easter 2012: a photo storyboard

cupcake decorating


easter saturday

nana and papa with only five grandbabies


let the hunting commence!


basket bonanza


look what WE got nana!
I love these next two pictures for two reasons. 1)this is usually what my mom looks like when the littles are around and 2)this is exactly why I love my mom. she LOVES our children. she doesn't want to miss a moment or forget what they are like at this stage and every stage. we have jokingly called her "the kodak queen" over the years, but we sincerely appreciate the hundreds thousands millions (not exaggerating) of pictures she has captured over the years.


cheap entertainment


the quieter moments


after the early church service on sunday morning to celebrate the REAL reason for easter, we headed out to the farm for more festivities.


flying kites


wheels, wheels, wheels

(not pictured: pregnant momma having a panic attack)

home again, home again, jiggety jig

family of four

to celebrate one of our last weekends as a family of four, we headed out on a mini-vacation to the twin cities.
first stop: the children's museum
[CAUTION: photo overload ahead...you've been warned]

it is heart-warming to see your children having so much fun. they were so engaged in every activity - eating up every moment they had to play pretend in an over-sized way. the first born tentative to try something if another child was watching, but when he thought no one was around, he was lost in his own little world. the little one oblivious to the other kids and ready for action. [insert annual family membership purchase here - thankyouverymuch]

second stop: the apple store
although we are late in jumping on the band wagon, we are now the proud owners of an iPad. I fought the idea for months, but have fallen in love with that thing. what I didn't fall in love with was the thirty minute search for a parking spot at the mall of america on a saturday afternoon so my dear hubby could battle the crowds and go to the apple store to get the iPad. yes I know they will ship it for free, but we were in the neighborhood. what's that you say? there is more than one apple store in the twin cities? duly noted. seriously. our extended time in the car did, however, offer an opportunity for the little buggers to snooze.

third stop: hotel
I have such fond memories of weekend getaways to a hotel in the twin cities with my family. ours almost always consisted of the embassy suites, mr. bulky's candy store, and fuddruckers (self service cheese sauce available to preteens...mmm hmm). certainly the highlight was the swimming pool. clearly this is still the case as evidenced by the slew of pictures from the pool and nothing else.

ah, so now I know why our parents chose hotels with kid-friendly pools; they have the power to induce extreme drowsiness in small children.

the chance to spend time alone as a family of four just weeks before becoming a family of five was priceless. it will be engraved in my memory always.