eggs, bunnies, and treats galore!

What a fun and eventful Easter we had here at the Heinrich house! Colton woke up and said, "I'm going to find some eggs!" I told him that we were going to an Easter party at Landon's house last night when I put him to bed. I guess he remembered what we were planning on doing when he woke up this morning. He was very excited! He has been a little cranky lately ... I have a feeling those 2-year molars may be trying to break through. So, we were afraid he'd be all tears and grumpiness and no fun, but he had a really great time at Landon's house. On the way home, he said, "Yeah, Mommy, that was great! I loved it!" We all had a really fabulous time hanging out with our friends.

The day started out at our house with Easter baskets for both kids. Colton was a bit grumpy, as I said before, but he chirped up when he got to dig around in his basket. Khloe found her items very useful. She got a book to chew on (for the bathtub), bunny ears, and bibs. While Colton got some candy, a truck, sidewalk chalk, a bubble wand, a football, a monster truck, a coloring book, some stickers, and water basketballs. It was fun watching him dig everything out ... he kept coming back to two things--the bubble wand and the monster truck.Khloe's first Easter basket ... she was very interested!Bunny ears she got in her basket ... I think she makes a super cute bunny.
The first picture with this in his mouth, Colton proves he is just like his Daddy ... he can't smile without losing his eyes! So, I had to ask him not to smile, so you could see his eyes, too!I tried to get a good picture of the kids together ... not the best pictures, since I couldn't get Colton to stop crying this morning. He didn't want to sit with Khloe, and all Khloe wanted to do was look at Colton! These two were the best I could get.

After that, it was time to head over to the Mewhirter's house. Duska did a great job hosting the event. She made a hash brown casserole, belgian waffles (homemade), stripples, prosage, yogurt & granola trifle, macaroon nests, and juice. It was all delish! Gwendy brought fruit salad and a quiche ... and some oreo cookie pops (minus the sticks). I brought homemade cinnamon rolls and chocolate nests. There was no lack of food, but each item was delicious ... and we were all stuffed at the end of brunch!These are the nests I made.These are the super delicious nest macaroons that Duska made.My cinnamon rolls.

Our friend, Brian, was able to get a baby bunny to bring over for the day. So, the kids were all very excited to watch it hop and to pet it. Landon wanted to touch it so badly, but he was, also, a little scared of it ... so he kept pointing to it and saying, "PLEASE!" But really, he didn't want to go near it if you tried to let him touch it. It was so cute!Not so sure about this thing.
I guess it wasn't so bad after all.

The three older boys had fun running around and getting all of the eggs "hidden" in the yard while Khloe and Carson napped it up or hung out in the shade. They were eggscellent (I had to do that once) hunters. The boys found all of the eggs--even with Mason stopping to open them up to see if they held what he wanted inside.Gwendy made these cute Easter bags filled with goodies for the kids. How sweet!This is what Khloe did while the boys hunted for eggs ... thanks to Duska for getting Landon's baby toys out for her!The eggs before the dads hid them in the yard.

Shortly after egg hunting, we stripped the boys down to dye eggs. All was going well with a small splash of blue (onto a prepared Mommy who wore a T-shirt over her outfit--Gwendy) ... until some sweet, little hands latched onto the yellow cup of dye and turned it over before anyone had a chance to intervene. Yellow dye washed over the side of the table onto the patio floor, but as chance would have it ... it got on nobody's clothes! We all dyed some eggs successfully, and the Moms finished it up for the kids. We're thankful for Mike, who sprayed the patio off for us!

It was a super fun day! We all had a great time chit-chatting and playing with the bunny! Next year, Brian says he'll bring us ducklings ... he's a regular Old MacDonald!

I am so thankful for good friends. We are lucky to have some here in Tampa who also have kids around the same age as our kids. We are blessed. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and this time of year, it's hard to ignore all of the things He has given to us. We serve a mighty, loving Creater who sent his Son to die for our sins, and for that, we have infinite thankfulness. It means even more to me, now, when I look into the faces of the children with whom He has blessed our family. Colton and Khloe have changed our lives and give us a whole new outlook on life. We are so proud of them and so thankful that Jesus died on the cross for our sins--and our children's sins, so that we might be saved.

Now, the kids are resting ... and Dad is, too. We'll probably head to the park after naps before sundown. Happy Easter everyone!