Fairy Tale Dress Up Day...

ET had a "Fairy Tale Dress Up Day" at his school on Friday, April 18th.  The costume was encouraged to be homemade.  We really lacked in the time and creativity for this, so we sent him in his Captain Sparrow costume.  He looked awesome, but I wondered if Captain Sparrow was really considered part of a fairy tale or not.  I told ET to tell everyone he was Captain Hook from Peter Pan if anyone felt it did not meet the requirements.

Luckily, everyone LOVED the costume and ET said "It was the BEST day ever!"  Phew!  Managed to get through that one, and without spending a dime!  That is what we call a win-win!

Spring is here! Easter 2014...

Easter was a bit different for us this year.  Normally, we go to Jay's Grandma's house for Easter.  Unfortunately this year, Paul's Mom was in the hospital recovering from surgery two weeks before Easter.  She needed to have surgery on her head due to an acoustic neuroma (a swelled nerve).  It was obviously a very serious procedure, and kept us all on our toes and praying daily.  Paul's sister Mary came in town for the weekend to visit with the family during this time period.  She stayed with us and although it was nice to have her around, it wasn't under the best circumstances.  Paul's other sister Tammy, and her husband Scott came in town the day of the surgery(Friday), and Sunday as well.  They drove Mavis (Paul's Grandma) to and from the cities, so that they could all be together.

We are grateful to say, that Paul's Mom is recovering and doing well!  She has truly AMAZED us with her comeback!  This is a woman that takes pride in her health, and it shows!  We all appreciate that immensely!!!  She is an incredible woman, Mom, and Grandma and we need her around for many more years to come!

Another difference for us this year was Jay's involvement with the church band.  He played at all five Easter worship services this year.  It was a big commitment, but well worth it.  He was uplifted by the energy of the staff and the congregation.  He played drums for all the songs but one.  He stepped up to the microphone and played guitar and his kick drum for a solo on Mumford and Sons "Roll Away the Stone."  He did an AWESOME job!  My parents and my Aunt Diane and Uncle Rick came to watch on Saturday night.  We were thankful for their support, and excited for them to see the church!

Here are a few pictures leading up to and on Easter.

My boys helped with the decorating this year...

Great Harvest Bread Company closed nearby, so we had to make our own "Honey Bunny Bread" this year.  The boys had fun helping to shape the dough!

We were a little behind schedule on the egg dying this year.  Jay graciously took charge of this one for me the night before Easter Sunday while I made sugar cookies.  He did a top notch job!  He actually used all the stickers, wrap, crayons, and tools in the whole kit!  The boys loved it!

 Here is the Easter Bunny's "Bunny Bait" snack mix, and carrots...

 The Easter bunny ate a good portion of his snack, and left a note!

This year the Easter bunny hid Easter eggs filled with candy for the boys to find!  Emmett got Metal-beard's Lego set, a Star Wars light saber, a Despicable Me watch, Despicable Me 2 the movie, and a few other small trinkets.  Nathan received a Leap Frog Scribble and Write, a Construction Truck (that can be taken apart and reassembled), the Despicable Me original movie, Jake and the Neverland Pirates watch, and a few other trinkets and candies.

 These boys are so handsome!!!!

With all that we had going on this year, we decided to host an Easter dessert gathering at 3 pm, rather than an Easter brunch.  This made it so much easier to prepare for, and it gave us time to go to church again and have lunch together before everyone arrived.

The nice clothes didn't last after we got back from church.  The weather was absolutely GORGEOUS!!!  The boys played outside, and our family gathering ended up being outside as well!  What a gift that was!

As always, I wished I had taken a few more pictures.  The kids played in the yard the whole time.  I loved seeing the grass littered with toys and balls again!  It makes me so happy to see them soaking up the sun and playing freely.  The winter has been too long!

Stacy and Taylor had baby Finley exactly one month prior to Easter Sunday.  It was fun to meet her and see how well they are adapting to "parenthood."  She is a beautiful healthy baby girl!

SUGAR OVERLOAD: The boys loved that they got to have a plate full of desserts.  Are you surprised?