Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Celebration


Everyone's ready for church in their Easter best. It was a beautiful Easter Sunday at church with talks given by a family each sharing the impact of the atonement on their lives. How grateful we are for this day to celebrate the miracle that ransomed all mankind.


After church we gathered at our house for Easter dinner with Nana, Papa, Adam, Jackson, Charlotte, and the Shutes: Creig, Jenn, Lily, and Maddie. 


The kids ate on the back deck while the grown ups (and Kassy) took the dining room table. The weather was gorgeous, so it was really a shame not to be outside.



It's an Easter miracle! JT managed to get Maya to wear a bib AND sit in her high chair. 


We broke out the lawn chairs and outside games to enjoy our low 70 degree weather. Adam and Bella played a little ladder ball.


Maya and Maddie loved the little chairs. 


The Hunt, Boatwright, and Shute kids teamed up with the neighbors and spent over an hour giving each other wild rides in the wagon. There was a near mishap involving a curb, but I saw disaster coming, raced to the scene, and caught a child before he landed on his head. After a brief safety lecture, the wagon was back in business, just a little slower this time. 



Maya loves "Meena," also known as Nana. 


"Let me fix that for you."



Maya's best friend, Maddie, who she actually calls "Manny." 


My growing-up-way-to-fast girl. Gorgeous, modeling her flower plucked from one of our blooming bushes. 


Bella and Charlotte were lizard sitting for the neighbor while she took a wagon ride.

Easter 2012 exceeded my expectations. It's so amazing how much love and warmth that family and good friends (who we should really just call family as well) bring with them to your home. I'm so grateful for those the Lord has blessed me with. It was a day to celebrate, and we did so in all the right ways. 


Thank You, Easter Bunny













As you can see, the Easter Bunny was very kind to us all. He even tracked down Nana and Papa who were here all the way from Pensacola. I appreciate is educationally minded gift of books. We've enjoyed several good reading sessions thanks to the new additions to our library.

We might have managed to get a little breakfast into them before church. Unfortunately, no matter how fast we made breakfast, the candy feast took place much quicker. 







Saturday, April 7, 2012

Happy Easter Egg


April 7, 2012

It's the day before Easter, the traditional day for Easter Egg hunts in our family. This year we joined our friends, the Shutes, for the hunt at their apartment complex. 

The Easter Bunny made an appearance, so we came a little early just in case, maybe, possibly one of my girls would sit in his lap and let me take a picture. As usual, no go. Screams emanated from their little mouths if we even walked in his direction. So, we hung back by the snack table where the kids munched on goodies and enjoyed gazing at E. Bunny from a distance, a good, safe distance. 


In a flash the hunt began with little kids heading for the closest eggs and the big kids directed to those further away. I led Aria and Ava through the crowd and Kassy was Maya's assistant. 





The Hunt Girls plus one. Bella's friend Lizzie slept over the night before and came along with us. When you already have six, what's one more girl?


Time to break into the loot. There was no shortage of the sugar. In fact, we had so much candy that after we got home I gathered a dozen eggs and smuggled them next door to our neighbor to include in her egg hunt. 




 The whole Hunt gang.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Meanwhile, A Little Geocaching


I'd read about geocaching several years ago in a Family Fun magazine and it was one of those things I thought sounded fun and we'd have to try one day. Geocaching is defined as "a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity." Recently, a desire to spend more family time in the great outdoors led me to look further into it. After reading a few tips, rules, and guidelines on a geocaching website we decided to try our hand at it. Flatrock Park is the first place we decided to try it out. After picking our first hunt from geocaching.com, we entered the co-ordinates into my GPS and set out. We weren't successful with that first hunt and decided to come back to it later. I decided to download a geocaching app on my iPhone, that made the whole process a little more fun and, truthfully, easier. 


I had the girls stop and pose at the top of the cliffs at Flatrock as we searched for our first cache. Even though it was a no go, the hunt was fun and it was a gorgeous hike. 


After downloading the app on my phone, we had success! Search number 2 lead us to "Tweety's retreat" where we signed the log and traded a sand bracelet for a wounded warriors pin. We were out of time and headed home after this one. 


The next week, on Bella's birthday, with iPhone in hand, we went back to find that illusive first cache. Didn't take us long to find it stashed under this rock. See it tucked underneath? We had walked right by it several times before.




For this one we traded a star eraser for a glass stone. 


Success had us fired up so we decided to find another one. This one required a little more of a hike. It was perfect. With a goal in mind there was no complaining about going uphill or how far we were walking. Kassy located this one.




Our trade this time was a magnet for a plastic lizard. 

A few weeks later we were the only ones to show for a playgroup at the park. The kids were a little disappointed, so I pulled out my phone, opened the geocaching app, and in a few minutes we were on a hunt and having fun. So, turns out we've found a favorite past time. We enjoy the great outdoors, spend quality time together, come out with little treasures, and after the initial purchase of the app, it's free!

Double Digits


A decade ago she came into our lives. An 8 pound 8 ounce little baby that was nothing short of a miracle. As a toddler she was quiet, obedient, loving, and never into trouble. As she has grown, those attributes have only strengthened. I'm so grateful for my beautiful Bella that may not have come into this world exactly when we wanted her (if that had been the case she'd be a little older than 10) but in her own due time. 

At 10 years old, Bella has several interests and talents. She loves to read and each evening the light in the big girls' room is found on way too late. How can a mom complain about children who beg to read just a little bit longer? She's also been playing the piano for just over a year and a half and is amazing. She truly loves it and it's never hard to get her to practice. When Bella grows up she wants to own a cupcake shop. She loves to bake and cook and we are lucky enough to be the beneficiaries of that talent. Well, our waste lines are suffering a little. Bella is truly amazing at whatever she decides to do.


As tradition dictates in this Hunt household, the birthday girl is awakened with breakfast in bed and an early morning rendition of "Happy Birthday." Today's menu was pancakes, honey dew, and juice.

(Not pictured) After breakfast Bella was given her first gift: a Cyco Cycle. I'll definitely have to get a picture of that one later. It's a three-wheeled version of a unicycle and pretty fun to ride, I might add, as long as you're careful not to lean too far in one direction.


We spent the rest of the morning geocaching. We found 2 that day. The weather was gorgeous and the good news is that this time we made it home without the ticks. 


The week before Bella's birthday, we had found ourselves overloaded with cake. As a result, Bella decided to have a build-your-own-sundae bar at her party. 





Bella's friend, Lizzie, came over for the party and a sleepover. This was intended to be a bff picture, but Maya is convinced that all picture poses should contain her, and why not? She's pretty cute.


The prized birthday gift: a Lalaloopsy. Her name is Rosy Bumps and Bruises, to be exact.

She loved her birthday, which means my goal was accomplished. Here's to another great year with my book loving, piano playing, little chef.