Easter Greetings

Hello! Easter greetings to you!
We, sadly, weren't able to travel home for the holiday,
so we have been surrounding ourselves with the local community.
The Easter festivities kicked off last week
with a playgroup party at a nearby park.

The girls were excited to take part in their first egg hunt of the season,
and they also loved the petting zoo.
Ryleigh happens to love her little buddy, Jonny,
so the afternoon was made all the more sweet when he arrived for the fun.
That weekend, our town hosted its annual Eggstravaganza -
complete with a giant egg hunt, pictures with the Easter bunny
(who Ryleigh wouldn't allow within a ten foot radius),
slides, bounce houses and dancing in the gazebo.

Lexi's class celebrated the holiday with an egg hunt of their own this week,
which meant super sweet outfits like this one

(anyone notice a theme whereby lots of eggs and candy are making their way into our house?)
I found out about a photographer taking photos with real live bunnies at the mall,
and of course I simply couldn't resist.
Lexi loved every minute of the photo shoot,
and would have snuck a bunny home in her pocket had no one been looking.
Ryleigh, on the other hand, was a bit more hesitant.
She didn't like the bunnies OR the photographer up close.
But she has met her match in her crazy mommy.
Because you all know me well and love me still, I feel comfortable admitting that
we returned the following day and spent no less than 45 minutes
petting the bunnies, shaking the photographers hand, smelling the flowers,
and just generally attempting to convince our two year old that this was a good idea.
Persistence (and one really yummy looking lollipop) won out,
and the little miss allowed her photo to be taken for posterity.

Today, the girls awoke to fun Easter baskets,
but the real excitement came when Lexi spotted eggs scattered throughout the backyard.
She raced around the yard, collecting nearly every egg in record time,
while Ryleigh focused her attention on opening just one or two
and shoving the contents into her mouth.
Different methods, but similar results...
both girls shouted that they loved Easter.

Of course, the true reason for the holiday wasn't lost on us,
and so, we ventured to our first Dallas church service today.
We arrived right on time,
and found ourselves in the overflow room,
with the service streamed (very loudly) on a giant television screen….
clearly we're not in the Northeast anymore.
Afterwards, we enjoyed a family brunch in Snider Plaza,
then met up with dear friends from Fairfield
who will be calling Dallas their new home come this summer.
All in all, one joyful weekend.
Happy Easter, from all of us to all of you.