Our Easter... in Pictures

 Two weeks before Easter, our church had a huge Easter egg hunt between services.  They printed little invitations so we could invite people.  This was a perfect opportunity to meet some of our new neighbors.  We made some cookies and Sadie and I went to the houses that we knew had little kids.

 Thanks to Pinterest, the kids and I enjoyed some fun Easter crafts...

 We made marshmallow eggs, eggs from coffee filters, and dyed eggs using kool-aid...

 The kids loved smelling the yummy colors!

 Our family time the week before Easter involved making a "Holy Week" Calendar.  We prepped everything on Palm Sunday and each night before bed we added another item.  On Easter morning we read the Easter story and filled in our last box.

 The kids loved this activity so much we had to leave the calendar up for weeks.  They would use it to re-tell the events leading up to Jesus death and resurrection.  I'm sure we will do this again in the future.

Hunting for Easter Baskets:

 This is the first year we've been at home for Easter.  Our church does not do a sunrise service so we enjoyed Easter morning at home!

 After church we watched the movie Hop with Sadie and Kinnick while Macey napped.  After our down time we got ready for our big Easter dinner with friends.  We invited another couple from our small group that doesn't have any family in this area.

 Sadie and I made these rice crispie eggs as a treat for the kids.  We had a big meal... Amy brought ham and I made the sides.  It was great to spend Easter with some people we love since we couldn't be with our family.

 The kids had fun making a cross craft and spent lots of time playing outside on the trampoline while us adults got to visit.

Two weekends after Easter, the celebration continued with a trip to Grandpa & Grandma's house.  The kids were so excited to see their cousins (hadn't seen them since Christmas!)  Saturday morning, Jadyn and Jaren brought over their new pets... baby bunnies!

 After lunch, Kassie hid Easter baskets for the kids to hunt...

 And we got to finish of our weekend with a trip to see "The Wizard of Oz." Marc and I took Sadie to watch her cousin Jadyn in the HS's musical.  Aunt Kassie did Sadie's hair for the occasion!

Some of the elementary students were in the show to help with "little people" parts.  Jadyn debuted as a munchkin, a jitterbug (costume above), and a green girl from emerald city.  Sadie loved watching the play.  Of course the week after we had to check out the original movie from the library.  The kids loved it and are asking to get it again... it always feels good to share pieces of our childhood with them--especially when they love it as much as we did!

The family time activity we did is from Kirk Weaver's book, Bubbles, Balloons, and Chocolate.  We love the activities! (I plan to post more on this.)  Just in case you're interested in this activity...
Sunday:  Palm Sunday, make green palm leaves
Monday:  Jesus overturns the tables in the temple, make a brown table and use a few coins
Tuesday:  Jesus teaches in the temple, make a paper scroll
Wednesday: Nothing, the Bible doesn't record everything Jesus did--what do you think he did?
Thursday:  Last supper/Praying in the Garden, trace your child's praying hands, use a cracker
Friday:  Crucifixion, make a cross from popsicle sticks
Saturday:  Burial (actually on Friday), make a paper tomb and bolder
Sunday:  Resurrection, color a paper angel and use a small piece of gauze
**Each day had a (short) scripture to go with it.