A Rainy, Rainy Bunny Day

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend and survived the crazy rain. I sure hope the Easter Bunny knows how to swim!

Our Easter tradition since Brianna was born has been to spend time with the S family eating good food, visiting, and having an egg hunt. When Tia and I were planning things this year, we actually debated about whether to even have a hunt or not now that the kids are getting older. I think Brianna and Brenson were around 10 years old when they stopped doing the egg hunt. However, we decided we weren't quite ready to quit it altogether, so we modified it a bit instead :-).

This year, Mom and Dad were out of town, so it was just us and the S family. They invited us to their house on Saturday for brunch and visiting. Brunch was delicious and really hit the spot! We had bacon, sausage, eggs, cinnamon rolls, french toast, biscuits and gravy, morning potatoes, fruit, and our icebox strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I wish I had gotten a photo of the food spread because it was amazing!

It poured rain most of the morning and afternoon, so Tia and I were very thankful we planned the "egg hunt" the way we did. We decided this year that I would put together four gift bags, and we would hide four eggs. Each girl could find one egg, and they would exchange their egg for the gift bag that matched the color of their egg. It worked out really well, and the girls enjoyed the change in routine! 

Caroline, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Sadie

BFF - SBBC!

The hunt for the eggs was chaotic, as was the tearing into the gift bags. But they loved it!

Each gift bag contained a diary set, a chocolate bunny, an egg of Skittles, a flower Lego set, and a plush Squishmallow (the Lego set and Squishmallow were different in each bag). It was definitely better than 50 eggs full of little trinkets for the age the girls are now!

For the rest of the afternoon, the adults visited, the younger girls played, and the big kids watched TV. It was so low-key and nice! We headed home around 4:00pm for a relaxing evening (Bri and Bren went to an indoor football game with friends that evening, so it was quiet at home with only two kiddos). 

The next morning (Sunday, April 20th), we slept in a little more than we should have and ended up running out of time for photos and Easter baskets before church services. After church services, we drove to our favorite Mexican restaurant in the craziest downpour that made me want to just go home and snuggle under a blanket and relax. Instead, we enjoyed our lunch out and went home to do photos and Easter baskets. 

Brecklyn 💓

Brooke 💜

Brenson 💙

Brianna 💜

Our family . . . no worse for the crazy weather!

So very blessed 💖

After photos, it's always time for Easter baskets!

Brooke and Brecklyn with their new dolls

Brenson and his fishing pliers

Brianna with new sunglasses and new bluelight glasses

All the kids got a t-shirt for an upcoming trip!

Love my babies so much!

I haven't really decided yet, but this may be our last year to do Easter baskets. Each of the kids have a hunting basket and a basket they get full of goodies on Easter, and this year the hunting baskets didn't even come out of the attic. While it makes me sad if I think about it too hard, we are moving into a new season as the kids get older. I loved having littles, but the season we are moving in to is really, really good, too. Regardless of if this is our last year for baskets or not, I'm just over here trying to soak up all the blessing of this season of life. People say it all the time, but time really does go fast, and I find myself missing these moments before they're even gone. Sigh. What a blessing this beautiful life is!

Brianna is Fifteen Years Old!

Y'all . . . time stops for no one, and my baby girl is now 15 years old. Fifteen!!!

Brianna's birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, and for the first time since she's been born the weather forecast called for ice and snow all day on her birthday. She had requested El Azteca for her birthday dinner, but we felt like the ability to get out of the house on her birthday would be slim due to weather. So, we went to El Azteca on Monday, February 17th for dinner instead. 

Of course, we asked the El Az crew to sing to Bri for her birthday. Some of them have known her since her very first visit there at less than two weeks old!

The whipped cream to the face got her this time!

So cute, though 💜

Rocking that sombrero!

We were pleased that Grampy and G-Jo were able to join us for the early birthday celebration!

HOW is she 15?!?

💜

My beautiful girl

I'm not sure why, but 15 hit me hard this year. It's just difficult to wrap my brain around. Each year has been so special and cherished with our girl. 

The morning of Brianna's birthday started off with frigid temps (a high of 27 degrees), a layer of ice, and falling snow . . . just as was predicted.

Unlike her siblings, Brianna actually had a few birthday gifts from us to open this year. 

One gift was this beautiful Kendra Scott necklace.

Another was the next piece in her Precious Moments Birthday Train. Next year will be the last piece to complete the set 😦.

Finally - because her siblings all had big gifts for their birthdays and she couldn't really think of anything she wanted - we gave her this "15" box with cash in it. So fun!

My precious four 💜💙💜💗

We had originally planned to take the day off from school for Bri's birthday, but decided to go ahead and work for a few hours after all. The weather outside was truly blizzard conditions with very low visibility and too cold to play in.  After a few lessons and lunch, Brianna made a big batch of cookie dough.

Along with the cookie dough, we fixed popcorn and watched the musical, Oliver that afternoon. We finished the book, Oliver Twist, just a few weeks ago, so we thought Oliver was the perfect selection. 

It was still snowing when the movie was over, so Brianna and I went outside to do a little birthday photo shoot. She doesn't love the cold or snow, but she was a great sport to oblige Mommy. 

And aren't the photos so fun?!? A great way to commemorate a snowy 15th birthday!

Finally, for her {second} birthday dinner, Bri requested chili dogs. It was the perfect weather for a big pot of chili, even if I do find it an odd birthday request!

Fifteen years ago, our world was absolutely turned upside down in the best sort of way. Brianna is such a bright and joyful human, and I can't put into words how blessed we are that she is part of our family. 

Happy birthday, Brianna! We love you!

Perfect Snow Day!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone is having a good day. We are getting back into homeschool today after having an unexpected few days of beautiful snow. Last Thursday, we had an incredible sunrise! That bright winter sky is sometimes an indication of a storm rolling in. 

It started to snow around noon. The snow was light - almost more of a wintery mix - but Brooke and Brecklyn could not wait to get out in it and play. We finished school for the day, and they played outside for over two hours. Bren's basketball practice was canceled, so we ate dinner and had family game night.

Brecklyn, Brooke, and our neighbor dog, Sam

Brooke

Being silly!

Brecklyn

The snow continued through the night and into Friday morning. It was beautiful! There's just something so magical about snow!

The kids generally go to their grandparents house on Fridays for "Life Skills" class, but we decided to stay home this time. We had about six inches of snow and more was continuing to fall! The kids and I decided our first order of business would be to build a snowman!

The snow was perfect for packing and playing in. And, as an added bonus, the temperature was just under freezing, so great for being outside without getting too cold!

We named our snowgirl Peneloope :-).

💜

Isn't the background of this photo just amazing?

Winter Wonderland!

Brianna didn't want to stay out in the snow too long, and Chris had to get back to work. However, Brenson, Brecklyn, Brooke, and I walked down to our neighborhood pond. It certainly wasn't frozen very deep, but the whole thing had a layer of ice. It's not too often that we see that!

Brecklyn and Brooke

Brenson

After we returned to the house, Brenson and Brooke decided to build a second, bigger snowman. He was BIG for sure and so cute! Brecklyn came inside to warm up instead.

After lunch, the younger three all went back out to play for another two or more hours. We had yummy soup for dinner and then family game night part two. It was the perfect way to end a snow day!