Happy Easter!

This week, we celebrated Easter Villarreal style! We started by coloring some Easter Coloring Pages and mailing them to the family. Luke has been into coloring lately, and frankly, it gave him something to do while I am (constantly) feeding Emma. He got excited when I said he was coloring pictures for specific people. :) On Wednesday, we went to the 2nd Annual Egg Hunt with Meetup Moms. Every kid was to bring a dozen filled plastic eggs, and you would leave with as many as you brought. To give you an idea of how many eggs we spread on the field... there were over 43 moms there! Some with multiple kids! It was so much fun to see all the kids running around on the soccer field picking up the eggs and then sitting down to see what goodies they had found! We finished up the week with a trip to Pump It Up Party (the inflatable playground) on Good Friday. Emma slept through the whole thing and I jumped and jumped and jumped with Luke!

This weekend, we embarked on a two city, two family, whirlwind Easter Tour! And we're only on moderate sugar highs! It all began yesterday morning when we packed up the Subaru with what looked like enough supplies for a weeklong excursion (actual trip length: 30 hours). We headed up I-10 to Glendale and visited with Nana and Poppa. The Hennessy's also came over and we enjoyed a relaxing ham and potato salad lunch. Well... maybe relaxing isn't the right word. Luke kept alternating between wanting to sit in the booster seat and wander around the house-- all with dinner rolls in each hand. Emma wanted to be held and bounced... just not in the dining room. Where everyone was. So Phil had to keep walking her around the house to keep her from crying and didn't get to eat with everyone. Argh. I'm pretty sure while we were the picture of chaos, Shelby sat like a little angel in her seat and quietly ate every bite of her dinner with perfect table manners. I think.

Anyways, after lunch, or was it before?-- its all a blur now, Angie and I "hid" plastic Easter eggs in such clever places as window sills and the middle of the living room floor... they are toddlers. We had fun helping Luke and Shelby find the eggs and put them in their baskets. This might be the last year I can get away with filling them with Goldfish crackers and trail mix. I plan to keep it a secret that most people fill the eggs with chocolate and jelly beans for as long as possible. Luke on a sugar rush is NOT a pretty sight and let's be realistic: we have no money. We wouldn't be able to afford to fill the cavities that would arise from munching on Easter cany, therefore dooming him to a life as "That Kid Without Teeth." And that's just cruel. Hence, the Goldfish.



Shelby and Luke played so well together. They really interact with each other now and have little conversations! Its fun to watch and makes me excited to see them grow up together. I, as usual, was really stressed out. I worry so much about the kids melting down or Phil not having a good time that I forget to have a good time. It took me a long time to relax and just enjoy the time, but eventually I did... :P I'll keep working on that.



We were a little worried about staying over at my parents house with both kids. Usually, Luke would sleep in the playroom in the pack and play and we would sleep in the guest room. Now that Emma would need the pack and play, Luke slept in the playroom on an air mattress on the floor. The only incident all night was when Luke rolled off the mattress, fell the 4 inches to the floor, scared himself, and began crying. We put him back on the mattress, tucked him back in, and kissed him goodnight. We didn't hear from him again until the next morning.

Easter morning, my dad made his "Egg Rick Muffins" (thanks, Mom, thats a GREAT pun!) and they were a huge hit. Phil ate two of them and Luke ate an ENTIRE Rick-Muffin. We used English Muffins, egg, cheese, and leftover ham. De-licious!!! Luke also loved his Easter basket, filled with goodies like bubbles, a magnifying glass, a small fire truck, Spider Man bandaids, and his first ever chocolate bunny! He ate it in one sitting (it was small and hollow) in quite possibly the happiest food-related expierience of his life. You are welcome, Little Man.

Between Easter parties...

I got all dolled up- curled my hair and everything, and said goodbye to nana and poppa to drive to Casa Grande for the final leg of our excursion. The Strayers were all meeting up for a potluck Easter Lunch slash badminton tournament. We never got around to the tournament, but we did eat quite the lunch! Our contribution was a broccoli and cheese casserole and a lemon cake from Costco. The casserole seemed to be a hit, which is great because I found the recipe online and had never made it before. Can you really go wrong, though, with cheese whiz, stuffing, and cream of mushroom soup? And bacon? I threw on some bacon bits because bacon makes everything better! ;) (The lemon cake was a substitution. I originally made my friend's Gooey Butter Cake, but it didn't make it past the Sniders. It was just too good, and after allowing my mom and sis to "taste test" it- they offered up the Lemon Cake (what we were supposed to have for dessert) in exchange for the Butter Cake!) We had a great time with the Strayers. Vicki and Rhiannon were meeting Emma for the first time, so I dressed her up in her new Easter dress! The boys (Gabe, Dom, and Luke) played together and wreaked all sorts of havoc, and everyone was able to catch up and enjoy each other's company.

When we got home, there were two surprises sitting on the kitchen island. Cindy had made two Easter baskets and left them for the kids to find. Luke's had a prayer book and some little toys and Emma's had a book, stuffed pink bunny, and a little outfit. Thanks, Gramma!

Overall, it was a great weekend. I really like when we get together with our families- it is always lots of fun and it makes me so happy that Luke will grow up knowing his aunts and uncles and cousins so well. Having grown up three thousand miles from my relatives gives me some perspective and I put a premium on the holidays.