Easter!

We dyed eggs the day before Easter.




Curtis wasn't feeling the greatest, which is why he's in jammies and a blanket. He had a sore throat and was running a fever. We thought he might have strep throat, but the cultures came back negative. Just a nasty virus.






Graydon's Packer egg.






I accidentally cracked two eggs in the boiling process, so each kid got three eggs. Bella and Graydon offered Curtis the bonus egg since he wasn't feeling well.


Easter morning! The kids and I didn't attend the sunrise service this year since Curtis still wasn't feeling the greatest, but we did go to the breakfast and regular church service.


Curtis was a trooper that morning.


Bella wore her dress from Auntie Lori's wedding.


Three good-looking kids!


I told Andy to come back and get a quick family photo before all of the flowers got taken.


It always feels good to come home after church and get comfy clothes on. On this day, we still had our Easter egg hunt to do. Normally, that would have been done the day before; but Curtis was actually taking a nap during the time in the day when we could fit it in. So, we decided just to bump it to Easter. It was a chilly day, but at least there wasn't any snow on the ground!


I think it's great that we have such a huge yard for the egg hunt. Lots of places to hide eggs!








And then the fun part of seeing what they got.






Curtis was winner of the golden bunny and the $5 grand prize!


And then they still had to hunt for their baskets. Swim suits, goggles, and towels were the main gifts again this year. They definitely get used!






After our Easter feast, we took the kids new kites from Papa and Gaga and went flying.






It was a low key, relaxing family day. Just the way we like it. :)

Bella's Confirmation

Before church that morning, we took some photos.


She picked out such a cute dress.


The confirmands met early that morning to run through the service and to practice their confirmation statements. Each kid had to write about their faith in God and their confirmation experience. Here Bella is practicing hers.


We also got the big group pictures before church started because we knew it would be a little chaotic afterward.






When it came time to actually confirm Bella, Andy got a little emotional. He paused for a little bit to gain his composure, but even as he read Bella's confirmation verse, his voice quivered.


And then Bella started crying.


And then I started crying. I could see out of the corner of my eye that my mom was crying and that across the aisle a woman from the choir was crying. Later on, Andy's mom said that she was crying. I think at least half the church was crying. It was such a tender moment.


All the tears are dried up and it's time for more pictures.


Bella and Grandma. My dad ended up getting sick and couldn't make it. My mom ended up driving through a snow storm, but I'm happy that she could be here.








Bella, Papa, and Gaga.




Her confirmation certificate.


Presents!






It was a beautiful confirmation day.

And I'll end this post with a couple of randoms.

Andy bought me some tulips. They are my favorite flower.


Bella and her bag of chips!

Andy's 38th Birthday

We got another spring snow on Andy's birthday. Apparently, we've had more snow since spring started than we had all winter! We went sledding, had a snowball fight, and made another snowman.










Meanwhile, my mom was driving down from Wisconsin for Bella's confirmation; which was the next day. She hit a blizzard when she reached Indianapolis, which really slowed her down. We also had plans to go out to eat for Andy's birthday, but with all the snow and slick roads, we ended up eating at the house that night. Andy's parents came up a couple of days earlier, so they were able to miss that mess. We still celebrated with some ice cream cake!

Spring Break Part Two

I can't believe I'm posting this picture. I had a face mask that I hadn't used and thought it might be fun to do with Bella. The mud seemed a little dry, so applying it was rather difficult. We did the best we could. Curtis joined us too. And then we pretended to be zombies and tried to scare Graydon. He ended up joining us. I don't have a photo with him, but we took a selfie video and texted it to Andy (who was working at church) that night!


The boys were invited to Sky Zone with some friends. Fun day for them!


Bella and I had a girls day. We went dress shopping for some upcoming events.


Freezing rain on the first day of spring.


I thought I should take down the snowflakes from our window since it was officially spring. But they were so fitting for our weather that I just kept them up.


We were supposed to go back to school on Wednesday, March 21; but it snowed! This was actually a snow make-up day to begin with. And now we have to go an extra day at the end of the year. Major bummer. But Graydon made this super cute snowman.


The snow was melted by that afternoon and the boys had Cub Scouts that evening. They went to the fire station that night.




A couple of weeks later, I finally took down the snowflakes. I hope that keeps the snow away until next winter!