Before we get started with our Easter recap, look at my nephew and niece during their egg hunt at Great Grandma's house! (They are long overdue for a Lindsay Blog cameo!)
The Easter Bunny couldn't find his ball of yarn this year, so he broke tradition and started something new... a scavenger hunt! The first clue was taped to the hallway doorknob and sent the kids to find Clue #2 "in a pocket of something that keeps you warm":
The hunt sent them up and down the stairs repeatedly. Jay and I just sat at the bottom observing (my legs are so sore from the race... especially my calfs, due to the cramping they suffered). Both kids were super excited throughout the hunt and were very good about sharing the finds, though James did all the reading (Cora almost always defers to him).
The final clue sent them to "the place clothes go to dry", but they needed daddy's help to pull their buckets out...
James quickly set to work with his Qixels, while Cora scurried off to the living room to eat as much candy as she could before we confiscated it...
Eventually she joined him to work on her Beados while Jay and I cleaned and finished prepping food, prior to the Kennedys 10:00am arrival.
The weather was expected to crash and burn today, and it was super cloudy all morning, so we watched the radar and ran outside just before the first storms hit so we could take the annual Easter azalea photos of the kids with as much sun and as little rain as possible:
The first of the thunder claps hit as I was still snapping away, so this was the last photo:
Once the Kennedys arrived (including Al's parents, visiting from Michigan), we opened the champagne and threw the appetizers (Rotel dip and Buffalo Chicken dip) in the oven! Since the weather went from bad to worse to bad to worse, we kept putting off the egg hunt (in hopes we could sneak outside at some point, rather than have to do it in the house/carport/sunroom), but we did not put off lunch. We basically ate from 10:30am onward throughout the day. Such is holiday bliss, in my opinion...
We had chicken crescent roll casserole, ham and turkey sandwiches (on Hawaiian roll subs!), salad, fruit salad, and pasta salad. Dessert had to wait a couple hours because we were so full, but as soon as James (and Jay) were given the chance, they each had all three options: White Chocolate Cheesecake Pie, Lemon Cupcakes, and Cake Batter Blondies.
Spontaneous sugar high kitchen wrestling!
When there looked to be a small break in the storms, Jay and Al and I ran outside to hide eggs, threw the girls back into their Easter outfits (they'd been wearing leotards and princess dresses since lunch ended), got all the kids into their rainboots, and rushed through the hunt (after a quick group photo):
It was mere minutes before the sprinkles turned back to rain though...
The whole gang (except the smart grandparents, who wore rain jackets and stayed under the carport) got soaked, so we figured sopping wet family photos were justified:
Then we settled into the sunroom to empty eggs and play with the chicks:
Elsa and Chester (the Bantams) are definitely the sweetest and calmest in the flock.
All the rain meant lots of movie time (we partied from 10:00am to 6:00pm) in between the eating and playing and hunting, and at one point, Jay caught the boys snuggling while watching WALL-E. They might fuss at us for this photo when they're older, but it just shows me how sweet they both are. James likes snuggling up to his friends (Adler at dance class, while they're playing Kindles, for example) just as much as he likes snuggling up to us (and occasionally Cora, if she's being calm/still and not trying to kiss him or squeeze him), and I think it's great.
After the Kennedys said goodbye, we reheated lunch items for dinner, called Gramma, then Skyped with Grambot and PawPaw before bed. It was a good Easter and we're grateful to have such good friends in town to celebrate the holidays with!!
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