Happy Easter

We had a fabulous trip to Ohio to celebrate Easter. We started with Brad's side of the family. The highlight for the kiddos was playing with their cousins. Exhibit A:
This was the first trip where Evan was really big enough to play with the big kids. Naps are a thing of the past, and as he whispered to me Friday morning, "Alec is a boy!" The poor kid is so used to being surrounded by girls! The chance to play ball and Nerf guns and such was just more than this little guy could handle. And Issa, well, let's just say there was enough make-up and giggling to prove the girls were not to be out done. They are quite the crew:

Saturday morning, we headed North. After playing with Nana and Papa for a while, Aunt Shannon and Uncle Jeff rolled in and hilarity ensued:

It was an Aunt Shannon pile. Once Aunt Shannon was rescued, we moved on to egg coloring:

It was big fun! Evan decided green was the best color ever.

Issa took a more varied approach:

The finished products:

Nana used farm-fresh eggs, so they were originally shades of blue and brown. The dye took to them beautifully, and I really love the rich tones.

Egg dye necessitated a bath, and then it was time for the pre-party photo shoot:

Please notice my ring. Also notice Captain Grump. I thought this photo shoot might not happen.

Enter the big cousins:

Becca and Tyler are always good for bringing out the smiles:

(As a side note, Ty changed his facebook profile pic to this one last night. Made me cry.)

And finally, we saw a smile from Evan:

I love that these two grown-up cousins still make time to hang out with my kids. It makes my heart happy.

And I think these two kind of like it, too:

I also think they kind of like each other.

After a slow start, Evan decided it was time to be a little ham:

Cheese:

And Easter morning brought another photo shoot:

Dear goodness they are so cute.

In the middle of the picture taking, Daddy decided to be not-funny:

Now that is a look.

Our Easter Bunny is crazy, by the way. There are some very normal hiding spots:

There are also eggs impaled on any available hook or nail:

It is a good thing Nana and Papa don't mind cleaning up yoke.

Issa is quite the hunter:

Evan held his own, too:

And then it was back home after a whirlwind trip. It was absolutely wonderful. I love having time with family, and I love watching my kids make those memories. Happy Easter, all!