Easter at Charlotte's

Mom decided not to host Easter this year and we tried to have something at our house that was a fail, so Charlotte came through and invited us to be with her family for Easter this year.

We hadn't seen her (new) house, so it was a great chance to be up there, and on that side of the family there were I think 7 or 8 kids under 8 with Wyatt being the oldest, so it was a really great group and great time for the girls.

We ate first--Amara and Cora had their ham sandwiches, then Cora helped herself to anyone's pineapple. Haylee gave me the funniest look when Cora took the pineapple right off of her plate, lol.

Amara had chosen a strawberry lemonade cake for us to take and cookies, so we had to sample our own sweets for sure.

After eating, it was time for the egg hunting. All the eggs were color coded, so it was truly a hunt!

Last but not least, the painting--the egg painting supplies were provided by Charlotte this year, so all we had to do was paint and enjoy :)

Even though it was a far drive, it was a great day and the girls had a blast. We even watched Goonies on the way home--which Eric and I enjoyed listening to in the car. Thanks Easter bunny!

Easter morning

Easter morning was leisurely for a lot of reasons. Cora was up early, but literally walked RIGHT by her Easter basket that Eric put by her door, and then we all waited for Amara to get up...and waited..

She spent the day with G'ma and G'pa Young after the rising park hunt yesterday, so with no nap and being overtired, she just kept sleeping!

Cora started to get hungry waiting, so dad made her an egg sandwich--a new find that they girls love and daddy is thrilled about :)  Church wasn't till 11, so by the time Amara got up, then we had to hustle a bit but still got there with no issues.

We saw a few friends at church, then headed down to Caldwells to let the girls see G'pa Jahn--who had just started working long days in the fields and wouldn't get to see them.

We headed back home to load up and get ready to go to Charlotte's after that and from then on not a second was wasted!

Hills time!

Hills is our little get-away close to home. They always have super man and cotton candy ice cream for the girls, onion rings for me and burgers for Eric. You never have to twist our arms to go to Hills.

She's tall enough to see in the case now without help :( another sad milestone that you don't think about till it's here or gone, but she enjoys it and I'm not going to take that away from her--she loves her independence.

Rising Park egg hunt

This makes several years in a row that we've done the Rising Park egg hunt.  Not because we love the hunt, but because it's daddy's town, and because G'ma and G'pa Young come out and the girls get to spend the day with them.

We headed down to get there around 10:30 and were surprised to see Kristin and Connor there too!

The girls played on the park a bit (probably their favorite park they have ever been too) and were actually bummed when it was time for the egg hunt...

This year they were in different age groups, so Eric took Amara and I stayed with Cora.  When it was time to go, Cora headed up the hill--but it was strange.  They had just tossed the candy in the yard (not in eggs) and then they had hard boiled eggs in the grass too.  Luckily for me, Cora wasn't near any eggs, but we did get a handful of candies.

As quickly as that, it was over. We all met back up and headed back to the park.  After a little playing, Eric and I left (to go home and clear brush in the yard) and the girls stayed.

When they got home, they told us they wouldn't leave the park. Kristin even went out for lunch and came back.  They did get a little time at g'ma and g'pa's house to rest a bit, but they really just wanted to play outside--so much, that they even went to a different park on the way back home. Busy day!

Coloring Easter eggs

Coloring eggs for us is one of those things that is slightly different this year, but we are still in the chaotic phase :)  lots of paper towels and cracked eggs, but they love it.

Cora still has wobbly hands and Amara is still impatient--and 24 eggs never seems like enough. Not to mention Amara has to oversee and approve everything that Cora does ;)

It's funny--I guess it's the only thing where you truly do it one time a year, and it's over in a snap.  We had fun and it is a really special thing to do with the girls, regardless of the outcome or the mess. I don't think my nephews do them anymore, so who knows when Amara will be tired of it.

(I think Daddy likes "helping" too--maybe i'll have to make him his own dozen to "try")

The end result was perfect and beautiful. Amara and daddy ate a fair amount of them, before we made egg salad, and they can't wait to do it again--guess I need to find other activities...

Naz food truck festival and egg hunt

The Naz decided to combine their Easter egg hunt with their Food Truck Festival (and a car show) this Spring, so we knew it'd be busy, but we wanted to go anyway.  We planned to meet up with Irelyn and her family, so the girls got to play on some of the attractions before the hunt.

It was SO windy that day--like INSANELY windy that day--so the point it was blowing you over, so we didn't eat much (it literally blew away)...

but the girls got to see the Easter bunny and some girls handing out stamps were fun for them, in between the slides and seeing other friends like Haylee and Mrs. Misty also there.

The eggs were beautiful--I heard someone say there were several thousand, and I believe it because it was packed!  The girls got in their designated area and we waited and the start was a bit delayed, but once they did the countdown, it was over in a flash.

I'm so glad the girls are respectful and not obnoxious at these kinds of events too. Once they had a dozen or two, we all found a dry spot to let the girls open their eggs. Cora was fine giving her eggs back but Amara wanted to keep a few (she didn't care about the chocolate as much as Cora did).

