I Normally Hate Holiday Recaps...

So normally I kinda of hate holiday recaps. I never read them on other blogs because, I mean, the holiday is over. I'm ready to move on. BUT, I'm indulging myself today because we had such a great weekend. And I actually busted out my big camera. So, yes, today will be a photo overload.

I'll start with my favorite part (and my husband's least favorite part) of the weekend festivities - putting together and taking pictures our family's Easter outfits. I bought the fabric for my dress a few years ago at a garage sale and have had this specific pattern in mind since then. I finally decided to tackle it this week and by some miracle it turned out! I will definitely be posting a tutorial next week. I tried to make it as easy and simple as possible, so hopefully you can try to make it too!

For the last three years, my friend Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts and I have met up after church to take each other's family photos. We love it, and our families tolerate it. We grabbed a pic together this year in my dress and her skirt, both of which we each made. 

I think the kids' favorite part of the weekend was the Easter egg hunt. I have never been a fan of huge community Easter egg hunts. I think it's because I have visions of big bully kids stealing all the eggs from the little kids at those things, so we don't go to them. But we were really excited when my good friend Sarah invited us to a small egg hunt at her house with just a few other families. That is just my kind of hunt.

Whether you can tell in the photo or not, they were excited for the egg hunt. Apparently we need to start taking more (or maybe less!) posed photos at our house because these two faces kill me! Natural smiles do not come out naturally when I say 'Smile!', but somehow these grimaces and silly looks never fail.

Knox of course didn't really know what to think, but he loves being outside and with his brothers. He is really crawling fast these days. He can move so well on carpet, but he is not so sure on the grass. I know the shorts didn't help, but I'm sure soon enough he'll be cruising on any surface. 

I just love these crazy kids. Sometimes they overwhelm me completely, but most days I am just amazed to have them in my life. People ask us if we want a girl and I always say yes - definitely - but being a mom to these boys is such a pleasure. We aren't done having kids yet and although we don't agree on everything, Soren and I definitely agree that our kids are the coolest. We've often said, "Our kids are so great, why wouldn't we want more?!?"

Knox QUICKLY figured out what it was that was making that shaking sound inside his Easter eggs. He started busting those plastic eggs open as fast as he could. He gobbled up any jelly bean in sight! It was hilarious to see Knox swiping candy from his brother's baskets. He loved it and his brothers hated it!

On Easter Sunday, we had church at 9 am and we ALMOST made it on time to - thanks to great tips in the comments of last week's post. Because of early church, we didn't do much but get ready in the morning. After church, we took family photos and then relaxed at home. I was put in charge of dessert for Easter dinner at my parent's house, so I worked on an angel food cake and a carrot cake (both from a box). Both were fails on account of looks, but they tasted good!

The carrot cake almost turned out until I broke the whole top layer putting it on! You can see the frosting seeping down the crack. It really did taste amazing though. You can't go wrong with carrot cake in my book.

Ah, and yes we managed to we dye eggs too. I love to dye Easter eggs. It is such a fun creative outlet - unless you have kids. I forgot how much help and supervision is required when handling that much dye and that many fragile eggs! I don't know why I thought I would get to dye any, but lesson learned. I helped the kids and they had a blast.

This year we tried to really focus a lot more on the true meaning of Easter. Yes, we dyed eggs and had Easter baskets, but our baskets were really minimal, and anytime we talked about Easter, we discussed our faith. I tried to teach my kids what I believe and know about Jesus Christ as we got ready for and celebrated Easter. Rather than bedtime stories, I told them scripture stories. Rather than watching Disney Junior on my iPad, I had them watch Bible videos. It helped that this year we have been reading the New Testament every night and really talking about our Savior every day. His life and teachings are part of our everyday discussions, and so it fit and made sense to really celebrate Him and the holiday this weekend. I'm so grateful for my belief in Him as my Savior, in His grace and His love for me. 

Regardless of your beliefs or how you celebrated Easter weekend, I hope that you enjoyed good weather,  good friends and family, and good food! Happy Belated Easter!