Easter 2017.

Our Easter weekend was full of simple traditions and I'm starting to learn that's really what our family thrives on. Time spent together, doing our traditional activities, a relaxed schedule and remembering years past. It was a great 2 days celebrating together.

We spent the day before Easter at Grandpa and Grandma Vance's house, as we usually do. 

 After a delicious breakfast the kids headed out to feed the squirrels (and eat a few peanuts for themselves too!)

 Simon went down for a nap which was the perfect opportunity to let the big kids dye eggs. Every year this just gets more fun (and less messy). Carter worked hard on his eggs, was content and left to go play. But Lucy spent 1.5 hours meticulously waiting for each egg to dye, then move it to another cup to change the color. Over and over again. Her patience is truly remarkable sometimes and I really don't know where she gets it from!

 The eggs were so pretty and sadly we completely forgot to take any home with us.  Oops! Hope Grandma didn't mind eating 18 hard boiled eggs all week.

 After a quick lunch we were ready for our annual egg hunt! Simon always wants to copy everything his big brother and sister do....just not always in the exact same way. Ha! This picture will forever make me laugh.

 Need a good way to keep egg hunts fair for multiple children? Color code the eggs! We started doing this a few years back and it has saved egg hunts. We can hide eggs harder for older kids, put different candy and toys in each kids' eggs so they get what they like and no more worrying about who has more eggs. The kids love finding their own colors and we do the same thing at our house too. Brilliant!

 They devoured most of their candy and loved their new little toys they each got. After a delicious steak dinner we headed home to prepare for Easter Sunday.

 The Easter bunny stopped by at night to drop off a little chocolate while Matt and I helped with a few extra things.

Then it was time to get dressed up for church. I kept Easter outfits simple this year but I loved their bright, cheery colors.

We came home from church and Simon just crashed! All the fun and excitement, plus a lot more sugar than they are used to helped him take a long, well deserved nap.

Then it was time for our family egg hunt in the backyard. Simple, easy and still so fun.