The Life of a Running Momma: Easter 2017

Easter this year was the most fun yet. Read about Easter last year here, 2015 here, 2014 here, and 2013 here. We went to Ty's parents' house to spend the holiday with them. Ty had a half day for Good Friday so we were able to leave after lunch just in time for naps. Elise slept for about an hour in the car and Carter had some quiet rest time before I moved back by him to read and watch a little bit on the tablet. When we arrived Carter wanted to immediately head to the basement so he could check out the bunk bed his Papa had made for him. He climbed to the top and was so excited about it, he just loved being up there and looking down at us. He spent a ton of time playing on the bunk bed throughout the weekend and anytime someone came over he very excitedly took them down to check out his bunk bed. He was definitely very proud of it! After we ate dinner we headed outside to play. Their neighbors from across the street came over to play with us and Carter had a blast with the boy who is around his age. They climbed the tree in Rocky and Leina's yard and kicked off the evening with freezer cookies.

Saturday morning we watched April the giraffe give birth and then enjoyed a family breakfast with Gigi and Papa. It was a beautiful day so we headed outside to play after eating. The kids enjoyed side walk chalk and riding toys around for a long time. Then we did a fun hunt with kiwis and Halos. Leina found some adorable egg wraps that were rabbits and chicks. Instead of using them on eggs she had the great idea to wrap them around Halos and kiwis. She also had a couple Reese's eggs for the kids. Carter was so excited and had an absolute blast searching for the rabbits and chicks. Elise was super excited about the oranges and kept saying "oh-joo" which is how she pronounces oranges. It's adorable because it sounds like she's saying orange juice. She pretty much immediately wanted an orange peeled so she could eat it. Each time they found all the chicks and rabbits Carter would ask for us to hide them again. He probably did about 5 hunts. The second time we were hiding them Elise was following along behind Leina picking up the ones she was hiding which was hilarious! Carter then moved on to hiding them for me to find. The first time he got so excited he ended up showing me where they were but the 2nd time he actually let me find them. Ty and I planned to run together while the kids napped but Elise woke up when I let Carter get up because he wasn't napping. Instead we ran while Leina and Rocky watched the kids. They got a lot done while we were out and even painted their nails! Leina painted Elise's nails and said when she was done Elise said, "I do it," so she let Elise paint her nails. When Carter saw Elise painting Leina's nails he decided he wanted to paint his own nails so she let him. After dinner Rocky and Leina took us out for ice cream at Dairy Queen, we don't have one near us so that was a special treat! Carter picked a cherry dilly bar and Elise picked a starkiss. They were sharing quite a bit and Carter decided he liked Elise's better and wanted to swap. She was quite content to switch. They are so funny!

Searching for Halos and kiwis.

We went to bed Saturday night planning on going to church with Leina. Since Elise had only napped for about an hour the day before and had gone to bed a little late both days I didn't think she'd wake up in time. But at 6:30 the next morning I heard her hopping around in her crib like a bunny. Carter woke up pretty soon after Elise and we all got ready for church. My parents had found an adorable suit for Carter and a dress for Elise in a matching color and were so excited for them to wear them on Easter Sunday. I tried getting the kids to pose for a picture before church but Carter was the only willing party. Leina last minute thought to throw some snacks into the bag we took with us and that definitely made the experience more enjoyable! Carter ate all of his snacks and then Elise decided to share hers with him. Leina loved that she got to walk down to the front of the church for offering with the kids. Carter made friends with a girl sitting in the pew behind us and she peered over his shoulder when he was looking at books. When we got home the Easter bunny had arrived. The kids had some fun stuff in their Easter baskets and then we did an egg hunt in the house since it had rained all night. The eggs were filled with cereal, raisins, dried bluberries, jelly beans, marshmallows, and bath toys. The kids enjoyed playing with their toys in their Easter baskets and then family started showing up. Leina hosted an Easter/birthday get together at her house because her mom's birthday fell on Good Friday this year. Leina put together a fun questionnaire about Janet for everyone to fill out and had gift cards for the winners. It was so much fun to hear the answers to the questions and to hear some stories that went along with them. Carter had so much fun with his second cousin, Ethan. They played a lot of hide and seek, at first in the yard and then moved on to the basement. When they were playing in the basement Ethan hid under the bed and Elise found him. After that every round when Elise was down there, she'd hide under the bed. It was hilarious! Elise loved Ethan's little sister, Aspyn, who was born on the day of Elise's 1st birthday party so they are almost exactly a year apart. Elise kept wanting to hug her and tried to pick her up a couple times. I enjoyed walking her around while holding her hand. Ty got the chance to talk to his cousins and it was fun to get a recap that evening after we got home, with all the chasing around of the kids I didn't get much chance to talk to anyone. I did learn a great trick for cheesy potatoes, instead of using regular corn flakes, use frosted flakes. Holy cow were they good! We headed out around 2:00 and Ty's Uncle Marty rode home with us. Elise was zonked out within the first few minutes of our ride and took a decent nap. We stopped for dinner on the way home and made it back a little past bedtime. It was such a wonderful weekend!