Easter is my favorite holiday. Have I mentioned that before? That's probably why I have about 300 pictures to whittle down for this post.
We were all pleased to wake up Easter morning to find that the Easter bunny had made a visit to our house. (I think Katie Wynn was more pleased to know that he was no longer there...)
The big kids had to leave us before church so the plan was for everyone to be dressed and ready a few minutes early so that we could take some family pictures before they hit the road. That photo shoot was an epic fail. This was the best we got. It was kinda bright out!
I tried to get the little kids up on the porch where it was shaded for some better pictures, but they were so uncooperative. See? They're already teaming up against me.
After church, it was family time at my parents' house. Everyone knows the rules by now - no one gets to change clothes until we attempt some pictures. "Attempt" being the key word there. There was a little bit of dabbing and nae-nae-ing going on while I set up the tripod and messed with my camera settings.
Our photoshoot started with the hardest picture of all...all the grandkids. Another epic fail, mostly thanks to my two littles. We told Katie Wynn to go stand in front BY Thomas. She heard go stand in front OF Thomas. Poor guy can't even be seen thanks to her.
There may have been some stern words about cooperating and possibly even a spanking or two. As you can tell, it worked really well. We also took Thomas's paci away and he responded by dabbing.
Full family photo...the best we could do.
Here are each of my brothers and their families.
Our family picture is not the worst (no one is crying) but it'd be better if Thomas were looking up. Oh well.
These next two photos are so telling of our life right now. Matt and I smile and put on a good face...
...while just out frame, someone is crying and needing our attention!
I try not to take offense to the cheers that occur when everyone is allowed to go inside and change their clothes. :)
Like usual, my Mom prepared a delicious lunch for all of us. After eating, she brought out the big basket of eggs that she and my Dad had filled with goodies the night before. We (the six parents) got to guess how many eggs were in the basket. I was the winner with the closest guess. I can't remember what I guessed but the total was 280!
Those 280 eggs weren't going to hide themselves so we got to work out in the backyard, and then we turned all seven kids loose!
I think their favorite part is emptying the eggs and going through all their loot. Let the sugar rush begin!
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know the egg hunt is followed by MY favorite part - the cascarones! They're eggs filled with confetti that we smash on our heads for good luck throughout the year...or just to have lots of fun!
Jett, my oldest nephew, is missing from most of my confetti pictures because he arms himself with eggs and runs! I did get him once but I had to be sneaky and couldn't have my camera out. Of course, then I ended up getting chased by him and his cousins until they got me good! Also, paper confetti sticks in girls' hair much more than it does in boys'. They just have to give their heads a good shake and it's all gone.
My brother and I got my mom pretty good.
Thomas helped brush all the confetti off Poppy's back and was so proud of himself for helping! :)
Sweet Lilli Greer slept through most of the confetti fun.
I have about 30 takes of the picture below and there is not a single one where all eyes are open and towards the camera. Amazing. At some point, the odds should be in my favor, right?
It was a fun, fun afternoon and we were so grateful that the rain held off so we could hunt eggs and play outside. (I don't think my Mom would be up for confetti eggs in her kitchen, and that would've been a real bummer!) There was quite a bit of candy consumed by my two kiddos, but thankfully they still napped well when we got home. Another fun-filled Easter in the books!