Tons O' Easter Fun

And tons of pictures to go along with it!

Our day began as most holidays do around here....with me finishing up a few "last minute" things, in the middle of the night. I am excellent at the art of procrastination. And believe me, it is an art if you want to do it well! :)

4:00 A.M. - Easter baskets done. Time to get some sleep until the alarm rings at 7:00.

I had planned to take the kids' Easter pictures Saturday evening, but the weather did not cooperate. So I knew I'd better get an early (for us) start if we were going to get everyone ready, and take pictures, and get to church on time (a task on a normal day.)

I don't know how other families with multiple children do it. But I have found it next to impossible to take a group photo where everyone is simultaneously smiling and has his/her eyes open. Therefore, I select the best pic based on the criteria of "least fail."
This one gets a 4 out of 5!
And....


4 out of 5.
Dang, so close!

However, we did get everyone cleaned, fed, dressed in his/her Sunday best, and to church...five minutes early!!!

After service, there was an Easter Bunny passing out candy to the kids. I wish I had video of the prep for this shot. I asked the Easter Bunny to hold Princess A so I could take her picture. And based on his body language, you'd have thought I had just handed him a grenade. I had to position his arms so her head wasn't flopping over the side. I figured, "Okay, this person is definitely not a mother." Come to find out, the person in the suit was a 12 year old boy! :)


Leaving church and heading to our next destination...
Okay, who gave Big Sis chocolate, in the car, in her Easter dress???

Little Sis and Princess A exchanged meaningful glances while waiting in the drive-thru to get Mommy some coffee.

It's harder to get a normal picture of Daddy than it is of the kids!

Hooray!!! I could almost forget that completely insufficient night's sleep!

Then, Princess A and I exchanged meaningful glances while Daddy picked up his energy drink of choice. It comes with the territory.

Finally, off to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

(Shhh....top secret photo of Harold the Rejected Toy, being played with!)
His Facebook fan page has already issued a statement denying it.

Meanwhile, in the third row...
Ahh, let 'em work it out. It builds character.

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's before they did.

So, more photo opps for Mom!

Watch their faces. The session went progressively downhill!

The Painful Smile

The Irreverent Smile

And finally,

the inevitable destination of every planned formal photo of my children.

I can't imagine where they get it!

So, the girls waited patiently with their cousin for Grandma and Grandpa.

And the boys did what boys do when you dress them in suits.

I found an opportunity to take a few more pics.

Shocking, I know.

The Cousins

Grandma and Grandpa arrived home just in time for Princess A to take a beauty nap on their bed.

I just love her Easter shoes!!!

After lunch on the grill, we had the annual M family Easter egg hunt.

Little Sis really enjoyed it this year!

Younger Brother was the good big brother that he is, and helped her get a few extra eggs in her basket.

Princess A slept through the whole thing.

Afterward, they came inside and opened all of their eggs to see what goodies were waiting to be discovered, and finished the day by decorating Aunt S's special sugar cookies.

Big Sis made sure to put the "sugar" in sugar cookie!

Kudos Sis! That's how it's done!

***

After our long and very blessed day, we returned home for pizza with some friends, and waited for the kids to crash from their respective sugar highs.

It was a lovely Easter!

And I am thankful to have such a wonderful family, both immediate and extended!

Thank you Jesus!

:)