Bunnies + Choo Choos: 2016 Edition

Last Friday we made our annual trip to a local toy store that has bunnies!  They change the theme of the bunny area this year, and this year it was in honor of all of the construction all over Nashville!  There were bunny highrises and cranes and funny signs - it was perfect!  And Cee Cee got to go with us again this year - we missed her last year so we made sure she could go with us this year!

 

Here are the kiddos before we headed out.  We had been at the beach up until that day, so I think they were not enjoying the cooler temps we had that day.

And when my mom got in the car with us, she had some goodies for the kids from my Meme -- they were a hit!  The kids loved the little foam fans...and of course the M&Ms inside!

 

Bunnies!!

All of the kids had a blast playing with train tables and marble runs and watching the model trains they have on display.  I think Ryan would have stayed all day to watch the trains!  We will be going back for sure.  Except the departure was less than pleasant.  I'd say it is still worth it though!

 

Katie actually took a moment away from the marble run and took a selfie!  I tried a selfie with Ryan but he was too obsessed with the trains :)

And both kids holding bunnies before we left!  The bunnies were so patient - and so cute!

So glad the kids still love going to see the bunnies!  And we managed to make it out of there without the kids coming home with new toys (though I may have snuck to the counter and bought a few new books for them - I am a sucker for new books!)...success!

 

Want to see past visits? Click on these!

2012

2013

2014

2015

 

Easter Day 2016

 Happy Easter! What a great day it has been!  I feel like I never know the right things to say or the right way to explain the meaning and significance of Easter to my kiddos, so it is just easiest to not talk about it.  But I am so glad that we get past that and do it anyways!  And Katie went to "big church" with us today, so she saw the video of a baptism and saw a video about the thoughts going through a young lady's head as they decide to become a Christian and be baptized.  We also have talked about Easter and Good Friday as best we can and answer questions as best we can.  And Jack says "Jesus popped out! Jesus is the marshmallow!" - thanks to making resurrection rolls at school a couple of weeks ago,  I think that is amazing for a 3 year old!

This morning we got going early and went to the 8:30 service at church!  We got the boys settled in and went to the sanctuary and I looked across and saw my aunt and uncle across the way, so we went over and sat with them...which also means we got to see two of my cousins and one of their husbands (can I just say I sat here and typed out several ways of saying that and I still don't think I did it right - ha!  I have two girl cousins and one of them is married.  That is who we got to see.)!

 When we got home, it was picture time!  We used our neighbor's front porch (and had their assistance for the family photo) for some cute Easter pics!  Love my crazy crew!

And a picture of the three ring circus - Ryan is at that difficult age and stage for pictures!  I can't believe I got this!  Though I have to say that Brad was behind me doing something silly on his phone to get his attention and make him sit still...

 Sweet Katie!

 Love that little grin!

 And sweet boy - he really loves sitting in their rocking chairs!

 I probably should've done some cropping, but oh well!  Me with my favorites!

 Again - needed a little cropping, but it is still a cute picture of the kiddos with Daddyo!

 And we matched in our Matilda Jane!  Love that I found those cute shirts for the boys to coordinate with us :)

 Then we headed inside for Easter baskets!  They were super excited to dig in!

And Ryan was excited too (once he figure out what he was supposed to be doing)!

 This was Ryan's very favorite part -- his new Pete the Cat Wheels on the Bus book! 

 Jack really loves the movie Inside Out, and the Easter Bunny found Inside Out jellybeans for the big kid baskets!!

 And Katie loved her Shopkins tshirt that was in her basket!

 We couldn't have a holiday without Sadie being in the middle of it!  That was a ball that was in Ryan's basket (his second favorite thing in there) that I guess he was sharing with her!

 Once Ryan had looked at his book for a while, he carried it over and sat in Brad's lap for him to read it to him!  He clearly loved it when Brad was singing/reading it!

 Love this picture!  He sure is entertained by his Daddy!

 Katie loved doing the Mad Libs that was in her basket - I think Brad was excited that she asked for his help!  I love those things - and she is enjoying making up funny stories!

And then Cee Cee and Will and some family friends came over for lunch!  It was so great to have an informal lunch - and I didn't cook!  I grabbed delicious food at Simply Living Life and then fruit and tea and some things at Publix.  And done. Yum!  And more time to visit!

Before it started drizzling, the kids played in the bounce house for a bit! They absolutely love it - and I love that it gets their energy out!

 Sweet girl!  Love this picture of her - all the colors!  And you might notice -- she lost another tooth Friday night!  That makes number 6!  And it left a giant hole in her smile - makes her look even more grown up!

 I think this one is hilarious -- I love that Ryan was bracing himself for whatever Jack was about to do!  Ryan is slightly unsure about the bounce house, but he does enjoy the sliding!

 And sliding makes him smile and squeal!

I loved my new shoes - well, not exactly new.  I bought them last year but I never wore them!  So glad I remembered I had them - tan feet with happy blue toenails!  And some of the chalk artwork on our driveway.  And of course the colors in my dress - love that! 

 

And while we were doing pictures, I got a cute picture of Katie and Stella :) 

This afternoon we relaxed and just hung out and then did an easy dinner.  It was great!  It would've been nice to see some sunshine, but it didn't storm, so I will take it!  Hope you had a happy day and remember what Easter is all about.  He lives! 

 

Easter 2015

Well, Easter wasn't THAT long ago - HA!  Since then we have had the end of school, all three kids turning a year older, and countless fun moments!  But.  I can't forget it!  So here we go with Easter 2015!

 

Here are two of the three when we got to church!  We were dropping the boys in their classes...

...and Katie got to go to big church for the first time with us! Thank goodness they had a fun activity sheet and crayons for the kids :)

I love picking out outfits for the kiddos that at least coordinate.  And hooray for spring colors!  Here was Katie on Easter Sunday...

Love that sweet girl!

And the crazy dude!

And baby's first Easter :) 

And one more...I love when you can see teeth just barely showing in pictures!

And a family pic!  Not too shabby with three kids to try and get focused on smiling and looking at the camera!

And even though I almost chopped Katie's head off in this picture, I do love it - sweet kiddos!

After church and a few pictures, we headed inside to see if the Easter Bunny had come (we don't have time to check before church since we go to the early service)!  Look!

Katie was excited to dig into her loot!

And I think the same goes for Jack!

Ryan was a little unsure, but he quickly got the hang of it!  He especially liked the easter grass!

And evidence that he quickly figured it out :)

And we can't forget about Sadie!

And Brad's mom and aunt, uncle, and cousin came over for Easter lunch - this was our spread!  YUM!

Then we went outside to hit the ball - Grandma gave that bat and ball to Jack and hit has been a hit (pun intended)!

She gave Katie a book - Katie got right into it!  I love that she loves to read!

And this was the best picture of Grandma and the kids we could get!

Katie did have a turn at bat - LOVE her determined, fierce expression...with a smile of course :)

We took turns at bat for quite a while! SO fun!  And it was a beautiful day!

Later in the day, Cee Cee and Will came over for some egg hunting and dinner!  The kids were ready!

It took a few minutes, but once Jack figured it out, he was determined to beat Katie to every egg.  A little fierce competition on Easter never hurts does it?

Katie was in the lead here - there MAY have been some tears during the egg hunt!

Meanwhile, Ryan just hung out in the swing.  Sweet boy!

And then I got this quick picture after we got inside!

We ate dinner and visited and then they headed out before we started the bedtime routine.  Here are the big kids sitting outside waiting to wave at Cee Cee!

 We had a super Easter and were so glad we were able to spend time with family!