Easter 2011

We celebrated Easter with a weekend full of activity.  It all started on Saturday; we took off  bright and early --7:15 am to be exact--for an Easter egg hunt at Rainbow Foods.  Bennett was so excited about this, and it was a great way to get him into the store so he could partake in the hunt and then we shopped for groceries afterward.  We ran more errands after this little jaunt, and then came home for a quick break before our next activity.  Later in the day we all went to church, and Matt and I had the pleasure of serving in Bennett's classroom for one service, and then we attended the next service.  Being able to be in Bennett's classroom on this particular weekend was extra special because the early childhood pastor was sharing the story of Easter and what Jesus did for all of us.  Bennett was so attentive, and it was very touching to see him learn about this miracle.  When Matt and I went to the next service, the pastor delivered a very uplifting, meaningful message, and it was a great way to spend our afternoon.  I just love our church! Later that evening, Matt made his famous homemade pizza, we ate and ate, put the kiddos to bed, and finally started assembling an egg bake and pan of cheesy potatoes for our Easter breakfast.  After finishing that, Matt and I sat and filled dozens of little plastic eggs with candy for Bennett and Emma's Easter egg hunt.  We were about falling asleep on the couch, so we called it quits when the candy was gone and headed to bed.  We were awoken at approximately 6:10 am on Easter morning by two chipper children ready to find their Easter baskets and hunt for eggs.  Bennett helped Emma find her basket first, which was cleverly hidden under an end table in the living room, and then we all had to help Bennett search for his basket, which he found in his closet.  Silly Easter bunny!  It was about 7:00 by then, so onward with the Easter egg hunt!  We have NEVER started an  egg hunt this early before!  The Shevik's are a group of sleeper-inners, so wouldn't you know my kids would take after the Sahlstrom's and be wide awake and rearing to go at the crack of dawn.  You have to love their enthusiasm though; it is so cute!  We bundled our little sweeties up and were outside by about 7:30, and the kids were all done with the search before 8:00.  While hunting, Bennett graciously allowed Emma to pick up about 3 eggs while he collected around 80.  Sounds fair, right?  We came back inside where breakfast was in the oven, but not quite ready, so our peanut and sweet pea had some time to enjoy their new treasures before we feasted on the yummy egg bake and cheesy potatoes.   Fast forward to a few hours later, and we were in the car driving to Matt's parents' house to have a delicious Easter dinner and good company.  We had a super meal and then Miss Emma was ready for her afternoon nap, so she went to bed and the rest of us went outside to be entertained by Bennett on the trampoline.  Man, does that boy have ENERGY!  He ran and played so hard, and then was ready for more fun down by the river.  We stayed for a ham sandwich and a video of Matt and his family when they were very young, and then packed up to make the trip home.  What a day!  It was a wonderful way to spend Easter, and it was especially neat this year because Bennett is old enough now to understand why we celebrate this amazing day in the first place.  He is risen.  He is risen, indeed.

Where is my basket?

Here it is, Emma!

Bennett found his, too!

Ready for the HUNT!

Mmm, plastic.

Jump around

I see you, Remi!

Happy Easter, everyone!