Was that a weekend or WHAT?

My camera is just about to burst with pictures from the Easter weekend. Somehow it feels like we squeezed about a month's worth of activity into three days. And maybe that's why I'm so tired! But it was a fantastic weekend and a fabulous couple of days with my family.

Our plans were a little up in the air when Joshua took a turn into the under-the-weather club on Thursday. By a stroke of good luck, I was able to get him an appointment at the doctor's office on Friday morning to have them take a look at the sore throat and sore ears he was complaining about. One prescription for pink antibiotics later and after a few doses of Tylenol, he was on the mend. We were so glad that we were able to get him some medicine so that he could still make the trip to Lewistown. He had been looking so forward to it for so long.

Since Joshua was under Daddy's care at home, I decided to still go over to our church's Maundy Thursday service. Oh am I glad I did. My Easter blessing was being able to be there, and have some time for quiet reflection as I shared Communion with the rest of the church. It was a really special service that I will definitely make sure that I attend each year. Lauren was relatively good until it got close to her sleepy time, so we left a little early. But it was worth it by a long shot.

We spent most of Friday afternoon out in the driveway letting the kids play. And play they did! There was no shortage of ball throwing, dirt digging, Gator riding, bubble blowing and everything else that you can find to do in Nana and Pap's driveway.

Saturday we all got dressed up to go to have our pictures taken at Mom and Dad's church. They're doing a new pictoral directory for the church and were offering sittings at no charge. My mom wanted to try and get a whole family shot, which we actually succeeded in doing. It was a bit of a circus, but actually could have been A WHOLE LOT worse than it was. All three of the kids were relatively happy. We were all pretty tired after the photos (as you can tell from Lauren's picture!) but started our outside playtime again as soon as dress clothes had been exchanged for play clothes once again. Joshua and Pap also had their first guitar lesson on the Martin backpacker. Pap would play the chords while Joshua strummed with his guitar pick that Pastor Dave gave to him last week. He was so proud of himself!

We christened Brooke's roller coaster in the driveway on Saturday afternoon. I'll tell you what---- if I was little enough to ride on it, I would have! Once the little car got rolling down the ramp, it went ripping down the pavement! Pap stood at the bottom of the hill to catch the car before it ran away down the BIG hill, but the kids giggled and had a blast. And then, Gator rides continued. We strapped Brooke and Joshua into the Gator with a bungee strap. Brooke absolutely cracked us up--- she was giggling like she had never had more fun in her life, smiling ear to ear and waving at everyone as they went around in a circle together. It was precious. Along with all of this outside fun, we also had a chance to visit with Pappy Ray, Pappy Fred and Freda, and Grandma, Bill and Aunt Pat. Pap's garage makes an awesome gathering spot to watch the kids run amuck, and that's just what we did.

Brooke's love affair with Lauren certainly hasn't cooled off. She just can't get enough! And Lauren is seeming to really get a kick out of Brooke too. The more Brooke kisses and hugs her, the more she wants to touch Brooke and smile at her. I just loved seeing the two of them together this weekend, and hope so much that they'll always love each other this way. I don't know what I'd do without my cousins....and I just hope and pray that they'll have the same kind of relationship with each other and their extended cousins one day. Who knows...maybe our Cousins Day tradition will go on into the next generation!

Saturday night marked the second annual Easter egg hunt at Nana and Pap's house. There were lots of pictures, none of which were good enough to post here. There was a whole bunch of running around and egg collecting, just as you would suspect there should be. Suffice it to say that we have enough candy to last until three Easters from now. Maybe four. It's a lot! The kids had a great time, though, and it was lots of fun to watch.

And THEN it was Easter! Doesn't it feel like we already had a full weekend BEFORE the holiday even got there? I was lulled into a false sense of security by being awoken by Lauren early in the morning. I thought for sure we'd be up, dressed and ready for church long before we needed to be. So maybe I got a little lazy. I don't know, but I did panic when I looked at the clock and noticed that it was 10:10. I was dressed, but both of the kids were still in their pajamas! And church started very very soon (like we were supposed to LEAVE the house at 10:10). So, a whole bunch of rushed panic happened in the next 15 minutes. We did manage to make it to church and were able to sit with the rest of the family, so that was good. However, I was sweating and very frazzled. A small price to pay, I guess, for having gorgeous little munchkins for Easter Sunday.

We managed to snap a picture that is slightly better than the one we took of Joshua and Brooke (both crying, I believe) last Easter morning. Perhaps with a few more years of practice, we'll get a good one. We were so excited to be able to add Anna into the photo! Are these kids not precious beyond words? I just wanted to eat them all up!

After church, the real whirlwind began. It's always a nightmare when we try to get ready to leave my parents' house. No matter how hard we try to make it less chaotic than the last time, it always is MORESO. The baby needed to eat. Joshua needed to change out of his church clothes and eat some lunch (this is a meltdown point on the best of Sunday afternoons, so you can just imagine how it went with a tired, cranky, still not feeling well little boy after the commotion of Easter Sunday). We had to gather up and pack all of our stuff. We all had to eat lunch. It was a mess. And I'll tell you that the only reason we get to keep coming back to my parents' house at all is that they're saints and they love us regardless of the three ring circus we bring to their otherwise calm and reasonable lives. Even though they'd never say so, I just know they're relieved to see the Highlander rolling down the hill pointed in the opposite direction of their house!

We returned home mid-afternoon to start the unpacking, putting away and laundry doing. Needless to say, I'm still working on laundry and finding homes for things that got shoved into things that they didn't belong in. But that's the fun of a weekend trip. Joshua ate about 17 pounds of Easter candy and modeled his bunny ears like a pro to keep us all in the Easter spirit amidst the rushing around. Goodness, I love him!

So that's the Easter weekend recap. See what I mean about it seeming more like a two week vacation? Weekends like this make me remember how lucky we are to have opportunities to spend time with our family out of town. It also makes me wish that we were able to do it more often, but we sure do make the most of it when we have the chance to be together.

I hope your Easter was just as blessed. And I hope you had far less laundry to do than I did!