Easter Blessings

This Easter the Lily Pad hosted our first holiday.  Jim and I have been married for twelve years and we have had the pleasure of being a guest at our parents' for holiday meals ever since, however this year we decided it was our turn.  We decorated the house and got baking and preparing several days ahead.  Aunt Tammy brought the hams, Nanny Lil brought the potatoes, Aunt Kathy brought the salad, so we did the honey glazed carrots, lemon green beans, a couple of quiches, rolls, and two broccoli and cauliflower casseroles.  For dessert I made egg shaped cake pops, sugar cookies, cupcakes, and carrot-cake with cream cheese frosting. Nanny brought a butter cake and Nanny Lil made a chocolate pie.  We feasted and enjoyed the beautiful day. The kids loved staying in their own home for a change and had fun with all their relatives.  They eventually came down from their sugar highs from all those chocolate bunnies in their Easter baskets and the three Easter Egg hunts we attended earlier that weekend.  I love the traditions of these hunts, the one around our house and our neighborhood   I love how our bunny carefully labels each basket and hides the baskets filled with goodies, books and a couple special toys in a perfectly chosen hiding spot.  This year it was Cameron's basket which was the hardest to find, but luckily we all helped him look and it was found just before breakfast.  It was a blessed day filled with sunshine, family and yummy treats.

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

The beginning of March felt far from spring like around here but we certainly made the most of all the snow.  The kids loved sledding, snowman sculpting,  igloo constructing and hot cocoa slurping.  Cameron made some serious money shoveling neighbors driveways which he quickly spent at the 7/11 in town. We definitely had some blizzards to remember and enough school snow days to make any child happy and drive any mother to the brink of insanity.   One highlight of all that snow, was a trip up north with Nanny and Ampa and the rest of the Lil family.  The girls got on skiis for the first time, and aside from the cold, seemed to enjoy the thrill of the wind in their face as they zoomed down the bunny slope ( a very small incline). Poor Avery had bilateral pneumonia for the trip, but rallied and was feeling much better by the last day. It was so much fun catching up with all the Lils and spending some quality time all together. Having so much family around was also ideal as it allowed us a lot of time to go off skiing with Jameson and Cameron who have mastered all the trails and especially like the challenge of black or double black diamonds.  What a great family sport skiing is- three generations, outside, enjoying the beauty of the mountains, the fresh air, the thrill of the descent and the company of loved ones.

April is starting to feel a tad more spring like.  The sky is clear, the daylight hours are long and the first daffodils are peeking out of the ground.  We have dusted off the bikes, broken out the chalk, and set out to start enjoying the warmer weather.  A yard cleanup is in order, but I for one am looking forward to getting outside and enjoying our new deck and welcoming spring!