Easter 2014 | Words & Photos

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We had a quiet little Easter around here.

My parents showed up on Saturday afternoon - a pit stop for them on their way back down to the beach from the Seattle area. Aaron and the kids were here when they arrived so we had a full house for a few hours before Aaron and his crew headed back to their own house for their own celebrations.

We had dinner (baked chicken & roasted broccoli) and then got down to the business of coloring the eggs I had hard-boiled earlier in the day.

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It was nothing fancy. It wasn't a race to make the coolest eggs. It's not pinterest worthy. But it was perfect.

My Dad asked the kids, "Do you know who really, really loves coloring eggs?"

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"Your Mama." he told them after they guessed themselves and Grandpa.

It's true. I do love it. But I loved more watching the four of them do it together.

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There were two spills of egg-coloring water. The purple and the orange. "No big deal." I said as I wiped them up.

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Anna drew on the top of all the eggs once they were in the carton.

It was just the right amount where no one lost interest before we were done. There was an attempt to write names with crayons on the eggs before dying (a memory my Dad had from his childhood) but it never really worked. We talked about googling it but ended up just being happy with what was right there.

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I set the camera on the counter to get one shot of all of us together around the table using the timer on my camera. Hi Simon! Nice smile for the camera.

After we completed the egg-coloring task we moved over to the big brown couch to watch The Black Stallion (remember that one?) and ate big bowls of popcorn (of course).

Anna fell asleep within 15 minutes.

Simon had a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

The holiday helper made it through the whole movie and then helped the Easter Bunny hide the eggs outside in the dark with flashlights.

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6:30am Easter morning wake-up. Striped PJ's on my girl.

The baskets included a small collection of plastic eggs with candy inside, a lego set for each, hot-pink soccer socks for Anna, a Frozen coloring book, a Big Nate book and some bubbles.

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And then we spent most of Easter day outside in the backyard. Hanging out. Planting. Weeding, Listening. Saying Goodbye and see you soon. Lounging. Loving.


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28 thoughts

  1. Michelle t. says…
    04/23/2014

    Very lovely holiday. It was very quiet here too. I love quiet. Such a lovely post. Have a great day. Michelle t

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Paula says…
    04/23/2014

    Sounds like the perfect Easter Sunday. We had a boisterous houseful with family egg dying too,and it was very special. Somehow a "chic" pinata even happened, filled with pastel colored kisses and reese's mini's. (That was a first that may become a tradition - who knew the adults would have such fun with the pinata too.) Sometimes just going with your gut, keeping the cooking very simple and taking the mind set that a holiday is a day for rest, not a day for pushing everything to the max, is the way to go!

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Fanny says…
    04/23/2014

    Love!

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Alida says…
    04/23/2014

    Great story telling again. And so love the photo of your Dad helping with the Easter eggs.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Jennifer says…
    04/23/2014

    This reminds me I need to write down the contents of my kids baskets before I forget...gonna need that for project life.

    We have a "Dudley's Magic Crayon" that works great for writing on eggs before they are colored. It came with one of the kits sold at the department stores and I've just held onto them from year to year.

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Kirsten J says…
    04/23/2014

    Excellent memory keeping, Ali ;)
    Mine are 14 and 23, and they still hunt for eggs. Makes me happy....because I do miss those babies in Hanna pjs.

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Cortney says…
    04/23/2014

    Hi! The crayon trick works well if you write on the eggs while they are still warm. But if they've cooled, then the wax is kind of crumbly. White crayon on a warm egg is like magical Easter resist.
    Cheers!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      04/23/2014

      Oh cool - will need to try that another time.

  8. young says…
    04/23/2014

    Sounds like a lovely time, with a good mix of people. Glad your parents could be there with you.

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. StacyK says…
    04/23/2014

    Love how Simon is looking into the camera, while everyone was doing their thing. Like he was part of a conspiracy!! Love it! I love your Easter story Ali, always something I can learn from you.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Tona says…
    04/23/2014

    Sounds like the perfect weekend.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Allison says…
    04/23/2014

    Fun family time! Is there a snake scene in Black Stallion? I remember one of those horse movies had a scene with the horse stomping a snake. Eek!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      04/23/2014

      Yep. That's the one!

  12. mary hill says…
    04/23/2014

    I want to live at your house.

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. Deirdre says…
    04/23/2014

    I've so enjoyed Simon's holiday spirit as you've shared it over the years---glad to hear he is taking the transition to "holiday helper" well!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      04/23/2014

      Me too. Chris is actually the one who had the talk with him (we talked about the approach and the idea that he now gets to do the "adult" part together). I asked him to write up the experience and I might share it here if it feels right.

  14. Zoe says…
    04/23/2014

    So awsome!love reading your posts!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Robyn :) says…
    04/23/2014

    Paas used to include a wax crayon for writing names or making designs. They would show up white when you dyed the eggs.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. RobynS says…
    04/23/2014

    Your yard looks so nice with your big pots with plants. On another note thought you might be interested in this. http://themighty.com/2014/04/this-boys-extraordinary-talent-stunned-experts-at-the-national-dog-show/

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      04/23/2014

      Thanks for that link Robyn - just watched the trailer. That boy speaks exactly like one of Simon's classmates - if the video would have been off I would have sworn it was him.

  17. Becky M says…
    04/23/2014

    Quiet and peaceful is nice. I had fun spotting the "hidden eggs" in that adorable pic of Anna!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Jen Levin says…
    04/23/2014

    It's hard for me to put into words how much I love your storytelling! I love this post. The words and photos together tell such a beautiful story of family and love and time spent together. Simple but so beautiful.

    Thank you so much for sharing your memories with us! You inspire me every day.

    ~Jen

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Lisa W. says…
    04/23/2014

    Simply lovely, truly enjoyed!!! You are very blessed with lovely parents!!! And of course adorable awesome kids:)

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Gabi says…
    04/23/2014

    The first photo is my favorite.
    You create such wonderful memories for your kids, Ali!

    My son is 10 yo and still believes in all the magic. I'm a little bit scared about his reaction once he finds out the truth about Santa and all the "magic" creatures but on the other hand I can't wait to have him on the "other" side to help me with surprising his sister. I'm glad that Simon took this role in awesome way!

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. michele says…
    04/24/2014

    You can use wax to write on the egg before you dye it....a birthday candle works great.

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Leslie S. says…
    04/25/2014

    Sounds like a perfect way to spend the weekend -- with family!

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Vera says…
    05/03/2014

    My nephew was here for Easter but we haven't yet established our own Easter tradition. When we were kids, we always had a big egg hunting activity at Church. For next year, I think will do something special just for my nephew.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Easter 2014 | Scrapbook Layout | Ali Edwards says…
    05/06/2014

    […] I’m sharing a layout I made documenting Easter that includes journaling from this post. This documentation could have gone in Project Life® as an insert (longer stories for me often […]

    Reply 0 Replies

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