Easter 2013!

Well, we had planned to have about 40 kids out for a big egg hunt, sort of like we did last year. No, exactly like we did last year. However, Mother Nature had other plans and we ended up having to move the morning egg hunt to the afternoon to let the grass dry. Sob. I was pretty much a wreck. We'd been planning the egg hunt for weeks, and it's basically the biggest thing that happens down here. 

So, with the egg hunt moved, we set about getting ready for the "slightly smaller due to moving the time" egg hunt. With 700 eggs filled and 15 kids coming, it was basically heaven for our egg hunters! They just hunted...and hunted....and...you get the picture. 

Our poor girls had to wait ALL DAY LONG to start the fun. Torture. 

Yeah, 15 kids. Do we know how to do it up or what?! 

Even the trees were excited! 

And once it kicked off, the kids had a blast. 

Claire basically got about 70 jelly beans. She'd already been eating nothing but jelly beans for a month, so we just let her go to it. 

The next day was Easter, so we got the kids up at 5:15am to take them to Mass. Now let me tell you, if you want well-behaved children the best thing you can possibly do is whisk them out the door while it's still dark and had them a bag of cereal while they're still groggy. It was like a Large Catholic Family Jackpot. 

As soon as we got home, the kids were back at it, hunting for their Easter baskets and wolfing down plenty of candy! I think their favorite part of the day was the cascarones - nothing like cracking an egg full of confetti over a friend's head!

The boys were a little young yet for "real" Easter baskets, but they each got a cute little Mickey Mouse lovey - see widow's peak in picture below - four adorable hairlines! 

Mother's Day 2013

My Mother's Day was PERFECT. We went to 9am Mass and then came right home for lunch and all that. We came home and Andrew granted my Mother's Day wish - "I just want an afternoon of total privacy to read a NEW book!" I snuggled up in bed and read The Paris Wife, which I am still thoroughly enjoying! (When asked what he'd like for Father's Day, guess what Andrew asked for?? The same thing! An afternoon with a good book and no kids!)  

So I alternated sleeping and reading all afternoon and emerged ready for an evening out at the park with the kiddies. We grabbed some dinner and spent a few hours walking, playing and talking. It was the perfect way to wrap up a perfect day. 

This sweet face. I could eat him with a spoon. Last Mother's Day we'd just been told that my pregnancy was in danger and that my progesterone was potentially too low to sustain the babies. 

And here we are. Two healthy darlings and a year later...Cooke, party of seven. 

Gracious, he's cute.

The baby's not bad, either.