Tuesday, March 25, 2008

"How to Build a Pretty Perfect Easter in 10 Easy Steps"
(with photo evidence to back most of it up!)


1. Start the day off with a wonderful sunrise service.
(No pictures here... just imagine us all looking very sleepy, but with smiles of satisfaction on our faces. Lots of reminders of God's grace!)

2. Enjoy some yummy (and pretty!) baskets from the Easter Mom & Pop.


(My basket from Gary was especially wonderful. I got my faves--Peeps, Cadbury creme-filled eggs, and Cadbury mini eggs. But the pleasant surprise was the dark chocolate Ferrero Rochers. Yumm...)

3. Eat WAY TOO much of the above-pictured candy!

4. Take the traditional Easter Morning picture of the girls and I. (We have taken these since Delaney was about three-years-old and they are some of my very favorite pictures in my collection!)

(and throw in one of me and the hubs)


5. Watch your youngest child sing in front of the church. (Yes, Sydney sang AGAIN in front of the church. While the older kids stood there very still, Sydney was on the front row making quite a spectacle of herself. Her sequin purse was swinging from her arms, she was dancing to the music, and she popped jelly beans in her mouth every couple of seconds. I heard several rumblings in the audience, "Who is that cute little diva?" Now I WISH I had pics of that!)

6. Take a nap. (Sydney was pooped and had to take a nap once we were at my parents' house for Easter lunch. Being a Church Diva takes a lot out of you!)

7. Eat WAY too much food!!! We had two--count them TWO--big meals on Easter. We had a delicious steak lunch at my parents' house, then had a traditional Easter dinner (ham, green bean casserole, etc.!) at my in-laws. Wonderful all around!! (But boy we were stuffed when the day was done!)

8. Hold an Egg Hunt!


First, you have to find the perfect place to hide the eggs (we had our hunt at my parents' house and Mom's garden isn't in bloom yet, but we still found some sneaky hiding places)...

Then you wander around, wondering where you hid them all...

And you enjoy the hunt, and the excitement...






9. Take some special Easter photos (to arrive soon in your scrapbook!).

We got this one of the girls and their cousins, Matthew and Garrett at my parents' house. (I love this picture!)

And then we had to get our traditional family pose! We almost waited too late, but finally sat down on Gary's parents porch to try and get the perfect shot.

First we had to wipe the chocolate from our face....

Then we had to stick out our tongue...

But it was worth it, when we got a really nice shot of all of us...

10. Throw in some cupcakes, for good measure. (We celebrated McKenna and Sydney's birthdays a week early with presents and cupcakes and some special wishes!)

As you can probably guess, Easter was GOOD (it's always one of my very favorite days of the entire year!). I hope yours was fantastic too!!

And now, while I have you here, do you mind if I share a few pictures from Sydney's early birthday party this past weekend? (Yep, we're crazy! We did a bday party and Easter in the same weekend! But who was I to refuse when my quite cute and convincing almost-four- year-old said she wanted to have a party at that place "where a Kid Can be a Kid"?)





It was a great time with friends, and Sydney had a blast! Since she isn't actually four until this next weekend, we will keep partying (we kinda like to party in our household. Any reason for a celebration! lol)

Thanks for sticking with me through ALL those pictures! As always, I'm honored that you are interested in our lives and that you continue to join me here in my corner of the blogosphere!

22 comments:

Char said...

Hi Cheryl

I just LOVED the pics you posted and all the nifty comments with them too. It looks like you guys had a GREAT easter together. And what's a little celebration without some overeating?!? haha! Glad you had such a wonderful weekend!

CyndiAKADisneyqueen said...

Wow, the girls are growing up in front of my eyes. Great pics.

Monogram Queen said...

Awww I just knew i'd get all kind of good fun fuzzy feelings from your post and I did!

Anonymous said...

LOVE these picturees.

Stacy said...

wow looks like a wonderful time and crazy to put easter and birthday party together lol i need to put a sleep over together for my son who just turned 9 lolspeaking of i better post a happy bithday wish to him lol!!!

camport said...

Posts with LOTS of pics are always the best posts.

You should do a flashback post with your Easter girl pics from years ago. What a great idea to have a yearly shoot like that.

Have fun recovering from all the parties! With 3 girls in the house, I can't imagine the laundry!

:)

Edleen said...

Wow...all the photos are Great! everyone looks so Happy :)

hope you'll have a wonderful day!

Adrienne said...

Awww glad you guys had a great day ! Love the pics!!!

Anonymous said...

Great Pictures - as always, I love reading your post - read it every day as a matter of fact :-)
Lisa Elliott

Cheryl Wray said...

Char--Overeating is ALWAYS a part of our celebrations! :-)

Disney--It's amazing, isn't it? They grow up so fast!

Patti--You're so sweet!

Gin--Thanks!

Stacy--Hee hee, you're too funny! I LOVE doing birthday parties for the kiddoes!

Cheryl Wray said...

Chrissy--You know, that's a really good idea! I may have to scan the really early ones and share them on here sometime. Uh yeah...I pretty much wash all the time! lol

Ed--It WAS a happy day!!

Adrienne--Thanks! I love them too and can't wait to scrap some of them!

Lisa--Hey! Love to see you comment. And I love that you pop by here often! :-)

Auburn Kat said...

I love that..church diva!

Sheila said...

What a Fabulous Easter Celebration and I enjoyed the pics... whats a post without great pics...lol.

Anonymous said...

OMG Cheryl! Your pictures are SOOOOOO darn cuuuuuyute! I lOVED seeing every one of them! You and your family are so adorable! What a GREAT Easter weekend! Hugs to you! :D

Brown English Muffin said...

I just LOVE posts with tons of pictures you can't get much better than that at all...my fav pic is the one of your daughter asleep after being the church diva!!!!

Cheryl said...

Oh I loved these pictures! Aren't these girls changing so quickly! Oh my, how they grow in a hurry. I think it is so neat how you make a picture each Easter. What a great idea! Good Job! Have a nice week friend!

Mississippi Songbird said...

Awwwww, those are so precious!
So glad you have a nice Easter.. Bunches of hugs!

cinnibonbon said...

Indeed... I would agree you've captured the perfect Easter!! You've got a beautiful family!!!

Cheryl Wray said...

Kat--Isn't that funny??? I guess you can be a Diva anywhere you want to! lol

Sheila--Thanks!! :-)

Maria--You are TOO sweet!!!! Thanks for the kind words.

Muffin--Yeah, she was pooped!

Cheryl--It really is crazy how quickly they grow up. McKenna will be 16 on Sunday. Yikes!!

Songbird--Hugs to you too!

Bonbon--You're so sweet. Thanks!

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

My first visit here. I want to thank you for sharing you wonderful Easter with us. Beautiful pictures.....Blessings

Kimberly said...

Looks like u guys had alot of fun! I remember strawberry shortcake from when I was little. My mom still has my dolls.

Susie Q said...

I so enjoyed seeing these pictures and reading all about the fun. It was a sweet weekend wasn't it??

Love,
Sue