pretty good job!

The next morning, it was time for us to go to our church egg hunt.  This is what you get if you ask the kids to "say cheese."  I now see why photographers don't recommend this tactic.

On the other hand, I guess that picture was better than this one!  We've got one nose picker, one looking at the ground and the other covering herself up with chippy in the Easter basket.

A few minutes later, the hunt was on!  It was so fast and furious!  Neither of the girls got any eggs and Jackson only managed to grab a few.

Thank goodness for sweet people who so kindly shared their eggs with the girls.  Otherwise it may not have ended well.  Stay tuned for many more Easter festivities...it was a really busy weekend!

Easter Eggstravaganza!

We spent the majority of Wednesday playing and hunting eggs.  First, the little one and I met some friends up at the gym. 

Brooklynn and Lila had fun running the obstacle course and picking up eggs along the way.

Lila especially thought hopping inside this donut was fun!  She kept telling me to get inside, but I politely declined.

After walking over the beam and then rolling down the pie mat, we came to the games.  This bunny ring toss was a bit challenging...

but she got a prize just for trying:)

One of her favorite moments was when they brought out this gigantic parachute.  She ran right under it and just smiled the biggest smile.

Then she got to take a ride in the middle of it and wasn't scared one bit.  I was so proud of her.

Of course, gym time would not be complete without a few jumps into the pit.  She hung out in there for a bit and then it was time to head on out...more parties to attend!

We got to school just as Jackson's class was heading out to hunt some eggs.  J and Cole (his best bud) cleaned up and came home with lots of goodies.

Aren't their little bunny bags so cute?  They are sitting in front of their little garden.  Love it.

Before we went inside, Jackson had to show me his amazing monkey bar skills.  We will now call him Mini-Tarzan.

His class went back inside and got to have their snacks and make this cute little Easter chick.

After hanging out in J's class for a while, we ran on over to Madison's.  These girls were so happy to see each other.  They really are great friends.

For the first time, Lila got invited to sit at the table and make the craft along with the big kids.  She loved it and sat there for a long time just putting stickers all over her pink egg.

How much do little kids love stickers?

After Maddie's class was done with their craft, it was time to hunt some eggs.  They all had a great time, and Madison's princess halloween bucket worked out well, too. 

Our church egg hunt in on Saturday, so the kids are good and ready for it now.  I predict lots more eggs and many more smiles.

Austin 2012

We spent this past weekend in Austin with some of our good friends, the Rachavongs and Weismanns.  The trip was originally planned to surprise Adam on his 32nd birthday, but since my birthday was on Thursday, I got to celebrate as well!

Hayley found this awesome, cool, super-fun house in South Austin.  After we got all spruced up on Friday afternoon, it was time to head on over to Hula Hut, one of my all-time favorite Austin restaurants.

I was really excited about being on Lake Austin, eating my grilled chicken pipeline and having a mexican martini, but I was especially thrilled because Mike and Stephanie met us there!  We haven't seen them in over a year and a half, so this was such a treat.

After dinner, we came back to the house and got to open some fun presents.

The next day we went ziplining in the Hill Country and had a total blast!

We did six ziplines through the trees and walked over these crazy bridges, too.

The hubdog and I even got to race...

too bad he won, hands down!



Our last mission on this adventure was to repel down out of this tree.



I am happy to report that all of us made it down without a scratch.

The next morning we hit up the fresh breakfast taco trailers again.  They are so good! It was the perfect way to end our amazing weekend.

Of course, while the cat's away, the mice will play...and play these two did!

They played until their little hearts were content, and then began giving free concerts as a Lady Antebellum cover band.  The third member of their band was busy playing baseball, but rest assured, he rejoined the band immediately once he got home!