Hi and I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was jam-packed with Easter activities, fresh air and sunshine and kid time. It was perfect! I have lots of photos to share from our Easter weekend visit with my nieces so let’s jump right in!
SATURDAY
Our Saturday started at a neighborhood Easter egg hunt.
Finn enthusiastically hunted eggs until he spotted a playground and then it was game over. He chose climbing and slides over egg hunting…as did most of the little ones!
I brought a picnic blanket and we got lunch from the food truck that was on-site. I had a turkey melt and the kids had quesadillas. Finn pretty much only ate the bag of chips you see his hand in.
While we were picnicking the Easter Bunny visited. Finn watched from a distance before literally pushing me and saying, “go mommy, go see the Easter Bunny.”
While he did not want to take a solo photo with the Easter Bunny, he agreed to be held for one. Note his very skeptical face.
We spent the next couple of hours at a local park/playground before heading home for snacks.
Everyone was up for one more outing so we went to a local trampoline park for an hour of jumping.
Needless to say, Finn was totally wiped out after this day of activity with no nap (he’s been in the process of dropping his nap for the last month or so…he skips it more than he takes it). While we were reading books and rocking before bed I asked him what his favorite thing from the day was. He responded, “playing with my cousins” which I thought was so sweet.
EASTER SUNDAY
I was up late Saturday night getting Easter Baskets for everyone put together and arranged on the couch. My grandmother sent Finn a box of 24 pre-filled eggs with cars so I hid those in his room and in a trail down the hallway/stairs to where his basket was in the living room. When he woke up I told him I thought the Easter Bunny had come and he loved finding all of the eggs leading to his basket. Regarding his basket…I know it’s not fancy or monogrammed but it’s literally the ONLY basket (bucket) they had left at Walmart when I went to finish Easter stuff. He didn’t care. 😉
Next up was an egg hunt in our front yard for all three of them. I filled eggs with candy and dollar bills and they had a great time finding them.
Easter was a gorgeous day in Charlotte – sunny, low 70s and low humidity – so we took an outing to Freedom Park to get out of the house. We played on the playground for a bit before taking a walk around the lake.
Finn gets the photo credit for this picture! I think he did a pretty great job!
I love taking Finn places where he can have a lot of freedom to run and explore. We’re so lucky to have so many great parks and greenways in our area. We have so many more to explore this spring/summer.
We spent the rest of the day close to home with the exception of a quick trip to the grocery store. Finn and I played in the backyard with the dogs while the girls napped (the 9 and 13 year olds nap but the almost 3 year old refuses…haha!).
We have the best backyard adventures. <3 (And how cute are his pink shorts with navy sharks? They are last summer from Gap but he’s just fitting into them.) Here’s a link to his sandals. I put them in his Easter Basket and he likes them! They fit well and are good quality for the price.
Benji did a super great job with the girls here this weekend. He was very sweet and gentle and I’m so proud of him.
Our Easter wrapped up with a taco dinner and cake pops. I asked the kids if they wanted an Easter dinner like ham and mac and cheese or whether they wanted something like tacos and they really latched onto the taco and guacamole idea. It was easy and everyone was happy so I didn’t mind at all.
I got the cake pops from two teenage sisters in my neighborhood who were selling them in our neighborhood Facebook group. It was a fun dessert surprise to pull out after dinner.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend and I’m so grateful that I got to spend time with my nieces and that Finn got to strengthen his relationship with his cousins. We are driving them back later this evening and meeting their mom halfway between Charlotte and where they live in Georgia. We’re excited to see them again this summer!
QUESTIONS
If you celebrated Easter, what did you do? What did you eat? Were you able to be with any friends or family?
What’s your favorite Easter candy?
Sounds like a wonderful holiday! I wish our sons could spend more time with their first cousin (who is 5 years older). Alas, we are in Arizona, and he is in North Carolina, so it’s hard to get together.
I ordered our meal from a local gourmet store that caters, and it was the traditional Easter fare: a ham with side dishes, followed by apple pie. Just getting everything heated and ready to eat at the same time was a challenge, so I can’t even imagine actually preparing the entire meal myself. 😉
We had my parents-in-law over, and it was the first holiday we have been able to celebrate normally (meaning, indoors, all together) since Christmas 2019! Thanks Pfizer! 🙂
We did not do Easter with family, we are all at different stages of being vaccinated so my husband and I opted to stay home. We usually do a family brunch, so I kept that tradition and made us spinach goat cheese quiche, roasted potatoes and lemon poppy seed scones. Our church had an outdoor service and also broadcast it, so I watched that while I prepped the food.
So there is a candy that I remember from my childhood and nobody else remembers it but I swear it existed! We used to get these marshmallow eggs that were covered with a colorful candy shell. Kind of like bigger jelly beans but they were marshmallow in the center. Anyway, I’ve never seen them again (or else I imagine them) but I do like jelly beans or pastel colored M&M’s if I eat Easter candy.
To previous commenter Rebecca= yes, I remember those candies, they were not my favorite but they were my cousin’s, like about 2 inches big & hard marshmallow in the center & colored candy coated, I used to find them at Walgreens but haven’t noticed them (or maybe haven’t paid attention) in a long while:)
Hahaha, yay, someone else remembers!
I absolutely remember those candies! You are not imaging things. 🙂
So glad I’m not crazy!
My boys don’t have fancy Easter baskets either! We used ones my MIL had for the first couple of Easters and then this year I finally bought some at Target. They are so basic but I don’t think my boys will ever care – or at least our 3yo didn’t care! He was alll about the egg hunt this year after being afraid last year!
We had a traditional meal of ham, mashed potatoes and asparagus – none of which the 3yo eats (so particular!) so he had banana pancakes, cottage cheese and applesauce. My MIL came over for the holiday since she is vaccinated – and I am, too! My husband gets his J&J vaccine on Thursday. So excited for us to all be vaccinated!! We haven’t had family with us for a holiday since Christmas 2019!
Wow, I think we beat you temp wise in MN which is so odd! We had an outlier of about 78 or something!
I love the simplicity of your Easter. And I LOVE that your grandma sent eggs for Finn. That is such a grandma thing to do and it is so sweet–their bond!
I went hiking on Easter. My son went with his Dad for a few hours and my parents came up Saturday so see my little guy. Overall a beautiful day.
I’m so glad you and Finn have been able to spend a few days with your nieces! My cousins were some of my best friends growing up.
No exciting Easter plans for me, but we did enjoy a lot of time outside because it was in the 70s here, too. And my favorite Easter candy is definitely Reese’s eggs!
this makes my heart so happy you got to spend the holiday with your nieces! looks like the most fun, beautiful, relaxing weekend 🙂
You have so much love to give, Jen, and it’s so evident in your relationships with your family, your friends, and even your clients. Thank you for putting so much good into the world.