Easter 2013 was a little crazy. We learned some good lessons as a family about what we will/won't be doing next year.
We started our Easter on Saturday. Blake took this pic of us in our PJs.
Then we headed over the dinosaur museum for an egg hunt. I was a little overwhelmed by the crowds, but we had a good attitude and it was fun. One thing I was grateful for was that all the eggs the kids found were empty--they traded the empty eggs for prizes at the end. I appreciated that because there were kids of all ages and of course the older ones can move faster than the younger ones. We had a good time, but that will probably be a one time thing for us.
Next, we headed over to a local grocery store to wait for the Easter Bunny.
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| This is what happens when the shopping cart is missing its buckles |
Brooke was super excited to see the bunny but I wasn't sure how Porter would react. He has some major stranger danger anxiety right now, but to my surprise, he loved the bunny too! He crawled over to him, no problem.
After the bunny all the kids got a free helium balloon. This was Brooke's favorite part so I think we will skip the egg hunt and just come see the bunny from now on. Then, we came back home to dye our Easter eggs.
I hid eggs and the Easter baskets Saturday night--ready for the morning, not figuring in the fact that Brooke gets up insanely early. She was awake at 5:30am and when she spotted a couple of the eggs was SO EXCITED. We held her off until 7am and then had an egg hunt around the house.
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| Blake's basket |
Porter didn't know what to think of the eggs.
We stopped to have breakfast and then to have a lesson on the true meaning of Easter. I showed a couple videos from LDS.org and used the gospel art pictures to tell Brooke about Jesus Christ being resurrected. Then we found baskets that were hidden in the storage room:
The kids each got a new hooded bath towel, balls, chalk and bubbles for outside, and Brooke got Tangoes Jr. (a quiet time game) and Porter got his Dippy Dinosaur toy (I had originally bought this for him for Christmas, but then decided he was too young). I also really wanted each child to have a special picture of Christ for their bedrooms. (side note...these pics cost me $4 each. I got the matted frames from Ikea and then found the pictures at Deseret Book. I think they turned out pretty good!)
Then ( I know, this holiday just keeps on going and going) since it was warm enough, we found the eggs that were hidden outside.
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| getting a taste of Cadburry Cream Egg |
It's impossible to get a good shot of both kids looking at the camera
We went to church and Porter was terrible. Blake ended up coming home with him. Brooke, who sat perfectly reverent during church with arms folded while Dad was sitting next to her, the minute he left with Porter, decided it would be okay to start dancing in the aisle. Primary was really great. We taught the kids about Easter and showed a really great
2 min video to the kids to get them excited for general conference next weekend. and I left feeling uplifted and inspired. Then I get home, and all heck breaks lose. Porter is crying and Brooke is being difficult while I am trying to finish up the last minute preparations for dinner. It was just crazy and I wanted to scream and pull my hair out. Why can't my kids be okay for two minutes so I can get things done? Oh, because they've been at church all afternoon, haven't had naps and are starving. No one was in a good mood--myself included. Blake and I decided it was going to be an early bedtime for the kids and we sat together and ate our banana caramel/toffee pie in peace. I then reflected that this isn't our last holiday, we have lots to look forward to, so it's okay if things don't go as planned. They probably won't next year either :)
6 comments:
Happy Sunday. The worst day of the week especially with afternoon church.
Wow! You really went all out with the Easter festivities! Maybe I should come live at your house :)
I like doing fun things for the holidays. If nothing more than to entertain Ryker. Even though it may be overwhelming or un-perfect, I think it is worth the effort to make fun memories for your kids. They won't remember the chaos at the Dino Museum :) This year, Ryker kept saying, "I'm just so excited!" It's hard to not let that enthusiasm spread. Glad you guys were able to have a fun-filled Easter weekend. And even better, pie in peace. That should be a requirement after lots of kid activities!
Sounds like loads of fun to be had!! We took Aidan to the Parker egg hunt, but he got scared and started crying. Next year! What did Porter think of the Creme egg? I am naughty and Aidan has enjoyed sharing several with me!!
I agree - Sundays are so hard! Three hours of sitting that often interrupt meals and naps is a terrible combination for kids.
I am always so worried my kids are ruining Sacrament Meeting for everyone else. We usually sit toward the back and I never hear anything the speakers say because I am busing shh-ing my kids. Then one Sunday Sophie and I went to church alone because the rest of the family was sick, and somehow we ended up on the front row. She was an angel. For the first time in years it was quiet enough around me to hear all the other kids in the chapel, and I realized maybe we weren't as distracting as I thought. :)
Oh, and I know what you mean about the holidays. I think my biggest complaint is gift overload, like at Christmas and Easter, because I don't want to create unrealistic expectations and breed selfishness in my kids, not to mention detract from Christ and what we are really celebrating. But I will say that I tend to make a big deal out of the smaller holidays, just because that is fun for me. :)
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