The bunny was here

The Easter bunny that is. The weekend was good, busy, windy and warm full of good food and some good company.

We started the morning by checking the pots on the front porch where we planted our jelly beans the night before. And what do you know...we got big suckers over night ;)

 

Since I knew there would be alot going on for Easter itself, the Easter bunny just left one thing at home for the kiddos...tee ball gloves. Parker's is green (which he loves) and Payton's is pink and has Hello Kitty on it which she is very proud to show off. 

 

 

We spent lunch time at great grandma Forsythe's with alot of cousins. They're finally comfortable enough, and the girls are so good with them, to be out running around in the yard as just one of the kids. They got their first chances to swing at a pinata and to do an egg hunt in the back yard.

Payton took the opportunity for a cat nap on the way home to be ready for the evening.

They tore into some more special presents when we got home. I'm pretty sure there is still Easter grass in some places around here.

 

Then we headed out to the porch to blow bubbles and soak up some sun.

We spent the evening eating, laughing, and catching some basketball with Bo and Dave, Dave's parents Gary and Donna, and big bro CJ. It was a good day, but this morning was not easy. Note to self...maybe next year we take the day off to recoup at home. Whew!

Easter Photo Shoot

When I saw that a local photographer who a friend liked was offering mini sessions to do some Easter pictures, I thought this would be a really fun thing to try. Plus it gave us a chance to try out a new photographer. We bundled up on a Saturday afternoon to go to Soby Ranch and work with Megan of MKR Photography. We had fun and the kids had a good time. They weren't quite sure what to do with the hay bales or holding chics, but the pictures turned out good.

Love...

Love more...

Thanks Megan and Joy from the ranch. We might be back as I get these two out of the city and around a few more animals to they're not so spooked next time.

Easter Prep

We spent a lot of the day at home getting ready for Easter. We started the morning with making Easter cookies. They each laid out the cookies how they wanted, but that's not exactly how they ended up being cooked ;)

This afternoon we did our first ever egg dying. They did really well (of course it didn't hurt to have grandma around as an extra set of hands). We used a little trick of putting the eggs in muffin pans to keep the eggs safe and putting the eggs inside whisks to dunk them - soooo easy! (Thanks Pinterest!)

We got crafty this afternoon and made some egg garlands to hang around the house. It's amazing what you can transform paint sample chips into. They're all hanging in the kitchen and look very fun. Now we're a little more festive for this weekend coming up.:)

And Parker managed to check out some of the "basketball guys". He loves to watch and cheers for everyone. About every fifth basket, he wants to give someone a high five. He got good and comfy watching the Iowa State game this afternoon and doing his part for March Madness (and had only a teeny tiny bit of help with his props ;)

Come on Spring!

Seriously...I'm counting every minute that ticks by until we can get outside! ONE WEEK! And I will settle for it being Friday when it's supposed to be 60 degrees! So we've been trying to stay busy and keep occupied around here lately. (Warning...this post will be a little Payton heavy since Parker has been not so fond of having his picture taken lately and I can't get much more than a blur.)

One snow day we made cupcakes just as our street was finally getting cleared out. Yes, I let them take a little out of the bowl after we scooped the rest out for the actual cupcakes.

 Payton has been practicing the fine art of dress-up.

 Doesn't every fairy ride their red motorcycle around?

 We got crafty and made an Easter wreath for our front door.

 They helped me make a treat for when we had company coming over...apple nachos (aka...apple slices drizzled with caramel and chocolate. YUM!)

 Practiced her posing.

 Parker was super excited to get to leave the house for the morning with Aunt Bo and Uncle Dave for a morning of fun. They got to go sledding for the first time, stop and have hot chocolate with Dave's parents and hang out for a little while before going out for lunch.

 Payton has not been into letting anyone do anything to her hair for month. But she let us try braiding her hair after a bath. So much hair for such a little thing.

 Posing...but we have to work on the wrinkled up nose thing she does all the time.

 We got a visit from Emelia and Victoria. Payton loves her and wanted to hold her. Emelia is only 4 months old, so in the next 6 months, she'll probably be as big as Payton. I don't know why she had to wear the bee costume. But it does add something :)

 Working on her dress-up some more. Channeling her inner Olivia Newton John or Madonna circa 1984. Either way, she is a crack up!

We have some plans this weekend...stay tuned!

Easter 2012 Recap

Easter was big this year. We did our first egg hunts. Last year at this time, Parker wasn't even walking yet and Payton was such a tiny little runt (well, tinier than now).

One thing we tried was planting magic beans (Jelly Belly's) in the big pot outside on Easter Eve. In the morning we went to look at them and they had grown suckers! So exciting! They squealed and screamed on the front porch in their jammies. We'll definitely be doing this again next year. (Thanks Pintrest for the idea!)

They had a great time all weekend being busy, seeing family, getting spoiled by Nana and Papa Ed and a special egg hunt with them in the yard, having two egg hunts with Aunt Bo and Uncle Dave - one at home and one at my work, visiting at great-grandma's house. Check out some of our pictures!

We had a good, busy weekend. And now on to more things spring! :)