vintage easter

Bridget and Jessica circa 1980.  

easter out-takes

I took 104 photos.  None of them were very good!  Squinting, falling over, eyes closed, crying, slumping.... ahhhh three kids in a photo.

happy easter!

winner, winner!

Here is a funny little anecdote that I don't want to forget.  Before Easter the boys and I were at the craft store picking up a few items and the sales clerk gave them each a coloring contest.  Well, they had never before heard of a coloring contest (it isn't nearly as common as when we were kids) and so quite the interesting conversation ensued in the car about how it works, etc.  They were very intrigued.  They were also convinced that this meant they were each going to win.  I spent a lot of time over the next few days assuring them that tons of kids would be entering the contest and only one in each age range would win, that it was very unlikely to be them, but that it was still a lot of fun to participate.  We later submit their pictures and over the coarse of the week reached an understanding about not winning (or we just forgot!).  Until the day before Easter, when I received a call inviting Fritz to come as a special guest down to the store to collect his prize.  Honestly.  Who can believe that upon entering his first coloring contest, he won!  After all of my PR work trying to limit unrealistic expectations and entitlement... he in fact won.  He was greeted at the door, treated to a "behind the scenes" tour of the store (back room at Michael's-whoot whoot!), they took his photo with the prize for the store wall and gave him a pretty huge bucket full of prizes.   Daddy's text to me with this photo "Proudest boy ever."  

Footnote: Proudest mommy ever because Wally congratulated him whole heartedly and without jealousy.  And the minute Fritz came home with the prize he split everything to share with his brother.   

hunting

At 3/4 of an acre, with 95% of the land in the backyard, the Bend house clearly has more space to roam than any home we've had before.  However, since it does not include a lawn and manicured landscaping, Wally tells everyone "Since we don't have a garden, the Easter Bunny hid our eggs in the wild!  Can you believe it???"  What a clever bunny.

Easter dinner

We were lucky enough to spend Easter dinner with our Bend family (Matt's step-cousins), who have kindly adopted us and are quickly becoming great friends.  And boy can they cook!  

"painting" eggs

Easter fun with family

We had so much fun at our family Easter dinner.  These cousins are getting to be quite the playmates.  I can just picture this flock of boys running around together, acting goofy, rough housing and laughing till their sides hurt for the next ten years (well, for forever really!).

 Photos taken by Auntie Ali, a Nikon user who claimed to be struggling through the evening with my Canon, but came up with these great pics none-the-less.

onion rosemary confiturra

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day strikes again!  This book is one winner after another.  A stuffed Provencal flatbread for Easter dinner.  Yum.  The homemade onion rosemary confiturra given to us by Matt's coworker for Christmas was the secret ingredient.

Easter Sunday

Today we celebrate that He is Risen!  The greatest sacrifice, the greatest gift, which our Lord gave to all the earth on this day so long ago.  The most important things we need to teach these boys; all hinge on this blessed Easter day.