Easter fun

I know we're way behind, but we had a fantastic Easter weekend last week and my school work was a little more than I care to talk about this week, so this is my first chance to really sit down and reflect on all the fun.

Saturday, we enjoyed a ward Easter breakfast and egg hunt. Jack loved seeing his friends that morning. Here's Avery, Jersey, Jack and Sage. I couldn't believe I got them all looking at the camera! I still can't figure out what was all over Jack's face.

Our ward here is VERY young, so there are tons of little kids, which makes it fun and slightly overwhelming for the hunt. Overall, I think they did a great job, and thankfully, the big kids who collected a LOT of eggs willingly shared with the little ones who didn't quite catch on until it was too late. Jane was one who benefited from the sharing going on, as she was a little overwhelmed with the initial rush out the door.

Jeff and the kids enjoyed a few trips rolling down the hill, and who can blame them with nice, green, grass like that? Well, green for April anyway.

We got to spend the rest of Saturday morning at the Hillmans visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Monk who were on their way back from their winter home in Mesa to their summer home in Howell. I tried, I really tried to get a good shot with Grandma and Grandpa. They were not the ones who made it difficult. Can you guess who? Unfortunately, this was the best I could do. Luckily, my family is cute, even if they have their mouth full, tongue out, or are looking away. Lucky me!

I loved this one of the Hillman boys with Grandma and Grandpa. Aren't they just a good looking bunch? From the left: Sam, Grandma (obviously), Jeff, Scott, Jason, and Grandpa sitting down (I love his grin in this one. He's adorable).

My kids are so lucky to have such great aunts and uncles. I especially love seeing Jack and Scott together since I hear so much about how Scott was so similar to Jack as a child. If Jack grows up to be anything like Scott, I'll be in heaven. Scott's very near an angel in my eyes.

Mom Hillman planned a fun egg-hunt for the grandkids that they loved. They each had an assigned color of egg to find, which made it nice and calm. A common characteristic of the Hillman household. Jane's color this year was blue, which she wasn't too excited about at first, but honestly, there's little to complain about when she's finding eggs with candy/stickers/toys inside.

These two cousins are a year apart, almost to the day. They sure are fun to watch together, although there's a LOT of hormones some days! I'm sure it will calm down when they're teenagers, right?

This is one of our newest cousins, soon to be adopted by Jason and Heidi. It didn't take long for this happy guy to win our hearts, including Jane who wants to hold him whenever we'll let her. It's good practice for when our little one comes in less than four weeks. Who's excited about that?

Sunday was especially nice. Since we don't have church until 11am, we could have a nice, slow morning. We enjoyed using our special Easter Eggs to talk about the real reason we celebrate, while the kids ate a yummy breakfast. I decided doing it while Jane's mouth was busy might give me a chance at keeping her attention too, but honestly, I don't think I needed to. She was very engaged as we opened each egg, wanting to see what was in it and what it represented. It was fun to spend that time together discussing our Savior and his sacrifice for each one of us. It's pretty deep, but as they grow older, I hope they'll have a real understanding of this special holiday.

We also surprised them (they really don't know that it's pretty normal to have Easter treats on Easter) with their very own baskets of goodies, bubbles, and books. They were thrilled for these simple little things, and luckily weren't phased the next day on the way to school when all the kids were talking about all the elaborate things they got from the Easter bunny. I had no idea people go all out for such a simple holiday! They were just excited about getting something! Can I just bottle that up?

I always make my kids take pictures on the front porch before church on Easter Sunday in their new Spring duds. They just keep getting sillier, and combined with my total lack of photography skills, we produced the following...

I hope Jack never stops putting his arm around her.

This is what I get when I ask them to look at me... yeah right.

This was probably the best, yet the lighting is weird, the door is open, and Jack's mid-something. Oh well. Don't they call these "personality shots"? Or, is that just what terrible photographers say?

We enjoyed a special Easter dinner at Mimi and Papa's house that evening with all 10 adults, and 11 grandchildren. I can't believe we could all sit down to eat! Easter egg hunt #3 got underway without delay. I kept thinking my kids would be tired of the hunts by now, but nope.

This is all the grandkids except baby Drew. From the left: Clark, BJ, Christian, Jack, Grant, smiley Faith, Jane, John, little Mia, and Abbie at the bottom. Oh yes, and notice Jeff's part in this picture. This was bum picture #2 of the day. He just can't help but show off his best side!

As is becoming tradition with the Rich's, we ended with a fun grandkids talent show. We had a lot of violinists (five to be exact)...

Some great singers...

and Grant even attempted to show off his beat-boxing skills, yet was laughing too hard to get much out. It was hilarious.

We had a lot of good pictures, but THIS is the photo of the night...

I put my camera up and Mia turned right towards me and posed until I took the picture. How did Joanna teach her so well? That curly hair and toothy grin is irresistable. She is one happy little girl, no doubt.

Also, the weekend wouldn't have been complete without a few hours of Jeff and Jason digging a hole in our basement floor (on Saturday anyway). They got to go at it with a circular saw and sledge hammer. What could be more fun? Jeff's on plumbing now, and I continue to be amazed at how he knows how to do any of this, let alone all of it. Amazing the things you can still learn about each other even after being married for over eight years! I can't wait to see what I learn after 30! And in true Jeff fashion, the edges are even nicely trimmed. How does he do that?

Hope everyone's Easter was fantastic.