easter stuff ~

easter eggs were dyed ....

easter baskets were full of fun goodies .....

and silly treats too ....

family time was extra special ....

and extra silly, too ....

the easter egg hunt has ALWAYS been a good time ....

and having the youngest cousins spend time in the 'doghouse' made all of us laugh!

sack races have ALWAYS been a big easter hit too ....

especially when grama joins in the fun ....

the kids' table looked so festive ....

bunny ears included ....

the food was delicious .....

and the sheep cake was so cute!!

so even though we had a great day,  a really great day, grampa was missed a lot -- by all of us.  our first holiday without him.  everything felt strange, a bit off.

i keep telling zoe and ella that even though our hearts hurt a lot because we really miss grampa, that's actually a really good thing -- when we love big we miss big.  we loved grampa a lot so we miss him a lot too.

and even though tom and i had to cancel dinner plans friday night to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary because ella was sick; and even though ella and i missed out on celebrating easter on saturday with the rupprechts because she still wasn't feeling well, tom and zoe still had a really nice time seeing grandma della, two of tom's brothers and their families; and even though tom missed out on celebrating easter with the mclains on sunday because he wasn't feeling great; and even though zoe missed school yesterday because she woke up super early in morning not feeling well; and even though there is a big hole in our family now with dad gone -- our easter weekend was a really nice one.  it was good to see family and just have time together.

.... and our anniversary dinner rain check?  can't wait ....

Spring Break 2012

A week or so before break our backyard looked like this:

We didn't get a lot of snow this Winter so it was fun to play in and beautiful to look at.  It also melted pretty quickly, and then we had unseasonably warm weather.  So warm we had to buy tulips to give to Ella and Zoe's teachers .....

Lucky the Leprechaun also visited our house the week before St. Patrick's Day -- and once again he left his usual green messes, special treats and fun notes .....  He was even in Buffalo for the time we spent there; where he left us sugar cookie dough to make shamrock cookies, made the white flowers that Grama had turn green, and on St. Patrick's Day he left a trail of shamrocks to two pots of gold (actual gold dollar coins and shiny new pennies) --- and when we got back home he had filled the girls' bedroom with green balloons --- they were beside themselves with excitement!

The girls and I also did a lot of 'girly things' together, since Tom worked (he actually took the week before off because I was conferencing and had a few late nights at school -- so it worked out well).

The yummy-smelling facials made us all laugh a lot .....

.....  and getting our nails done at a real nail salon was very grown-up ....

But just spending time with Grama was the best, like having lunch at McDonalds ....

.... and being the only people playing in the playland (with the 'fun'est and coolest Grama ever, still climbing and sliding and keeping up with the almost 6-year olds)!!

Playing with Grama's neighbor kids was a lot of fun too, lots of bike rides .....

and monkey bars practice .....

Even Grama got in on the fun!!

Riding the neighbor kids' scooters gave us two good ideas for birthday gifts too ....  

.... and just running around, jumping in leaf piles, playing hide and seek -- it was all SO good.

It was also really fun taking care of Auntie Jen's dog Belle while Jennifer and her family were on their yearly trip to Cozumel.  This dog, who really thinks she's human, was so loved and cared for by Zoe and Ella.  She was hugged, and massaged, petted, and read to.  She even was covered with blankets when she slept, her water and food dishes were carried to her if she didn't come to them, and she even had her nails painted purple (just the front ones though, we didn't want to overdo the look).  Belle really lived the good life for those few days .....

The best of it all though was having extra time with my mom.  I wish we lived closer so we could do this more easily during the week ....  I love spending time with her, and so do Ella and Zoe (Zoe actually cried almost the whole drive back to our home when we left Buffalo, and each night when I tuck the girls in one of them will cry and say they want Grama -- their connection to her is very strong and very, very important -- lucky girls).

It was a really great Spring Break.

But we missed Grampa.  A lot.