Hoppin’ Down the Bunny Trail

We had a lot of fun with the kids leading up to Easter this year.  We were able to go to our church Easter Egg Hunt, school Easter Hat Parade and hunt, do Easter crafts, and spend some nice time as a family talking about the hope of new life that we have thanks to Jesus. 

Last weekend was the church Eggstravaganza, and the people who organized it way outdid themselves!  Face-painting, petting zoo, train and pony rides, games, egg hunting, and, of course, the Easter Bunny!  We had the perfect weather, and our kids were some of the first there and some of the VERY last to leave!

Hayes was not scared of the Easter Bunny AT ALL.  He loved it!  He loves animals in general so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.  All the kids loved the petting zoo, but Hayes was out of his skin excited… especially about the pony ride!  Cole just kept saying “This is AWESOME!”

Lined up and ready to hunt with their big buddies Nora and Ethan!

 

Hayes even really got into picking up the eggs and putting them in his basket!  To say these kiddos racked up would be an understatement!  Look at those cute smiles!

  

Taking a spin on Thomas the Train…

Daddy challenged Cole and Jordan to an egg race.  They concentrated very hard on the way down, but they held their eggs and sprinted back to make sure that Daddy didn’t win!

 

Face painting was winding down by the time we made it to that station, but Murray and our sweet friend Randi stepped up and gave the kids some amazing artwork on their faces!  Jordan wanted to be a kitty cat, and Cole wanted a spider and a monkey…

   

Two more… Jordan loves Millie!  This is Nora and Ethan’s little sister, and Jordan’s fun friend!

And finally, how big is this guy?!?! Just running around with all the big kids.  Crazy, crazy!

Next up… school Easter Hat Parade and egg hunt.  We were sent a note asking for us to help our kids decorate an Easter hat for the Hat Parade at school this past Thursday.  I wasn’t totally thrilled because I didn’t really know what to do, but luckily, a simple idea came to me Thursday morning.  My kids may not have had the best hats, but they thought they were great and wore them proudly!

After they paraded through the halls for all the older kid classes and parents, they headed outside for an egg hunt. 

 

Hayes was a good sport…

 

Jordan’s class… smiles and silly faces!

 

Cole’s class…

Our crew with the Easter Bunny!

  

Hopping on to Easter Weekend…

We had a really nice weekend.  Pretty weather, lots of down time together, great services at church helping focus our minds, Easter Bunny, family meals, etc. 

Friday night, we went to a Good Friday Night of Praise at church.  To say that it was moving would be an understatement.  The kids really enjoyed it too, and it brought up some interesting questions and discussions with them.  Thankful to have such talented leaders who can prepare such a wonderful event.

The kids did a lot of Easter crafts Saturday morning.  The kids really took their time and did a great job!  Even Hayes got to paint.  He was so excited!

We spent a lot of time that afternoon outside talking about how Easter is all about Jesus coming back to life to give us eternal life.  We looked around for signs of new life emerging just like Jesus emerged from the tomb! 

Sunday, we woke up to some Easter Bunny surprises to celebrate Jesus coming back to life!

We put on our Easter best and headed to church for a great lesson about how the resurrection gives us courage to take risks in this life because there is nothing that can happen if we are serving God that the resurrection can’t heal, redeem, or restore.  After church, we met all my family for lunch.  The Easter Bunny had even left eggs for us to hunt at Nonny and Poppy’s house!    

And just for fun… check out my Easter Egg!  37 weeks!