EASTER!

Happy Belated Easter to Everyone. Hope you were able to enjoy some nice quality time with family and friends over the holiday.

We made the trip up to Elbow to visit my family for Easter. It is always so much fun to see not only immediate family, but extended family as well. It's interesting to see all the cousins and how much everyone has grown up. With everyone getting bigger and extending their families, grandma and grandpa's house sure seems to get smaller and smaller every year. But, we always manage to fit us all in there, with everyone having a place to sit and eat.

The young kids, (and I say "young" kids because technically I'm still considered one of the kids, even though I am married and have 2 kids of my own..I think one of my aunts still thinks I'm 12) had an egg hunt, having to find 3 eggs of the same color in 3 different rooms of the house. Alexa had the yellow eggs and found all three, with some help of course. I can't blame her. Imagine being 3 ft tall with all these big high school/college guys and gals towering over you, it was like a maze for her to even walk thru the living room.

We had church at 6:30 and we timed it perfect to have Lillian fall asleep on the ride there. I thought the church would be crammed packed, and we could just scoot to the crying room and sit in the very back row, but the church was surprisingly..empty! The kids could not have been better and the mass didn't take nearly as long as I thought. Alexa sat on Tiny's girlfriend, Courtney's lap and looked at books and colored quietly and Lillian slept.

We were able to meet our new nephew Joseph over the weekend, also. The girls were very pumped to meet their new cousin. Lillian was happy to shower him with kisses and nice touches. Alexa was happy to be able to run and play with AJ. I had to play "mean mommy" a few times and made her stay inside because she had had such a terrible cold the week before, and I didn't bring her any long pants or warm shoes to wear instead of her dress and sandals.

Joseph seems like a very happy baby, only fusses when he's hungry! He's got big chubby cheeks for his auntie to pinch. I love it.

After the kids found all the Easter eggs the bunny hid Sunday, we visited Grandpa Dick, who is in the hospital on a swing bed in Elbow now. He had hip replacement surgery a week or so ago. He is doing very well, up and walking around already. He's in some pain, but it's to be expected. Heck, he is almost 90 years old, I give him credit for even going thru the procedure in the first place. We're hoping he is able to go home Friday, this week. He was so happy to see Alexa when she walked in. He was given a pink Easter egg from the nurses and he saved it just for her. He walked us down to a waiting room and showed the girls the fish tank and we hung out in a family room area with books, games and colors for the kids.

We grilled burgers, brats and hotdogs for lunch. WOW! It was so good. I LOVE grilled burgers! Speaking of which, now is a good time to mention that I've begun that diet I said I was going to start at the beginning of the year. Yep, a little slow start, but I'm very excited and motivated. We started a biggest loser competition at work, and I'm determined to WIN! Also, Adam and I have a little competition with each other at home, too. No bet on the line, we just want to help each other out and stay healthy. I'm proud to say that I was very good over Easter, watched my portions and didn't eat any sort of dessert. I've lost 5 lbs already and though it may not sound like much, I actually "feel" really good. Cheers to..MY DIET! :)

The girls were so pooped from all the busy-ness of the weekend that they fell asleep and slept most of the way home. They started a movie, ate, took tubs and then finished the movie and were able to sleep all night long.

The weather has been fantastic lately!! We've definitely been out, taking advantage. The girls love taking wagon rides to the park, and it's getting me out for a little exercise also. We ran into Alexa's old friend Katelyn from her very first daycare last night. They happen to live right by the park we always go to and we run into then from time to time. It had been about 2 years though since we've seen them, so it was nice to catch up. I'm not sure Katelyn or Alexa recognized each other, but they sure had fun anyways. They were also able to meet Lillian for the first time, so that was fun and their little boy, Quinn has gotten so big. He was just a baby the last time we saw him.We are looking forward to many more nice nights spent a the park.

We still have not heard word on the house. We are STILL waiting patiently. Their bank had originally asked for 7 weeks and we are going into the 5th week now, so we're praying that we hear one way or the other very soon. Now that spring is here and the weather is as nice as it is, we are looking forward to getting the house even more, to be able to have our own back yard and garden. I'm getting cramps in my fingers from having them crossed so long.