Easter Weekend

...was a busy weekend that left us all exhausted and Lily uncharacteristically saying, "I just want to take a bath and go to bed." But it was a really beautiful, enjoyable, and blessed weekend as well. It started with Good Friday, which Luke had off. We headed out to spend the day with Julie, Patrick, Elijah and Molly. We hit a park which was right on the ocean where we watched a cargo ship head out to sea, saw some swans, biked and scootered around, played in the sand and on the playscape, and basked in the long awaited sunshine. Oh yeah, and we had a picnic too, hit a Five Brothers burger joint for dinner and topped it off with ice cream. It was great to just hang out and catch up with these friends who, even though they've moved 1000's of miles closer to us, we still can't manage to see enough.

And the camera didn't make much of an appearance during the day but I can offer these as proof that we did indeed see the Tanners and the ocean:

Miss Molly reclining at table

Now if there was just some green on those branches, it would be picture perfect...

Saturday morning was spent at a local church for an Easter egg hunt. It was another beautiful day and the kids had a grand time hearing The Legend of the Three Trees, making picture frame crafts, and 'searching' for eggs filled with gobs of candy. Ah, Easter traditions.

Easter morning began for us at the crack of dawn, literally. For several years now we have been having sunrise services in the field near a friend's house and this year we improved upon it by moving it to a meadow complete with babbling brook and a chorus of birds. It is always a refreshing way of celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior and this year it was especially so because new friends joined our usual set and it was much, much warmer than past years. The kids were not dressed in their snowsuits and boots for once.

We joined two other extended families, as is also our tradition, for an Easter feast and spent the rest of the day outside playing and enjoying the company. We went home tired and dirty and fulfilled (and full for that matter).

Lovely. The only thing missing were my sister and brother-in-law, Becky and Charlie, and their kids, Ariel and Alex who had Easter dinner with Charlie's mother this year. While I certainly don't begrudge them the time with their other family, I wished that they could have been with us too.

Finally, another family picture!

A new game Lily devised with Uncle Stan
"I Rock," she would proclaim every time she made contact with the ball. Such humility...

Kite Flying is always the order of the day at Auntie Elizabeth's...it's always windy on that hill!

My dear friend, Jill's, Nana proves she is still young at heart by not only tossing the basketball but even making several shots. We had to record this for posterity!