Our Easter Celebration

After having really cool St. Patrick's Day bread, I decided to try my hand at making Easter bread. It was a fun experiement!! I even tried to tie in a little Easter meaning into it all, the "rising" of the bread...It was a stretch, but I figure the more I try to tie in the real reason we celebrate Easter, the better.

It was fun to see how each loaf turned out. This loaf was yellow and pink in the beginning, then it had blue and green at the end. The other loaf we made had all of the colors at once. The kids thought it was awesome!
We went up to Swan Valley and stayed at Jed's family's cabin. We had a good time with friends and Grandma and Grandpa came by for a visit. We had a good time, the kids ate a ton of swedish fish, and we had a late night. Hannah didn't go to bed until 1:30 A.M., but her bedtime issues are for another post on another day.... :)

Real rabbits.

Getting extra candy from the easter rabbit.

Then time for the big hunt. I took Hannah over to the 0-3 yrs hunt while Jed took Lil and the older kids to the other hunt. Hannah loved the hunt and was enamored with all of the stuffed animals. While the other small children collected candy filled eggs, Hannah picked up 3 stuffed animals! She picked up a few eggs too, and I think if she knew what they contained before the hunt started, I think she would have stocked up a bit more on the eggs! :)

So the above picture is what I saw when I came over to meet Jed and the kids at their hunt. Madelyn in tears because she didn't get any stuffed animals or eggs. Madelyn told me a girl who didn't have any eggs gave all that she did have to her! I was so impressed and I tried to help her understand that what that girl did was extremely nice. I asked Hannah if she would be willing to share a stuffed animal with Madelyn, Hannah quickly picked one out for her sister. Then I asked Madelyn if she would trade some candy with Hannah for the stuffed animal Hannah gave her. She returned the generosity with a single starburst! :) We'll work on generosity later I guess... I do love this picture with Drew's arm around Madelyn though.

Hannah and her stuffed animal loot.

Then it was off to play games. These guys were being such nice siblings that day! Drew waited for Madelyn to catch up when it was time to turn around and go back to the finish line. It just makes me so happy to see them treat each other like that, just makes my day.

More games.

Drew's turn.

Lunch break!!

Hot dogs and cupcakes!

There was a live bunny chase where they took a bunny out to the far end of the park and set it free. Then they let this mob of children chase after it and whomever caught the rabbit got to take it home. Drew really wanted that rabbit, he actually returned from the chase in tears because he wasn't the one who caught it.

"Dad is great! He gives me chocolate cupcakes!"

Hannah won a bike. If that sounds familiar, that is because it is! Last year Hannah also won a bike. Our family is definitely outfitted for bike rides. That lucky girl!!

Drew also won a stuffed easter rabbit. It actually had a mini rabbit on its lap so Drew, of his own accord, decided to let Dad cut the little rabbit off so he could keep it, then he gave the big one to Madelyn!

So here is Drew, totally content with his little rabbit, Madelyn overjoyed with the plush pink rabbit Drew gave her, Hannah on her new bike, and Lily mesmerized with the bike's tassles and completely content because she had chocolate frosting all over her!!

Now Saturday was awesome, the kids had a blast. Then Sunday morning came and for some reason it was one of those stressful mornings. . . I wish I could do that morning over!! But we did have great church meetings, and we all enjoyed flying kites and spending an absolutely gorgeous day outside!!

The kids hunted throughout the house for their baskets. Hannah found hers under the table.

Lily found hers under the computer desk.

Madelyn found hers in a cupboard in the laundry room.

Drew found his in the dryer.

Overall a very fun Easter! I learned it takes a bit more effort for things to run smoothly on Easter morning with early morning church, easter baskets, egg hunts, and getting everyone ready. I'm starting to be a fan of the whole Easter baskets/hunts on Saturday morning idea....maybe we will try that next year. Sometimes its hard to change things up, but that would help remove some clutter from Easter Sunday. We'll see.

I am very grateful that we have such a special day to remember the gift the Savior has given each of us. I am so grateful for His life, His love, His example, and His sacrifice.