Monday, May 5, 2014

Easter 2014

Before I get started into the weekend I just had to include this precious pic from the day before good Friday.  It was western day at school and this is the coolest cowgirl ever!!  Love her!
That night was the annual Fish Fry at the college.  I was in charge of the event and this year we had a professional band from Nashville, TN come play for the crowd. They were so much fun and considering it was the first concert on our amphitheater stage it went rather smoothly.  We had over 1,600 people come out to join us for some good ole' fried catfish and chicken.  I am so proud that our community supports everything our institution does and even more excited that we raised funds for the single parent scholarships on our campus.  we even have DK with us. (btw it had been a long, long day by the time we took this photo hence the way I look!)
We started the weekend off with the Easter egg hunt at church. It was a little different then in year's past.  We went off in groups from station to station.  It was so nice not to have all the children bunched up in one area.  It was also wonderful because they balanced the stories of Easter with some fun playtime activities for the kids.  What a special way to start of the weekend.  Our first station was the craft table where both the girls made their very own stained glass windows.
 
   We have the prettiest Easter bunny of all! No way could even B be scared of her.
The girls at the entry to the empty tomb.  They took as all through a door that looked like a rock and into a dark room with candles and the empty tomb.  As they told the story of how the women went to the tomb and found it empty they removed the cloth from above the tomb in the room and white balloons floated upward.  It was really moving even to me the parent to remember the whole reason that we celebrate this holiday...so thank you to the ladies of the church for all the hard work that went into making this year's event so meaningful and fun.
All smiles and ready to see what was next.  The girls loved moving from station to station it made it so much more fun this year.
 A little friendly sack race competition.
The good ole egg toss with raw eggs of course...every parent's worst nightmare.
Some of us had eggs that never burst...
others were not so lucky (mine was all over my leg that B hit me with when I wasn't looking, but dad wasn't so lucky...
that's what showing off in from of the kids will get you!
after all that fun it was time to head back inside to go to the final communion with the disciples and Jesus.  The girls were told to wash each others feet just like Jesus did with the disciples before his death.


and then it was go time.  The eggs were waiting and these kids did not waste anytime.  I think there were over 1,000 eggs in each second and they were all gone in a matter of minutes!
 Brit was all smiles with all that candy in hand.

hummm, which one should I eat first???!!
after lunch we headed to buy all our plants and vegetables for our garden in Nashville.  But later that afternoon we were joined by the Maneth children to dye Easter eggs.  I have grown up doing this every year and so have my kiddos but this year it was special because the Maneths had never (that they can remember) dyed eggs so even Carter was pretty excited to create his own.  It was so sweet to see them so excited about something like that even at that age!!
The girls were hard at work making each egg more beautiful or special than the next.
The next morning as the girls awoke they found a note from the Easter bunny letting them know that he had found these baskets that mom had hidden.. each one with their names on it.  He thought they would be perfect for what they needed to do next.  They had to find the trail of hidden eggs that led straight to their baskets.
The girls on their way to tracking down all their eggs in hope of finding their baskets.
The Easter bunny left all kinds of goodies, like jump ropes, kites, bracelets, colors and pencils, and of course, plenty of candy!!

That Easter bunny was so tricky.  He even hid some eggs, can you spot them?
Checking out their stash from the bunny..

The tradition continues with our new bunny...this year the girls made sure "he" was a "she" and yes, they really did do it all!
Now after all that cake it is time to get ready...so bring on the rollers cause we are going all out today.
The finished look styled by Miss B..
and Miss AB
All smiles on their way out the door to church that morning.  Not to say there weren't some frowns in the process...but these pretty smiles are so much better.
Daddy's girls
and mine too!!
Bobo and Sharon met us for lunch and then an Easter egg hunt afterwards.
Nana and Pop (sorry Pop not a good photo but the only one I took)  came down that afternoon to help us in the yard.  I guess Sundays were meant for rest but not today.  We worked so hard to get the yard all done, the flowers all planted and the garden full of veggies.  I am so thankful to have that all behind us now.
"Today is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it....."

Happy Easter from our family to yours!