Easter

Daddy was out of town for the week leading up to Easter so we saved most of our celebrations for his return.  We had planned to spend Easter with Grandma and Grandpa, and with some family they had invited to join us.  But a week before Easter, Grandma and Grandpa realized they would be gone, still wrapping up a business trip.  We could have gone to visit my parents but they were gone as well.  (Plus, we would now be hosting the family that was invited to join...who ended up cancelling that morning anyway.)  So it was our first Easter without Grandparents.  And while we missed them, we still had a lot of fun.

On Saturday, I took the girls to a local egg hunt.  Typically I wait for Daddy, not willing to brave public chaos on my own since I have three small crazy children.  But this seemed manageable.  It was a local dessert shop and a relatively small crowd.  After some finangaling, we found our spots to wait (the girls were divided by age into two different hunt zones).  The girls bounced with excitement and eagerly raced off at the signal.  They gathered and were soon settled into he grass to enjoy their loot.  Lovely had chosen one egg and toddled around displaying it proudly.  The big girls had filled the small bags I had given them and then generously shared with some late comers that had missed out on the fun.  They lounged on the grass, munching on candy, enjoying the sunshine and it was a pretty wonderful moment.

Daddy arrived home that night and got to cuddle his girls into bed before helping with final preparations.

The girls had slept in the next morning.  So we postponed Easter surprises, dressing them in their lovely new dresses and raced away to Church.  Husband and I were filling in for Grandma and Grandpa in the nursery so we played with the kids (which includes our own little Lovely) and taught the lesson they had left for us.  After church, the big girls came bouncing out of their own classes with Easter-themed projects they had made, treats from their teachers and eager for the fun they knew must be waiting at home.

First was the baskets.  Butterfly led the way into the playroom and her face lit up at the sight of the three baskets, bursting with surprises.  They sorted through the candy with happy exclamations, the ring pops and small chocolate bunny being their favorites.  Then they discovered the silky, elegant nightgowns hiding in the bottoms of each of their baskets.  My true little princesses fell in love and have insisted on wearing their new nightgowns nearly every night since.

They spent the afternoon decorating Easter eggs with Daddy, drawing and dipping and delighting in their creations.  And then they went on an egg hunt in the yard.  I had planned on more kids but since the cousins had cancelled, my girls got more than enough.  Their baskets were overflowing before we finished and then spent a short, but wonderful time, sitting in the sunshine, opening eggs and playing together.

Our Easter dinner was tasty, with some family favorites and we got to share it with Husband's kid sister.  The girls were excited to see her and it made it feel even more like a special occasion.  After dinner we cuddled through a movie and settled in contently from our wonderful day.