Easter

We had a fun but busy weekend celebrating Easter with family.

We started with the "Egg Trail and Rabbit Habits" at the Richardson Nature Center.  It was a fun event in which we got to go on a nature hike and hunt for colorful wooden eggs and Easter bunnies along the trail that had symbols and fun facts on them for the kids to record on their tracking sheets.  

First the kids checked out the fun displays in the nature center.

Then we headed out on the trail. It was a beautiful spring day and we enjoyed the fresh air and the walk.  Here Sarah and Trevor are checking out the egg they just found, while Austin writes down the clue on his clipboard. 

 There was a "Golden Egg Hunt" about halfway through and the kids had fun climbing around the beaver dams to find the Golden Eggs!

 These were just for fun, but Trevor thought they were pretty cool.

 Here were the golden eggs they actually were searching for. They got to turn in the golden egg for prizes (a special shiny rock for each of them).

 Showing off one of the bunnies they found.  It has fun facts on the back about bunnies!

 Trevor swinging along the trail with Nanny and Grandpa who joined us for the walk after Grandpa came over for "donut Saturday" only to discover that we were leaving home soon to go to the egg hunt.

 At the end of the trail...the Easter Bunny!

After the hike, we got to enjoy some more nature learning inside...

The kids had a snack, made some crafts, and then met some real animals.

Petting a bunny. So soft!

And doing a little bird watching (with backward binoculars).

Learning about birds from my high school chemistry teacher, who volunteers at the nature center.

Checking out a claw from one of the birds.  Sarah looks like she's making devious plans.

And some snuggles in the coyote den.

Egg Toss Game on the way back to the car.

We headed home for lunch, then went to the store to get the rest of the groceries we needed before Easter, then got Trevor down for a nap while Sarah and I started baking pie crusts and filling for our Lemon Cream Pies for Easter.

On Easter morning, the kids were up bright and early ready to find their Easter eggs and baskets.

Sarah found her basket and popped her Grumpy Bear in the basket so he could help her hunt for eggs.

Checking out her goodies. 

Finding her eggs.

The Easter bunny was tricky hiding Austin's basket and eggs, so it took him a few minutes to discover his treats!

And he had to reach and climb a bit for some of them...

Trevor didn't find his basket at first, but he started finding his green and orange plastic eggs.  He couldn't hold them all, so he kept dropping them.  They would pop open and spill their jelly beans, so Trevor would carefully pick up each scattered jelly bean, replace them in the egg (or eat them), and then would try to carry all the eggs again, only to repeat this process multiple times.

Once he found his basket, it was much easier.

After he found all his eggs, Trevor proceeded to carefully open each egg and make a neat pile of all of his jelly beans...

Then shoved them in his face by the fistful...until they were all gone!

He loved the dancing chick with bunny ears that sings "The Chicken Dance."  When it got over to his feet, he squealed, "Mommy, he's tickling me!"

Then the kids got to open their gifts from Gramma and PopPop. 

Then we got all dressed up and headed to Church for Easter Mass.  We only had to go a little bit early to get our normal spots and Trevor surprisingly did quite well sitting with us through Mass (he usually plays in the nursery each week). 

After Church, we headed to Olympic Hills for a yummy brunch with Nanny and Grandpa, Auntie Michelle, Uncle Brian, and Theo. We arrived before the rest of the family since our Church is much closer to the club then the rest of the family.  The Easter Bunny was in the lobby of the club and played with Trevor for about 20 minutes.  He was so patient and cute with Trevor.  Thanks Bunny!

Here is a short video near the end of their play time.  I missed some of the cutest interactions, but still fun to remember how fascinated he was with the Bunny.

Theo met the Bunny after he arrived too!  So cute!

Austin loves his little cousin!

We attempted a photo of our 5 after brunch, but between wiggly kids, a windy day, and Steve's closed eyes (in this one), this was the best we got.

After brunch, we went back to our house for Trevor to nap and we all relaxed, enjoyed time together, enjoyed a simple dinner (after the big brunch!), and watched some basketball.

Other fun recently...

On Nanny's birthday, March 21st, the girls of the family took mom out to lunch.  Steve is still working on Saturday's since it is "busy season" before tax day, so Grandpa came over to hang out with the kids so I could go to lunch with the ladies. 

Austin learned how to play chess this year and has been going to the chess club the last month or so.  He is competing in his first tournament coming up next weekend and is excited to try it.  He has also been teaching Sarah how to play.   I think my kids are smarter than me!

Nanny also comes to babysit the kids each Wednesday during busy season when Steve has to work extra days and our work days overlap for a day each week.  One day, Nanny brought fun little personal pizzas for Sarah and Trevor to make while Austin was at school.  They had a blast and told me all about it when I got home.

That's it for now...we're looking forward to getting past tax day, getting Daddy back home more, and heading into the end of the school year this spring. The summer is shaping up to be a busy one, with lots of fun sports/camps, a couple fun trips, and some beautiful weather.