Ten on Tuesday

1. Easter prep was in full swing on Friday. We had a practice egg hunt at the house and dyed eggs. Both boys had a great time and were super excited about going to the farm.

2. Easter celebrations at the farm went great. Saturday was gorgeous, Sunday was freezing and windy, but we made do.

 Little boy at the farm!

 

We attempted to fly kites, though Zane and Rowan's didn't work very well. Everyone ended up sharing and having fun in the wheat field, as usual.

The biggest source of entertainment for the kids is the huge dirt pile in front of mom's house, waiting to become a flower bed. They dug holes and got completely filthy, repeatedly.

3. In the afternoon I went a beautiful run around the section. This is really where I prefer to run, out on the open prairie. I got back in time for an early afternoon fish fry that turned out to be amazingly delicious, courtesy of the Blakley's. 

 Rowan has mastered the art of lounging in the gorgeous weather. He sat here and watched everyone else run around crazy for quite some time.

Rowan's, usually tense, relationship with Uncle Brent seemed to flourish over his love of jumping off this ladder. So that was a good thing to come from this weekend.

4.We got in our Sunday best for Easter Vigil Mass Saturday evening. Zane participated in the creation story again, as did Brendan and Maggie. It was amazing, like it is every time. So glad they got to be a part of it. 

 Cousin picture!

5.When we got home from mass we tried an Easter experiment, planting jelly beans to see if when the Easter bunny came by if they would grow into Lolly Pops, which Zach had heard might happen. In great news it worked and we had a pot full of lolly pops in the morning. Who knew, great, fun, new tradition!

6. The Easter bunny brought lots of goodies as well, with my favorite being Rowan's stuffed Mallard duck, which is hysterical and he loves. Zane was devastated that he didn't get a stuffed animal, but in fairness to the Easter bunny he had gotten a stuffed dinosaur the day before and has stuffed animals running out his ears, which I'm sure the Easter bunny knew.

 This picture is hysterical, "I cuddle my quack quack mamma."

7. We braved the windy, cold morning for an epic Easter egg hunt that sprawled all over mom's huge yard and gardens. I think everyone found plenty of eggs and got lots of candy.

 problem solving how to get the egg off the the arch

8. After naps there was also a Pirate Treasure hunt, complete with gifts at the end. I supervised Maggie and Zane's team, who where very spirited and knew what all the clues meant right away. It was great fun, with chocolate gold coins found along the way. 

 They found their books first, though there we no winners and losers, obviously. 

9. The last funtivity of the weekend was throwing the cascarones at the house and spreading lots of Easter cheer with the confetti they left in front of mom's house. Rowan didn't buy into throwing them and went for the tamer, poke a hole in the end and sprinkle confetti everywhere approach, per his personality. 

 Very Festive!

10. Yesterday the Little Rascals were back on the field and Zane began to find T-ball a little less exciting. He spent a lot of time in center field sitting down or spinning in circles while Zach tried to keep him at least somewhat focused on the game. The struggle was real. He did have a good hit and ran the bases. Meanwhile the other cousins had a great time playing together. We stayed to watch Brendan have a great hit and score in his game, which was after Zane's. Lot of fun at the ball park. I can't wait to see the telephoto pictures of Zane's out fielding that Aunt Abbey took!

 Zane was even bored when he was up to bat. He is shooting people with his bat in this picture.

 Look closely and you can see Zane sitting down in center field.

 Cousin fun

11. Bonus: Yesterday we took an afternoon trip to our park which ended in lots of adorable pictures. Zane and Rowan played wonderfully together, which always makes park so much more enjoyable.