Easter 2012--Part 2


We traveled south to visit Patrick's sister, Sonja & her family, for Easter Weekend this year. I hope this will remain a yearly tradition. It was a fabulous weekend, minus a couple of blips. But really, with four small children, I don't think I can ever expect an uneventful trip. And what fun would my posts be if there wasn't some drama, right? :-)

The drive down was....well....interesting. Rain, heavy traffic, a crying baby, and a tired 3 year old. We decided to stop at McD's early on to pacify the kids. The minute we pulled in, 3 fire trucks, 3 police SUV's and an ambulance followed us. Seriously?!?! Apparently a lady had passed out in her car while going through the drive-thru. The kids were entertained while we did food and bathroom breaks. The woman was fine and going to the hospital for testing.

How Natalie wished the drive down went. She already has her "younger" sister doing the work!!

Allison & Mia adore their cousins, Talia (7) and Claire (5) (....and Fabi too, but she is 21)! They were so excited to see them when we pulled in the driveway at 9:30pm, that they just ran around the house giggling. We did lots of fun things over the 3-day weekend. The kids enjoyed playing at Monkey Joe's Jump House, the park, and all over the neighborhood. They got to ride on a golf-cart and motorized Jeep's. They got to play with all the cool toys that T & C have, and dress up to play gymnastics.


The girls loved their baskets from the Easter Bunny (thanks, Sonja)! It was fun to watch them look for the baskets. I remember this as a little girl, so it was neat for me to see MY little girls hunting. They also loved dyeing real easter eggs.

We found one!!!


We even managed to weave in a little religious education and remind them why we have holidays like Easter. I was really impressed that Claire could recount the entire Easter Story. We made "Resurrection Rolls" this year. These were fun. The kids took 'Jesus' (a marshmallow), rolled his body in 'oil' (melted butter) and 'spices' (cinnamon & sugar), and wrapped him in 'linen' (a crescent roll). We then placed 'him' in the 'tomb' (the oven). After '3 days' (about 15 minutes), we found out that all that was left was the linen....inside 'Jesus' was gone. The tomb was empty!! (the marshmallow melted).



We also hunted for Resurrection Eggs (that we had made at MOPS this year). Talia did a great job reading the Scripture verse in the eggs.

Of course one of my kids managed to get sick. So far, every.single.time we travel one of my girls gets sick. WHY?!? This time it was Jenna. Sonja got to check out the new Urgent Care with me. We were in and out in about 45 minutes. Poor Jenna had double ear infections. Fortunately Publix Grocery Store gives free antibiotics. I thought that was so great.

I really can't thank Lester & Sonja enough for welcoming us into their home. It is A LOT to have a family of SIX invade your space. Their generosity is overwhelming. We are building amazing memories for our kids. I get teary thinking about it. Allison even cried on the way home because she didn't want to leave her cousins. "It's not fair, Mom. I want to live here forever." I am praying that their friendship and love for each other grows.

The drive home was MUCH quieter than the drive back :-)  We were greeted by our awesome neighbors who helped us unpack; AND an awesome friend who had left dinner for us on the front porch. Seriously, we are so incredibly blessed.




Comments

Amber said…
Yay! for cousins, yay! for family, yay! for urgent care, yay! for free antibiotics, yay! for memories, and yay! for rockin' neighbors, AND I love your Easter outfits!! (beautiful dress, Shana!!)
April 12, 2012 at 3:30 PM
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