easter explosion.

We celebrated Easter weekend with COUSINS. definitely the best way to celebrate.

The Hawes family made the trek from Buffalo.  Kent was on call (a 30 hr shift) on Easter Sunday into Monday- so I was very grateful to have family come and visit!

Saturday we played a lot.  

went to the gym.

had our own easter egg hunt.

went out to eat kiddless.  

it was all lovely.

(minus the bloody noses, crying kids, ubiquitous chaos, giant messes, and all of the other things that ensue with a full house!)

Here the kiddos are all lined up for the hunt.  We lucked out with a perfectly weathered Saturday afternoon.

I found Zeb licking his lips while checking out his goods.  I love easter candy.

Ike and Kent love the kit kats the most so Ike was pretty pleased to see that Kent had chosen the candy for the day.

Metta still just chews on wrapped candy.

metta is at the outrageously cute stage where she squeals with delight at every swing push.  I love her smiling at Zeb here.

and her hair blowing in the breeze.  she is so so funny.

Milly goat and her piggies.

Metta loves sticks.  so delicious.

Kent and Taylor were going to have a horse race- but Taylor doesn't really fit on playground equipment.

this strange piece of equipment is ridiculously tall.  Taylor standing here seems to make it shrink.  He's 6'7"

Easter Sunday was a little crazy- but wonderful all the same.  Metta had her worst Sunday ever at church.  She was EVERYWHERE.  and LOUD.  It must have been the bird we stuck on her head :)

Luckily Taylor took her while I taught Sunday School.  The lesson in gospel principles lined up perfectly and I got to teach about the Atonement.  It was a great study topic for the week of Easter.  I found this quote by Elder Ballard (a modern day apostle) that has brought some self reflection and application:

"At the heart of the English word atonement is the word one. If all mankind understood this, there would never be anyone with whom we would not be concerned. We would strive to emulate the Savior and would never be unkind, indifferent, disrespectful, or insensitive to others.
The irony of the Atonement is that it is infinite and eternal, yet it is applied individually, one person at a time."


After church we made a giant Easter feast and had the missionaries over- along with a new friend we met through them. She brought with her several plates of Haitian food.  We all finished the day STUFFED to the brim.   Ham, funeral potatoes, brussell sprouts, broccoli, carrot cake, homemade rolls, deviled eggs, and all the dishes from our Haitian friend!  I should have gotten a picture.  It was wonderful.

The only bummer was missing Kent.  I kept expecting him to come home any minute forgetting he was on call.  He had an especially rough shift in the PICU with a family having to say goodbye to their two month old.  It really makes the Atonement and Resurrection come into perspective.  I'm grateful I know that families are forever and that we'll all live again!


Five kids five and under was quite the houseful.  and were impossible to take pictures of.

I won zeb's tie in an online contest :)

and Ike's is from the 1 dollar bin at target. what a steal!

Laney made the bird nests on the girlies heads.  We considered eggs in the nest for the first half of church and making the switch to birds for the second half- but that was too much work :)

It was a quick trip - but buckets of fun.  It's our turn to head to buffalo now!