Easter

This year the girls and I (along with Nana) drove to Sydney, Ohio to spend Easter with Papa at his new interim church.
(Rob is still in Mississippi for test support and was unable to come home for the weekend to celebrate with us. We really missed having him!)

It was just over a two and a half hour drive (not including having to go back for forgotten items or stopping for lunch).

We arrived Saturday late afternoon and enjoyed relaxing at Papa's apartment and watching TV together before heading to bed.

Easter Morning the girls awoke at their usual time (7:15am) and enjoyed eating several bowls of Cheerios in the living room while watching TV before getting ready for church.

The Sparkle Girls (and Mommy) beautiful in blue!

 Papa's apartment is directly across the street from the church. It was great to walk to church together- Papa and his girls.

 First Presbyterian Church of Sydney, Ohio

Easter breakfast was served at the church before the 10:30am worship service.

The girls enjoyed making resurrection rolls with the other children as they listened to the Easter story.

 First you dip the marshmallow in the butter

 Then roll it in the cinnamon

 Wrap it in the crescent roll. TaDa! Now bake it.
(When the rolls are baked, the marshmallow dissolves and the crescent roll opens- looking like an empty tomb. The children understood that it was just like what Mary found- the tomb was empty. They learned to then greet each other with the phrase : Christ is risen!)

After worship we returned to Papa's apartment for our Easter lunch (Bob Evan's family take out- roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn and for dessert- cherry pie and ice cream)

The girls were anxious to begin their egg hunt.
Quickly they ran around the apartment looking for eggs to fill their baskets.

 They found eggs in the couch and eggs in the dining room

 Eggs on the windowsill

 and eggs in the bedroom

 There were even eggs behind the couch.

 Lillian got into a bit of egg mischief when Papa wasn't looking. She could hardly wait to see what was in the eggs. (This particular egg had lots of pretty bracelets in it).

 A few more eggs in the kitchen

 Yeah we found them all!

 It was time to empty the eggs and find the treats inside- M&Ms, skittles, chocolate bunnies and eggs, smarties, and little prizes. The girls were thrilled.

With the eggs all emptied, the girls enjoyed opening their Easter prizes from their grandparents.
(Thanks Nana and Pa, Grammie and Grampie, Papi and Gran. We love you!)

What Easter would be complete without a new electric toothbrush.

Where's Lillian?

The other morning when I am came out of the shower, I could hear Lillian's sweet voice but did not see where she was.

She loves hiding and here is her new favorite spot. When she tucks herself down you can't even see her behind the pillows.

We are going to have to watch our little pint.

Nana Ball

While it seems like every day it rains, we have had a few gorgeous days of sunny spring weather.

The girls love going outside and are very interested in playing catch.

Nana was the latest victim to be suckered into playing in the backyard.

 Lillian's wind up and pitch

 Duck and cover!

Doesn't look like there is any competition for the Major Leagues but they are very cute!

Happy 3rd Birthday Lillian!

Lillian is 3 years old!

Rob (who has been traveling all month and has several weeks of test support left to complete) was able to fly home for the weekend to celebrate Lillian's birthday with us.

Nana and Pa joined us for the celebration with Grammie and Grampie watching via Skype.

 Lillian was quite a hoot to watch open her presents this year. She was thrilled by EVERYTHING and had the best facial expressions.

 Her very own puppy (currently named Puppy or Button)

 She was excited to have her own "chew" toy to play with puppy

 Sister prizes from Aunt Beth- she always knows the best books to get for the girls (Madison has been waiting many months for the latest hamster book to be out in paperback)

 Time to open more presents...

 New clothes!

 Books and Bathing Suits

 What can this be?

 Thomas the train Jet set- all the way from the UK (it was an instant hit)

 A Thomas Bed (at least that is what Lillian calls it, it is actually a carry case for all the Thomas trains) and extra track for the trains. She loves playing with her trains and building the track around the living room. She will often watch Thomas on Netflix and enjoys playing along with the show.

 A rainbow dress

 New stories for bedtime

 A monkey backpack to carry Mo

(Like many resourceful women, I save and re-use gift bags. Lillian LOVES the Sesame Street bag and is always thrilled to receive a new gift from it)
This time the bag contained a mini golf set for the back yard.

 A monkey purse from Mommy and Daddy

 Complete with new sunglasses, necklaces and

 RINGS (she has been asking for weeks for some rings, specifically pink ones)

A birthday dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, and cole slaw. Yummy!

 Time for Lillian's birthday cake- made by the birthday girl herself.

 The little princess is now 3- can hardly believe it.

 Ok- get ready to blow out the candles

(As has been the tradition for Lillian on her birthday- regardless of the dessert that she picks, Lillian enjoys eating a bowl of squirty cream as her dessert and only has a taste of the other dessert. Next year we will just get her a container of squirty cream).

Happy Birthday Lilli-bug! We love you!