Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter Sunday.  The kids were excited to wake up and check out their Easter Baskets this morning.  It wasn't until I was looking back at the pictures that I realized two of the three were wearing Christmas pajamas on Easter.

The item Handley was most excited about is her Silly Putty.  She has carried it around with her ALL day and even went to bed playing with it.  She was pretty amused when I told her that I used to play with Silly Putty when I was a little girl and that it was even around when her grandparents were little.

The girls and I went to church and then home to pick up Hudson and Robby before heading to Gigi and Papa's house.  On the drive to their house Handley kept singing VERY loudly in the car and it was starting to get to me after I had asked her several times to please sing a little more quietly.  The last time I told her to quiet down she was singing Jesus Loves Me at the top of her lungs and she said, "I'm just so excited because it is Easter and it is about Jesus being alive in Heaven, not candy and eggs, and I just want to sing!"  So sing, I let her! I was happy about her excitement and the fact that she understood the reason we celebrate Easter, but I still asked her to sing a little softer until we were not all sitting so close to her in the car.

As soon as we got to Gigi and Papa's house the kids ran in and immediately saw eggs hidden all over inside.  The rain couldn't stop their fun and they ran from room to room finding cleverly hidden eggs.

After a delicious meal it cleared up so we went outside to let the kids play a little.

Harper was fascinated by this flower growing in a crack in the driveway. 

Hudson went right for the puddles and his pants were soaked.  Nothing says fun like playing outside in your diaper! 

Fun Run, 5K and an Egg Hunt

We started our day off before the sun came up!  We were running in the RT 5K this morning and the girls were participating in the kids 1K Fun Run.  They had been talking about it for a few weeks and were super excited for this morning.  They laid out their "running clothes" and super fast light up shoes last night and when they woke up this morning they were ready to run.

They lined up with the other kids and took off when it was time.  I had asked Handley to keep an eye on Harper, because we were unsure where their route would take them and I wanted to be sure Harper was OK.  Handley hung back with her a little and from the very beginning Harper was in dead last.  She could have cared less though because she was smiling from ear to ear and waving at everyone cheering for her. Handley loved the race and crossed the finish line so proud.  It was the cutest thing I've ever seen and Robby and I were so proud of them both.

Then they hoped in the strollers and Robby and I got ready to run the 5K. It was my first 5K and the hills made it a little challenging, but it was fun and I'm so glad we did it together.  A lot of our friends were there, too!

After the run we loaded up on all sorts of free snacks and stuff (which the kids thought was the coolest thing) and then made our way home to change and get ready for our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  They were really excited about another hunt and did an awesome job of collecting lots of eggs.

Hudson spotted the Easter Bunny first and ran up to give him a hug.  The girls were right behind him and this was the first year that Harper wasn't terrified of him.

After the hunt they spent a long time opening all their eggs and checking out all the candy and treats.  We officially have just as much candy now as we did at Halloween!

Apparently the race had a big impression on the girls because this afternoon while Hudson is napping they have been playing "5K" complete with race numbers. :-)

Easter Parties

Today was Handley and Harper's Easter parties at school.  Each class had an egg hunt and all the kids had fun rushing to get as many eggs as they could.  I ran back and forth between the two parties, but the girls didn't seem to mind.  Harper's party was nearly over so I told her she could come with me to watch Handley's class hunt eggs. Most of her friends were leaving, but she said she wanted to stay in he class with her teachers and I checked with them to be sure that was OK.  When I went back to get her she was in hog heaven getting to help her teachers clean up the room and enjoyed the special time with them.  

Before heading home we stopped by Mrs. Deborah's room to see the baby chicks. She brings them in every year and the kids just love seeing them!

While we were at the parties Gigi and Hudson were having all sorts of fun.  She kept him for the day and took him to the mall and to the park before heading home to their house to nap.  At the mall they stopped by to see the Easter Bunny and apparently he loved him!  All the other kids were not as impressed, but Hudson kept giving him high fives and knuckle bumps. :-)  He is totally in love with the Chick-fil-a cow, so I can see how he would have loved the Bunny, too! 

Starting our Easter activities

This week are gearing up for Easter and despite the fact that it was SNOWING today, we are still enjoying all of the Easter activities.

Yesterday we dyed eggs.  I had originally planned to do this with the girls while Hudson was napping, but then I got busy doing laundry and other things around the house and then it was time for Hudson to wake up so he got to participate, too.  The girls were loving it and Hudson was REALLY loving it.  I mean, just look at the excitement on his sweet face!  

Every time I let him help me put an egg in the dye he would say, "MORE!!!" and grab for another one.   We were cracking up at how much fun he was having.  Things got a little messy, but because I wasn't letting him do it by himself we were OK.

Today our playgroup had an egg hunt.  The girls were so excited about the first hunt of the season and getting the candy in the eggs.  Hudson was happy to get to carry around his basket and also had fun hunting for eggs.  The eggs were hidden all over the play-set area which was fun because they had to climb up to find some of the eggs.

After all the eggs were found they kids enjoyed cupcakes and juice and then got to play, play, play. I was most in awe of the fact that Hudson, who doesn't want me to help him with anything anymore, was climbing and sliding and playing with all the big kids just like he was one of the big kids.  He also sat at the picnic table beside his buddy, Jake, and enjoyed his snack without smashing it all over his clothes. He is growing up faster than I want, but I love seeing him becoming such a little independent person.  By the time we were all thoroughly frozen we came inside to play a little more and then had pizza for dinner together. It was a great night with great friends.  My kids love when they get to eat dinner with their friends and so do I!  I love every single one of them.

Fun day for the girls!

The girls had a very busy and exciting day today!  First they were off to a birthday party at the American Girl Cafe.  They had both been looking forward to the party, but especially Harper because this would be her first "drop off party" and she felt such a big girl.  They dressed their dolls to match them and were set to go.

Handley and Harper with the birthday girl and her sister...such sweet, sweet girls!

I was able to do a little shopping while they were at the party having lunch, doing crafts, playing games and eating dessert.  Next we were off to their dance recital pictures.  They were so happy to get to wear their costumes and even more excited to get to wear make-up.  After they were all dolled up they kept looking at each other and saying, "You don't even look like yourself!" Haha!  Harper didn't want to wash off her make-up tonight, but I promised her she would get to wear it again at the recital.

Finally, late this afternoon we were reunited with Hudson and Robby and then due to my lack of planning for dinner we ended up heading to the Mexican restaurant.  It was certainly an on-the-go weekend, but a super fun few days!