Kickin' Back in April

We had a pretty laid back month in April--didn't take a whole lotta pics.  Here are some of our favorites...

Occasionally, we walk across the street to eat at Culver's and rent a movie from Family Video.

Just look at this pitiful face--tears streaming down!  I have no idea what he was so sad about, but he has his Stray Jim to comfort him.

(And, for those of you wondering, that's orange marker on his face--not a huge scrape!)

snuggles with Daddy are always welcome

A bubble bath with a HUGE amount of bubbles!  These are from Anthony's new Spiderman bubble bath he got for his birthday--thanks, Aunt Michelle and Uncle Josh!

  

The boys had a blast at friend Caleb's fire station birthday party!

such a sweet group of friends

they even got to explore inside a real fire truck!

Hikes with Daddy continue to be one of their favorite Saturday morning activities on the days I work

These two are growing like weeds!!!

(I love Anthony's mismatched socks with his crocs!  Haha!)

Lucas and Stray Jim help me run errands on Tuesdays after we drop Anthony off at school.

Stray Jim has become quite the little buddy for Lucas!

(and yes, he came up with that name all by himself!)

Easter 2013

Easter morning this year was a blast!  The boys had loved the scavenger hunt that I did for them on Valentine's Day so much that I decided the Easter Bunny should do a scavenger hunt as well!  We placed our dyed eggs in their special Easter baskets on the fireplace.  I told the boys that hopefully the Easter Bunny would come replace their dyed eggs with treats while they were sleeping!  I kept saying, "We'll check the fireplace first thing in the morning to see if there are any treats in your baskets."  

While we were getting ready for church, the boys woke up and found us.  They had forgotten all about Easter!  I asked if anyone had found any treats in their baskets, and off they raced to the fireplace!  

This is what they discovered...

They came running back, slightly disappointed.  "Mom, all we got was one egg," Anthony said.  I asked, "You mean your baskets are missing???"  He replied, "Yeah, our baskets are gone, and all we got was one egg."  "Hmmmm," I mused, "well, did you open it?"  

Anthony's eyes lit up as he popped open the egg.  "It's a note!" he yelled.  "Mom, can you read it for me?"

I had printed off the CUTEST scavenger hunt from the Happy Home Fairy.  It was just perfect for the ages the boys are right now.  It ended up being about 8 hiding places.  They had to think about the clues and figure them out, but none of them were too difficult.  They ran all over the house from my closet...

...to the refrigerator

I think there was an egg in the microwave, on the couch where they watch their "special shows", in the bathtub, etc.  They LOVED it!!!

They finally ended up finding their Easter baskets in the dryer!

Of course, they thought THAT was HILARIOUS!

(Brought to mind a few good memories too...thanks, Mom and Dad!)

They moved their baskets back to the fireplace to dig into their spoils!

(Notice their adorable "Thirty-One" Easter baskets!  I purchased them from my sister, Mandy, who's a new consultant for Thirty-One products!)    :)

Anthony had already gotten himself dressed for the day in his garbage truck t-shirt and sweat pants.  I told him we'd have to wear something a little nicer to church today.  ;)

After church we headed over to the Tremaine household for a beautiful lunch and some quality time with the Tremaine and Dolezal families.

Jan and her older kids planned a HUGE egg hunt for the little ones!

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun they had!!!

Lucas makes quite the reach under the table!

Anthony is working hard trying to fill his basket.

Upstairs, downstairs, all over the house--these boys are on a mission!!!

nice one, anthony!!!

When they got done, they filled a big bowl with all their eggs and got to fill a baggie with their favorite candy.

Look at how full this basket is!  I think he's thinking about all that candy!!!  ;)

When the excitement from the egg hunt died down, Jan got all the little ones together to review the true Easter story and what it means for us today that Jesus is alive!  Thanks, Jan!  It was all just precious and so much fun!!!

In all the busyness of the day, I forgot to get a family picture or a picture of the boys in their handsome Sunday clothes, but at least we had fun celebrating!  

Pre-Easter Fun

We had a jam-packed super-fun time during the week before Easter!  Here are a few of the things we did to build the anticipation of our holiday...

Anthony had a "flower cross chapel" at his preschool where they were instructed to bring one live flower.

We left earlier than usual before school so we could stop at the grocery store and let Anthony choose which flower he'd like to bring.

He chose this spiky purple gerbera daisy.  He was so proud of his choice.

During chapel, all the kids got to stick their flowers into this cross.  I love all the beautiful colors!  All the living flowers represent the fact that our Jesus is alive!  Neither the cross nor death has a hold on Him!  What a special way to help the kids understand that truth!

Here are my two cuties in front of the flower cross!

While Anthony was at school doing his flower cross thing, Lucas and I met up with our friends at playgroup for an Easter egg hunt!

Lucas was quick to find lots of eggs!

"Here's another one, Mom!"

Lucas and Audrey checking out their spoils!

Let the candy-opening begin!!!  :)

(love that face of anticipation!)

My friend Lacey helps her girls discover their treats!

Another day at home we dyed our Easter eggs

wait, wait, wait!

Waiting is so hard when you want your eggs to change colors!

(notice the rest of the spiky purple gerbera daisy bouquet in the background!)

And what Easter would be complete without pastel colored bath paints?

We do this every year, so I guess it's now an official tradition!

mini muffin tins make great paint palettes

the artist and his masterpiece

the artist #2 and his masterpiece #2

(and nevermind the fact that my grout will never be the same!!!)

Nonna sent down some Easter window clings for the boys...

these things got rearranged every day!

(by the way, it's now June, and I will pretend I don't still have two egg clings remaining on that window!  haha!)

We decided to do the Easter egg hunt at First Baptist McKinney this year

(where Anthony goes to preschool)

This was the first one they've held, so we figured we'd go and show our support.  Well, I guess the turnout was WAY above and beyond what they anticipated, because it was crazy crowded and muddy, the kids had a limit on how many eggs they could pick up, there wasn't enough food, the lines for the activities were really long, etc.  I'm sure the kids didn't notice, but Mom and Dad were ready to head out!

But we did let the kids enjoy the bounce house slides before we left!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Anthony makes it down first!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!

This was right before Lucas took a head-over-heels tumble down the slide that literally took our breaths away in fear and made us die laughing all at the same time!  We wish we had gotten a movie of it!!!  As soon as he landed, we said, "Wow, Lucas, nice move!"  And he brushed it off and said, "Yeah!"--all proud of himself--then he proceeded to race back up and slide down again!  

What a fun week!  Easter is one of our favorite holidays to celebrate!