As a parent, Easter has become one of my favorite holidays. It's even better when it falls later in the season, and the weather cooperates! And now that it also includes Easter dress shopping for my own little girl, I love it even more. :)
I love Christmas and I love all of the hustle and bustle and preparation that goes along with a big holiday season. But I love Easter for being almost the exact opposite, too. Filling Easter baskets with smaller but meaningful gifts is something that I find great joy in - and take great pride in, too. ;) The cute but easy traditions that have made up so many of our family Easters are some of my very favorite memories. And this Easter we were blessed with our first gorgeous weekend of spring and an opportunity to soak up the sun and soak up all that this holiday stands for.
We kicked it off on Friday with Kaitlyn's first little Easter gift from her babysitter - and lots of bubble blowing outside.
And then we came inside to paint Easter eggs. The boys are definitely aging out of this tradition, but I coaxed them into it by telling them that Kaitlyn deserved a basket full of pretty eggs. (Really, I just needed a photo prop). ;)
Because Easter Sunday mornings are always so busy and rushed, we opted to do Easter baskets on Saturday morning this year. And I loved it! We took our time, made a mess that almost rivaled Christmas morning, and did it all from the comfort of our jammies without worrying about making it to church on time.
And boy did I have fun with this spread! The boys received Easter chocolates, gaming gift cards, and Jaden got a new swimming suit while Brandon received a Disney Imagineering book to help prepare him for his dream job. ;) Kaitlyn might have gotten a little spoiled. Baby Gerber snacks and books and her first set of play cars, a new bath toy, a gorgeous unicorn towel and a Disney Princess rattle. It all was a big hit.
We then headed to our big community Easter egg hunt - this year taking place inside the UNI-Dome!
This was SO well done. I wasn't sure how the Dome and the football field would really look the part of a spring holiday, but the decorations and attention to detail were outstanding. The boys got their fill of donut holes to eat, there were bubbles blowing through the air, games to play down on the field, over 30,000 eggs filled with candy, the Easter bunny available for pictures... and so many cute decorations.
And I was SO glad we showed up a little early because we had the opportunity to take pictures of Kaitlyn down on the football field surrounded by all the Easter eggs before the place became PACKED with people. These are some of my favorite images. She was in awe of it all so we didn't receive any smiles, but these pictures will bring me joy year after year! I never pictured her first time on the UNI football field to look like this, but I'm sure glad it did. ;)
This picture will be a mainstay Easter decoration in our house for all the years to come. :)
No tears for the bunny!
And no tears for TK either!
Jaden was "too cool" for the egg hunt itself, but Brandon's motivation was candy. ;)
We came home for lunch and outside play before heading to Arnka Farms for the afternoon...
Arnka Farms does their own Easter egg hunt every year, but we mainly go for the goats. Our kids love these goats!
Our Easter Saturday ended with a walk around the lake and sleepy smiles before bed. It was a good, good day.
More to come!
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