Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter Day 2011

We did matchy-matchy this year. It's probably the last year we can do this because Meredith will no longer fit the little girl Easter dresses next year. :(
 

Do you realize how hard it is to get a family picture these days?
 

Kevin's mom set a beautiful Easter brunch table.
 

Me and my man. We love each other. Picture taken by Clara.
 

Someone brought Easter Bunny to Aunt Beth's house. The cousins adored her.
 

It was a rainy day, so the kids descended to the basement for their egg hunt.
 

Let the hunt begin!
 

Sophia's first egg hunt. :)
 


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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Easter Preparations

Here are some things we have done in the last few days, to get ready for Easter. This year I was going to skip the "resurrection rolls" (in the last picture) but Meredith would not have it. So I made a quick trip to Marsh and bought a can of crescent rolls and some marshmallows to oblige her!

Do you see how the roll is empty? So was the tomb. This is our hope and our salvation. This is what fills our lives with immeasurable peace and joy. This is what makes us right with God. Christ conquered sin and death. He is RISEN!

Happy Easter to you all.

 

 

 


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Missouri and Home Again

On the way home, we visited my grandmother in southwest Missouri. The family farm was built in 1905.
 

Here we are with my lovely grandmother.
 

We got a few more hours of road behind us and stopped at a hotel. The kids LOVE hotels and swimming at hotels.
 

Sophia loves hotels too, especially pulling tissues out of the tissue box and unwinding toilet paper at hotels.
 

The Gateway Arch, in St. Louis. What a beautiful city. I loved driving around downtown St. Louis.
 

Here is Clara, with her crown. :)
 

 

The tram ride up was the best part!! Sophia's face says it all: "Up until this point, I wasn't sure what was happening in my life. Now I REALLY do not know what is happening in my life." Then she noticed an empty seat (there were five seats on the tram) and insisted on sitting by herself. What a silly, independent girl!
 

View of the Mississippi River:
 

Taking in St. Louis:
 

The red buds in Illinois were gorgeous on the way home!
 

What all the online resources failed to tell me, about the best way to entertain a 15-month old on a long road trip, was that you really should just do the driving yourself, and let her amazing dad play with her in the car. That's the best entertainment ever!
 


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Dealy Plaza and Texas BBQ

We have been studying the presidents and Meredith has had lots of questions about assassination. Since we were going to be in Dallas, we went to Dealy Plaza, where Kennedy was assassinated. This may seem morbid, but the kids were intrigued. And all of it IS very interesting, especially because of the controversy. It was educational and an absolutely beautiful day.

Here we are by the JFK memorial.
 

Here is Meredith, by one of the "x" marks, where JFK was shot.
 

Was it only one shot, made from this window? Or were other shots fired from the Grassy Knoll? Hmmm.
 

Here is Clara with Uncle Kc, walking away from the Grassy Knoll.
 

Another piggy shoulder (is that what you call it?) ride, this time for Meredith, in the cute West End area of Dallas, where we had lunch.
 

Shall we say AMAZING?!!!
 

This is what Sophia had for lunch.
 

Let me say it again, AMAZING barbecue. We went through one and a half bottles of barbecue sauce. Yum-o.
 


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With the Myers in Texas!

Story time with Uncle Kevin:
 

The sandbox was a hit:
 

All the kids loved the swing. Kevin is flying a mini-kite in the background:
 

Beautiful day at the park.
 

The slide is Sophia's favorite.
 

We joke that Sophia has "chicken wings" when she walks, for balance. She loves to explore new places!
 

Bennett fell asleep in Kevin's arms. So cute.
 

We caught the tail-end of blue bonnet season.
 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids loved playing with the Shipps and were fast friends!
 

A highlight for the kids was making crafts with Aunt Megan. They loved their crowns especially, and wore them for days afterwards, including the hotel lobby, the St. Louis arch, and the library back home.
 

 

We loved playing games and shooting the breeze with Megan and Kc at night.
 

A favorite memory was playing sidewalk chalk with the dads. Meredith was so funny, trying to ward off an attack from a huge chalk alligator. :)
 


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