easter 2016

you would think that I'd have been johnny-on-the-spot about getting the current Easter post up on the blog. Or maybe, you know me well enough to NOT think that.

At any rate -- here I am, a week+ afterwards, and just now getting it done. It's not because we didn't enjoy it, because we sure did! Here's a glimpse into our Easter weekend:

We slid egg dying in just under the wire on Saturday night:

We only dyed a dozen eggs .... any more than that would have been overkill for the next day's deviled eggs at dinner.

I didn't grab Easter Sunday dress pictures before we hurried off to church that morning. So, after church, it was photo-time. Emma was fine with taking pictures, but she was in no mood to actually smile for them. I strongly suspect that Cameron had been teasing her just before this, and that brought on the somber expression.

Except she couldn't hold the "sad" look:

So every time she felt a smile coming on, she would either look down, look away, or turn around!

So every time she felt a smile coming on, she would either look down, look away, or turn around!

It had been a damp morning outside.....

So when all the attempts to coax out a smile fail me, I just have her start jumping!

Then we had our Easter Egg Hunt. That silly Easter bunny didn't hide our eggs, so Dad hid them for us. Emma wanted in on the hiding fun, so she took our mini plastic eggs, filled them with jelly beans, and she hid the plastic ones.

While she hunted the real eggs, I hunted the plastic ones. Pretty sure I got the better end of that deal!

Miss having all my kids here .... so I take pictures of just the two that I do have:

And in a couple of weeks, we're going to be at the [scary?] moment when this handsome young man is going to be off to college again, and for the first time since birth, this cute little girl is going to be the ONLY CHILD AT HOME.

(Well, until Darcie comes home for a couple of weeks after her semester is over.)

 I sure am going to miss Cameron when he's gone -- and not just for the occasional babysitting services he provides. It's really been nice having him home. He's been SUCH a huge help to Todd and me while he's been here. Plus, he's an all-around great guy! I've said it before, but some lucky girl is going to find him one of these days............!!

On to our annual Egg-Cracking Contest!! (Once again -- original rules are located HERE in this post. Talk about a blast from the past when you see those YOUNG kids there!!)

And ..... guess who won this year????

(Don't believe anything Todd may say about this year's competition!)

We moved on to other eggs, too .....

That afternoon, the weather turned really nice, and Cameron & Em jumped on the trampoline while dinner cooked (smoked our ham on the pellet grill!). This is probably their last chance playing together before Cameron leaves, so I wanted photos for sure.

(Yes, he's still got flipping skills!)

The sheep in the pasture next door made me smile. 

And reminded me also of the Lamb of God, whose resurrection we celebrate.

This year, I bought this set of Resurrection Eggs, to help remind Emma of the real meaning of Easter. It has a storybook that goes along with it, and each egg contains a small item that helps tell the story of Christ's final hours and His resurrection....... like a donkey, coins, a crown of thorns, a cloth, etc. The final egg in the story -- the white one -- is empty, signifying the tomb.

That evening before dinner, Emma explained them to Grandma:

(Also that evening, I got this awesome guy recorded as he told one of the old family stories -- of an Easter weekend 50 years ago, when the family moved to town here. I love that I've got this recorded on video, with Weld telling the story. It makes me want to get more stories on video, too!)

We were still a small group -- just 10 of us around one table.

Dinner was traditional, and yummy:

For dessert, we had 4 kinds of  pies ......

... and bunny sugar cookies, decorated by Miss Emma:

 Of course, that wasn't all of March.

Time for a month summary post to get caught up!