Happy Easter!

We had a busy but wonderful Easter. We got up early this morning so the kids could check out their Easter baskets before we went to church. They were all pleased with their gifts from the bunny.

JP (the arrow was pointing outside where there was a new sandbox)

Emmie (she also had a card telling her the EB had gotten her new dance shorts and tank top that will arrive later)

Ellie (she was really excited about getting the 4th Harry Potter book and managed to make good headway during our car ride today!)

Ruthie (she loves a good pair of PJs and was very excited to get new ones!)

We went to church and as always it was a lovely service. I absolutely love the music at our church and they always step it up for the holidays and we sang some of my favorite Easter hymns.

JP was NOT thrilled about having to have his picture taken! It was so cold outside I didn't even try to get an outside pic...it was hard enough getting one inside where it was warm!

After the service we ran home and threw everything in the car and headed to North Carolina to do Easter with the Hedrick clan (Paul's mom's family). We had a special treat in that, since it was after tax season, my parents were able to come too!

So thankful that my girls are growing up with these sweet big girls who love on them!

We ate some delicious food, hunted Easter eggs, had an egg toss (Kim and I hung in there until close to the end!), and had a scavenger hunt. The kids had so much fun playing with their second cousins...they look forward so much to these times when they're all together.

Emmie and Blake were one of 2 teams left at the end. They were really far apart by the end and their egg hit the ground over and over but just wouldn't break!

The contest was finally moved to the court. Emmie and Blake came in second. Emmie was pretty proud of herself!

Scavenger hunt with Uncle Clyde. We said he looked like the Pied Piper!

JP uncovering his egg.

JP supervising dish washing with Doug and Laura Ann.

We headed home once all the festivities were done as we have school tomorrow. We had such a wonderful spring break. It's going to be a rough transition going back to the real world tomorrow!

Greenville Trip

We spent the first part of our spring break in Greenville with my parents.

Franklin in his happy spot!

JP started asking about biscuits as soon as we got to Greenville. He did a great job helping Gran make them! (And apparently Grandaddy was in on the helping too.)

We went up Sunday afternoon and as soon as we got there my parents' new next door neighbors came over to meet the kids. They have 3 girls around the same ages as our kids and the kids were instant friends! They had the best time playing together the whole time we were there.

Sunday evening for dinner we went to Frankie's pizza. It was really good. We lucked out and Grandaddy was home briefly (a rare pre-April 15th sighting!) so he went with us.

Waiting at restaurants is SO much more fun when Grandaddy is there!

On Monday my mom and I took the kids to see the Easter Bunny. JP was NOT interested in getting close but we compromised with me holding him. He actually reached out and touched the bunny's paw at one point...major milestone!

Since we were at the mall we decided to check out the new(ish) Lego store. It was so fun! The kids all made some mini figures to bring home, Emmie worked diligently on putting together a Lego set, the littles played with Duplos, and we all enjoyed checking out the various displays they had out.

The kids were all really impressed with this lego man. It took 85 hours to build!

The Millennium Falcon is the set with the most pieces ever!

Of course we had to stop at the playground on the way out of the mall and then take a quick detour to the cars so the kids could ride on them. My kids are pretty funny in a mall because we never go to the one in Columbia!

Tuesday around lunchtime we headed downtown. We had lunch at Subway and then went over to Fall's Park. It had been a very long time since I had been down there. I think Emmie and Ellie were little the last time we went. The kids had lots of fun exploring, sticking their toes in the water, and running around. They were definitely worn out when we left!

After Fall's Park we headed to Grandaddy's office to visit for a bit and then we walked over to TCBY. Tuesday was April 16th so we were glad to get some Grandaddy time...he's pretty MIA between mid January and April 15th.

You always get pistachios at Grandaddy's office.

Emmie immediately went to work cleaning up. She organized and dusted.

The kids love the toys at Grandaddy's office. They got a big kick out of trying on his mask.

Wednesday morning we met the next door neighbors at a park and the kids played for awhile and then we all headed back home and the neighbors came over for a hamburger lunch. We really enjoyed getting to know them!

Can you pick out the two 3year olds in this picture. Lol!

Pretty much every minute we weren't off on an adventure the kids were outside playing with their new friends. I think a wonderful time was had by all!

Gran supplied popsicles...always a hit!

After lunch Wednesday we packed up the car and headed back to Columbia. A fun trip was had by all!

Strawberry time!

My mom was here for OIT a few weeks ago and the strawberry fields had just opened so we took Ruthie and JP to pick strawberries and had a great time!