Easter

We all went to MiMi and PaPa's church...the service and music were amazing! Carter helped PaPa get the hammock out when we got back to their house...

Picture time!

All the girls!

These kids love the hammock!

We forgot to get a pic of all the fellas!

The future Mr. and Mrs!

Then the hunt was on! (As Mike talked to his side of the fam on the phone in the grass)...

Good times! The hunt was followed by a nap for little man and the rest of us sat down for a feast of lamb (SAD!, but good!) and ham with lots of yummy sides! What a wonderful Easter!

"Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity."

A piece of the action! :)

Easter Eve

We headed over to MiMi and PaPa's on Sat. to begin the Easter festivities! First up....feeding the fish! The kids have been enjoying reading an Easter book Laura gave them last yr (or the yr before...) so we brought it so Auntie Lu could do the honors!

The kids were excited to be out at MiMi and PaPa's and happy that everyone from my side could be there for the weekend!

Laura got Carter a pirate hat to go with his sword and M got some bunny ears and a boa!

The kids love KayKay...

"I a pirrrrrrrrate!"

Carter is here there and everywhere in 0.2 in that yard...so exciting and so much to see!

Loving time with Aunt Laura!

Taking Mocha for a walk...

Back to love on (future) Uncle Matt...

Sibling love! :)

Lots of time to chill and chase children... :)

Chalk drawings by Auntie Lu...not pictured, but very fun- making candy bunny necklaces with both of the aunts, Carter skipping rest time to enjoy time with the fam, visiting with next door neighbor, and a yummy cookout! :)

He's 8!!!

T came over for his B-Day Sleepover on Wed. night! He wanted to camp in the yard so Mike set the tent up while we went over and played at the school playground...Then we went and got Carter's haircut before going out to eat at Pizza Hut...T's choice!

Mike and Carter invented a new game: "Straw WARS"...

Then after a trip to ToysRus and ice cream at home I bathed the littles while Uncle Mike and T played with his new superhero figurines...

Then M, T, and I got settled out in the tent and Mike went back in to listen for Carter and answer my texts..."So and so is coming in to potty...what on earth is outside the tent!?!? At 11pm?!?!, etc..." It was Maggie scaling the tent trying to get inside!

T went inside after a while bc he couldn't fall asleep, but M and I stayed out for the night...lots of noises out there...not so nature-y...ac unit on and off, cars and trucks on the interstate nearby, people weed whacking at 10 pm (?!?!)...but still so fun to be outside on a "camp out"! Mags scaled the tent at 4am again and woke up M that time...but I wasn't startled bc I knew what it was that time and so we let her in and after chatting with M for a little while we settled in with Mags to sleep until the sun came up... :)

Goofy cousins before bedtime stories!

In the morning Mike got back to playing figurines with the kids...

And after breakfast we went back outside to play in the tent...

And Carter got to join in on the fun! Happy Bday T! Can't believe you are 8!!!!! :)

Busch Gardens or Bust!

We are having a Spring Break "Stay-cation"...but planned one outing for the week...our first trip to Busch Gardens for the year! (Along with everyone else apparently!) We had to park in the "overflow parking lot" for the first time ever...but the kids loved the longer tram ride...We would prob say it was Carter's fav. part of the whole day!

We love Busch Gardens and were excited to go back...my Season Pass from last yr doesn't expire til the end of Aug (so it feels like I am getting a summer for free!) and this yr Preschoolers are free so the only person we had to pay for was Mike (FunDay pass)! It will be our cheapest summer there yet! YAY!!!

Measuring our kids for their color wrist bands...our kids have grown! Mal is purple now and Carter is red! They can ride more things! Our kids are so tall!

Sesame Street in 4D...we hadn't tried this since our first summer there and M freaked out when she got all wet...this time she wore her glasses and had fun...and Carter enjoyed watching the blurry show sans glasses and it didn't bother him when it went 4D...

There was lots of waiting because we have never gone on such a crowded day...

Some times our little guy was a sweet little angel...

And sometimes he acted like a straight up 2 yr old without his nap and we ate quite a bit of "humble pie"....ahhhh the joys of parenthood!
But even a rough day at Busch Gardens with an impatient 2 yr old and lots and lots of people is still "a winner of a day" in our book!

M chose the #4 dragon bc that's my fav number...so sweet!

Ladybug ride!

Both kids love the rides in the dragon area...

Ummmm Mallory held a snake (!!!!) and I was so nervous I forgot to take a pic...crazy! The kids like looking at the animals they have at the park too...

We had to stop by and see our fav. Sesame friends before we left!

Sweet story amongst the 2 yr old angst during the trip...We got to see the train before it left the station on our way to the Sesame Street area and Carter was all excited and waving at the conductor...a sweet little Grandpa conductor who prob has loved trains since he was a kid...the conductor waved back and then said, "wait a minute" and dug in his engine car and brought over a conductor hat for Carter...such a little Hallmark moment...then he noticed we had 2 kids and went back to get one for M too...so sweet...and then as the train left the station a family was calling to me and it was a student I taught my first yr teaching and his family...so fun to see them!

Our little conductors! Carter loves doing "fish lips" these days... :)

What a fun day! Hopefully the next time we go back it will be less crowded!

Part of the action...the tram "ride" and the ladybug ride! :)

Palm Sunday

After church on Sunday the other Morins headed over during Carter's nap (that's why the guy is missing in lots of pics...poor guy!) More light sabering was had!

Fun chats with my niece... :)

Tree climbing...

Then we grilled out and had Pepere's traditional B-Day cupcakes for dessert...What a fun visit with lots of family we have had...always sad when "The Morin Motel" empties out after a visit...We enjoyed our time with you Pepere! Can't wait for Aug! :)