We walked around a little bit more before we left, but it was getting near nap time and the wind just wore us out all morning, so it was a good time to head home and it was a fun morning for sure.

girls picking spring flowers

This time last year, we were still in the process of closing on this house--so even though we picked *some* flowers, we weren't here for all of it.

So as soon as the green sprigs started coming up, we were all excited to get out and explore and see what we have.

We didn't see any crocus, but we have dozens upon dozens of daffodils. Largely yellow, some mini ones and some white too.

Every night when we get home, the girls jump out of  the car as they see new flowers come up. I grab a cup of water for them, they put on their boots, and we head out to pick some more. 

Happy birthday Payton and Kennedy (6 and 4 :))

Our friends the Black Family were having a Frozen/skating/sister birthday party at Skate America on a very busy weekend for us, but we wouldn't have missed it!!

It was so great to see Payton (from gymnastics and cheer) and little sis Kennedy (Cora's buddy) again after not seeing them for a while!

We got the whole rink to ourselves for the party, so it was packed with friends and skate-mates and Elsa even showed up to skate with the kids--well, she didn't skate, but she walked around and talked to the kids. Cora followed her around the whole time :)

The girls were treated to pizza and cake, and a ton of skating while mom and dad helped and got to visit with our friends--which was nice too!

The party was over quickly and Ms. Tiffany gave the girls some awesome blue popcorn treats and princess dolls to take home that they loved!

Both girls had a blast roller skating the whole time and Amara is getting quite confident on her skates. Cora said "THAT WAS AWESOME" as soon as we got her into the car. We all laughed for a few minutes at that one.

Cheer banquet

Our first cheer banquet celebration was QUITE overwhelming. It was at Pinnacle and I bet you if there was one person, there were 500 people there. It was PACKED with dressed up girls and their families (brothers, sisters, etc. too).

The weather was beautiful though, so the buffets were outside and the girls did really well, despite all the waiting around.  Cora, bless her heart, couldn't make it to sissy's awards, so daddy took her home, and I waited back. As it was, it was still 7:30 before they got to her team awards, but she stayed, then asked to leave.

We got home late, especially for a Sunday evening, but Amara was happy to show daddy and Cora her medal and trophy and it quickly went right up on her shelf in her room.  She's so proud of it.  She worked really hard on that team this winter--all the girls did, and they earned it.

This pic is of most of the team. I think there were three or four girls who didn't come--but the ones who did looked adorable and were very proud of their team.

Chocolate factory tour!

Our annual tradition, the Anthony Thomas chocolate factory tour fell on a very busy weekend this year.  From gymnastics to skating, to a birthday party, then this--the girls were STILL excited as always (maybe even more) and we were thrilled to get started!

We didn't have to wait--we got there almost at closing time, so we went right into the see the bunnies.  The girls posed and got eggs, then we were up the stairs to the catwalk.

Amara is well tall enough now, but Cora still need to be held up...maybe next year, lol.  Even with the girls being tall, being up high helps!

We watched the bunnies, buckeyes and baskets being assembled and wrapped, then headed downstairs for samples and treats.

This time though, we even rode the trolly back around to the back, that was a great treat too--and one we don't always get to do.  I think we were in and out in under an hour, maybe even a record! I'll keep taking them as long as they want to go--as with most things, I fear one day it won't be "cool" anymore, lol.

Go chocolate!

Kelsey turns 5!!

Amara had been missing her GCCCC buddies, so the invitation to Kelsey's "Frozen" birthday party couldn't have come at a better time.

She's such a sweet girl--from the back, I could easily get the girls confused at school, except for the period when she had a broken arm and a bright pink cast--but the girls were always together.

It was a busy day though--skating, party, Anthony-Thomas factory tour, but we didn't want to miss that party!

The birthday girl was in her special dress and the house looked magical all in blue and white.  The kids played mostly--Amara saw friends (Landon, Cora, and a few I didn't know) from school and they all enjoyed the lovely cake.

Just as soon as it happened, it was over, and we headed on our merry way. I'm sure we'll see Kels again soon at Amara's (not so frozen) beach party in May!

Last winter tiny competition: Cheer Power

Amara's last competition (of 3) with the Winter Tiny team was a late one!  They didn't compete till after 7 and awards were even later!

So it was a long day. We didn't take the curlers out until what would normally be closer to dinner and bedtime, but Amara loves that bouncy feeling when we take the curl formers out.

In the uniform for one last time this season, Amara is becoming quite the pose-queen, haha, even if she's standing on our bed.

Little sis and g'ma and g'pa Jahn were all there to cheer here on. There was lots of waiting, but when the girls got on stage, they were all smiles and enjoying themselves.  I think if Amara could just play with the girls and perform, she'd be fine--but the practice comes before the fun :(

The team didn't place all that well, but it's a big group and the routine isn't complicated at all. Good news? no one cares!! I'm so glad Amara doens't get hung up on wining in this scenario--the girls are learning so much about teamwork and tumbling and being good people, that wining is the last thing on her mind--oh she's competitive, but even if it's a 6th place trophy, she still got a trophy :)