Easter Eve.

We really couldn't have asked for a better Easter weekend.  We filled that bad boy up with food, family, friends, eggs, candy, naps, movies, and Jesus.  It was pretty much perfect.

While we spent Good Friday apart (Ben worked Passion's Good Friday service and the kids and I headed to ReCharge at The Way), Saturday morning brought us all back together bright and early for our pre-tball Waffle House breakfast.  After filling up on eggs, waffles, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, and grits (it's the All-Star Breakfast all the way, baby), we headed out to the ball park to watch the kids play a  double header!

We had some very special fans this week:  Granti, Auntie, Double Ben, CoCo, and Baby Sam all came out to cheer for the Dodgers. 

Auntie brought a sign, of course, and sweet little Harris checked every two seconds to make sure she was holding it "high in the air."   

That's my "words of affirmation" boy. :)

After t-ball, Ben, Harris, Hadley, and I headed home to decorate our eggs. 

The kids did a great job with their eggs this year.  The process didn't last long at all, but they were interested and engaged the entire time.  I'll take that any day.

We finished up just in time for the rest of the family to return for the Donaldson Family Easter celebration.  Both Auntie and Granti brought Easter gifts, and the kids could not have been more excited.  Granti gave Harry and Babe super cute bath towels, and Auntie simply sugared them up.

They loved it.

In addition to candy, we also shared our annual "bring whatever dish you want to the Easter lunch" meal.  This year's menu consisted of ham, rolls, asian slaw, sweet potatoes, cake, and buffalo chicken dip.

Cassidy finally got the recipe right.

We parted ways just in time for nap.  Poor Ben couldn't even make it upstairs before collapsing.

We finished off the evening with our first family movie outing.  Ben and I had a great time spending an entire paycheck taking the kids to see "Rio."  Seriously, taking a family of four to the movies is expensive!  It was tons of fun, though, and even Harry, who took a little convincing to make the trip, ended up really enjoying himself.  Perhaps a trip to the movies might become a new part of our Easter tradition.

I'm all about tradition, you know.

I also love me some Easter.  The kids put their baskets by the front door, left carrots and water for the Easter bunny, and listened to the Easter story before heading to bed Saturday night. 

Sunday morning sure did come around quickly...

Man's Best Friend.

In About Ten Years...

...please send help.  :)

Halfway to Seventy.

I'm slightly behind. 

Last Saturday, April 9, was Ben's birthday. 

My incredible husband turned 35, and we had a blast celebrating his special day.

Harris was so excited to be involved in the planning of the celebration.  He was very specific about the type of cake we purchased, the kinds of gifts we gave, and the birthday balloons we picked out.

A couple of weeks before the big day, while driving to school one morning, Harry informed me that he knew exactly what he wanted to get Daddy for his birthday.  With absolutely no prompting whatsoever, he came up with the idea that Ben would "serious like" some "smell good" candles, so we went with it...

And three red "smell good" candles later, both my boys were all smiles.

Ben had the opportunity to open his gifts first thing Saturday morning, just before we headed over to celebrate baby Brooks' first birthday.  We spent the morning hanging with friends before heading to Sam's and then home for a nap.

The real party got started Saturday evening with the arrival of our friends, family, and brand-new (to us) bouncy.

We went in with a few other families and bought ourselves a moonwalk off of Craig's List.  How exciting it was to be able to break that bad boy in at Ben's party!!!

Especially since it's already paid for itself. :)

We grilled hamurgers and hot dogs, indulged in macaroni and cheese and chips, and topped everything off with a double doozie cookie cake, decorated in none other than red and black (per Harris' instructions).

Sweet Sam wore himself out early, but the rest of us partied well into the night (9:00!).

I can't wait to see what this next year of life has in store for Ben (other than an AARP membership).

Happy, happy birthday, Daddy.  I still love you, even if you are an old man.

Oh, My Heart.

DH

Hadley has worked her way into the Designated Hitter position on her t-ball team.

We'll work on fielding next season. :)

We were so, so proud of Babe yesterday!!!  No whining all morning (except for when she shook hands with the other team at the end of the game and kept saying, "he hit me...") and she took her turn at bat every inning!

I think we've decided that an early Waffle House breakfast is our new good luck charm.

Both kiddos played so well and with such great attitudes yesterday.

Haddie A. even earned the special team medal!!!

She wasn't too big of a fan.

I, on the other hand, am a huge of fan of these guys...

This Is Natural.

Warm Up.

T-ball is beginning to look promising for Babe.

A couple of Saturdays ago, during the second game of the season, Hadley actually decided to warm up with her team!

The phrase "with her team" might not be completely accurate.  She did warm up at the same time as her team, though.  She practiced hitting the ball off of the tee and running the bases, and had a fantastic time!

We thought she might actually play in the game, but nope.  She still refuses to put on her glove and play in the field, and when I attempted to put the batting helmet on her big head, all was lost.  She spent the game on the sidelines.

Harris, however, had another great game.  He even got to play first base, which meant he was able to touch the ball on every single play.  Which, in turn, meant no crocodile tears.

And to top everything off, Big Cooper and his entire family (and Andy!) came out to cheer on the kids, even in the rain! 

It's hard to beat Saturday mornings at the ballpark. 

Actually, a start time later than 9:00 would be nice...

Daddy's Boots.