Easter Egg Hunt

Our local parks and rec hosts an annual Easter Egg Hunt. We went two years ago, but missed last year because we were in Escanaba for Easter.  I was excited to take the kids to hunt for eggs. They were both up 6:45 am (I'm not a fan of this new wake up time). We ate breakfast, played and then got ready to go. Erin was ready and so excited to meet the Easter Bunny. Will on the other hand wanted nothing to do with getting ready (hence the messy hairstyles).  After a little help from me, we were loaded up and ready to go.

We got to the park and found our egg hunting area. Before the hunt started, we had to go and see the bunny. Erin was so excited and ran up and gave him a huge hug. 

We went back to our area and waited to start.  Will didn't want to hunt but Erin did, until it was actually time to start digging for eggs. She just stood there and then came to me and said she didn't want to look for eggs. I think there were too many kids in the area. So we went to see the bunny again. Erin was giddy with excitement as we waited for her turn. She ran right up to him and gave him another huge hug. Will sat in the stroller and didn't want to get out.  

Then we went to the fire truck which Will wanted to climb on but Erin just stayed with me. Will posed for a few pictures and showed off his new cheesy smile (how did he learn that?). 

Once the hunting areas cleared out, the kids decided that they wanted to look for eggs. Great idea except that they were all gone.  Erin did find one piece of candy and Will couldn't find any. Thankfully for Will I had a pack of gum in my pocket and may have accidentally dropped a piece on the ground for him to find. He was very excited for gum because he doesn't get it very often.  A nice boy saw that W & E didn't have any candy so he gave each of them a sucker. 

What's supposed to be in our baskets? 

We walked over to the park to play for a little while. 

On our way back to the van, we saw the bucket loader that was coming to move all of the hay from the hunt. Will was so excited and HAD to stop to look at it (and get a few pictures in front of it). 

Even though we didn't come home with candy and didn't find any eggs, Will and Erin reminded me that it's more about the experience than what you get. They had a lot of fun and that's what's important. 

Day 9- The Long Drive Home

We left Anna Maria Island at 8:30 on Saturday morning. By the time we dropped off the key and got off the island it was 9:20. Getting out of Florida took FOREVER! The traffic was horrible and moved slow. Delia and Joel were about 30 minutes ahead of us so they'd text us updates on traffic (back ups and construction). Wendy/Jay and Krista/Rhett were 10 miles behind us. We never ended up seeing each other, but it was still nice knowing that we were all sort of traveling together. 

We stopped to see the 13 foot alligator advertised on various billboards. I have to admit that I was disappointed that they forgot to mention that the alligator was stuffed and mounted in the gas station. Lol. This place was the biggest tourist trap filled with anything related to Florida. 

Erin thought these coconut monkeys (like on Mickey) were funny. 

We continued on our way and it seemed like years until we made it to Atlanta. There were traffic backups, detours and more traffic.  A stop at the Waffle House rounded out our evening. They do have great waffles! 

Will thought he was really funny to climb into daddy's seat and drive. He even buckled himself in. 

And not to be outdone, Erin climbed into my seat.

After watching Frozen (three times) and Cars the kids fell asleep around 9:30 (Will had been up since 6:30 am and Erin 7:00 am with no naps). It was at this point that we made the decision to drive all the way through to home. It was a long night and thankfully the kids slept until we got home. I only slept an hour and Mark did all of the driving both ways. He is awesome and I make a better passenger than driver. 

These pictures were taken in the middle of the night in either Kentucky or Indiana. 

We got home at 7:30 Sunday morning. Both of us were/are exhausted. But, it was worth it to have a whole day at home. 

We had an awesome trip and can't wait to go somewhere warm again next year. 

Day 8- Sunrise, Park, Pool and Beach

I got up at 7:00 and went on our roof to watch the sunrise at 7:15. It was about 60' out and it was beautiful morning. We are so lucky to be able to watch the sunrise on one side of our roof and if we turn around we can watch it set at the end of the night. 

Mark went for a 20 mile bike ride. He's looking good on his bike. 

We went to the park while Delia and Joel got in a workout.  The kids had a lot of fun playing together. Will was giggling like crazy as he was swinging. It reminded me of when he was a baby. 

When we got back the kids wanted to go swimming in our pool. At 11:50, Will had a melt down and didn't want to swim. He wanted to go inside, put on his monkey jammies and take a nap. Erin decided she wanted to do the same thing. They both slept from 12:00-2:30. We woke them up so we could spend a little time at the beach. Will told me "leave me alone and get out of here." Because he wanted to continue sleeping. Too bad Buddy, it was time to get up. They had a picnic on their blankets before going outside (which Erin didn't want to do- she just wanted to watch TV). 

We finally got them to the beach for a few hours. The waves had calmed down and Will went in the ocean (with Mark holding him).  Erin, Hannah and Will spent time making us ice cream, pizza and soup. Will and Erin didn't really understand that we would pretend eat what they made for us. They stood over us and said "Mama and Daddy why didn't you eat it?" And they stood next to us as we 'ate' (poured it out when they weren't looking) their food. 

Will asked daddy to go for a walk. 

 We went home and swam in the pool to wash off the sand. Will, Erin and I had fun swimming together.  They kept wanting to play in the small pool. They sang songs from the movie Frozen while swimming in circles. I gave piggy back rides across the big pool. They were giggling like crazy and having the times of their lives. 

The kids had leftovers for dinner and we ordered takeout from the local BBQ place, Mr. Bones. Everything was delicious and we all inhaled our dinners. 

Our final sunset was beautiful! I am really going to miss this place. We are all sun kissed which is one of the best kinds of kisses!  We are so thankful for time off from work, friends and time with our family. It has been an amazing week and hopefully the first of many spring break trips with friends. 

Day 4- Running, Pool Time and Friends

I started my day with a run on the beach. It was a beautiful morning with a strong headwind that helped keep me cool. We I turned around and ran towards home it was much easier and warmer. I wore my Gratitude flower from Fellow Flowers to remind me of how much I have to be thankful for. 

I'm so tall! 

Breakfast for the kids! They love the breakfast bar! 

The winds started picking up today. Two of our Grand Rapid friends were at the beach and ended up at our house because they kept getting pelted with sand. We had 9 kids and 10 adults at our house for the afternoon. Everyone had a great time playing in the pool and being sheltered from the wind. 

We took a break from the pool and went across the street to the ocean to play in the waves. I didn't take any pictures because I spent my time playing in the big waves. One knocked me over and I lost my good sunglasses. Bummer! Will and Erin played in the sand while we all jumped waves. They were 4-6 footers. 

After pool time, we got cleaned up and went to Wendy and Jay's house three miles away. They rented a place with her sister and parents. It is a beautiful house that sleeps 14 people. It had an awesome pool area too. The final game of the NCAA Men's Basketball series was on. We watched the game, palates cards and hung out. Erin fell asleep watching Frozen and Will watched some shows on my phone. 

Jay and Joel don't like getting their picture taken. 

(L- Jay, Mark, Krista,me, Rhett, Wendy, Michelle, Delia, Joel)

We are so lucky to have such great friends in our life. 

This is what too much fun looks like. 

Day 3- Pool and Sunset

Our friends Val and Joel are in town too. They came over on Monday night with their kids for dinner and the sunset. The kids swam while the adults hung out. After burgers and hot dogs, we walked across the street for a beautiful sunset. Erin was exhausted from the day and had a huge meltdown during the whole sunset. I have some great pictures on our camera that I'll upload at home.