Easter With the Fam--Part 1

I was going to get these last 2 Easter posts done before the weekend.....but life happened.

And even though it already feels like Easter was a lifetime ago, not just 1 week ago, I am still posting these.

Be warned: there are copious amounts of family pics.

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We always spend Easter with our families in Fallbrook.

It's tradition and our kids would not settle for anything else.

We wake up early at my parents', find Easter baskets and then head to the early service at my dad's church.

I'm a PK (preacher's kid) did you know?

Yes I am, and proud of it!

I don't ever go crazy with the Easter baskets, but this year I downsized even more.

Last week I cleaned out the kids' closet.

Cleaning out the kids' closet before a birthday or holiday is a good idea.

Not to make room for more toys, but to make me realize how much they don't need new toys.

So this year, each kid got a chocolate bunny and 1 small toy.

They didn't seem fazed by the downsizing.

In fact, they were pretty stoked by what they got.

See, I'm not a terrible grinch.

Happy Easter, kids!

My mom always hid our baskets and we played the hot and cold game to find them.
I do that with my kids too.
The boys helped Lilly find hers first and there are always cheers when each basket is revealed.

James got a table top ping pong game--he loved it and wanted to set it up right away..
It's actually a really fun toy and we've been getting a lot of use out of it. ($5 at Old Navy)

But there wasn't much time to play.
We had to get dolled up for church.

The service was lovely, and the kids were great through the whole thing--patiently waiting for this:
There were a crazy amount of eggs this year.

It was a mad dash.

And with so many eggs, the baskets were soon filled to overflowing.

Even Davy got in on the action.
And I totally let him have some jelly beans--I mean, he's 10 months old now.
Actually no.
But my brother was trying to get him to take a bite of licorice.
Uncle B. is a trouble maker.

Here's the crew in their Easter finest.
Funny: the boys asked me in somewhat whiney tones why they had to wear nice clothes to church?
Really?
Polo shirts and shorts?
My boys have no idea what it means to dress up.
They are certainly living the Southern California casual lifestyle.
(note Lilly's head tilt in most of these pictures--that's her new pose.  It's getting old.)

Will William ever make a normal face in a picture?
And I shouldn't have shown Lilly how to make the awkward head tilt.
It was funny for one picture.
But now, she's obsessed.

Davy loves standing up.
See how happy he is.
But he can only stand for so long.
Going down.......

The whole family.

Yes, I wore a black dress under my pink cardigan.
I didn't get a new Easter dress, but I did get some new Easter shoes.
I am in love with them.  (Old Navy again)

Davy with his Granny and Dziadzi.

And since it happens so rarely that we have all the cousins together, we had to get a few shots.
It is however, nearly impossible to get a good shot of everyone.
Davy looks great here.

He looks good here too.

And, this is more like it.

Lilly loves her big girl cousin, Veronica.

I have a picture of James in his Dziadzi's arms just like this.
Seems hard to believe that was almost 8 years ago.
4 kids later, we're still cherishing these traditions.
Happy Easter, everyone!

Love from,

Greta