All about Easter!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter!  We LOVE holidays and Easter is no exception!  I love that after attending Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services we begin our Sunday bright and early at the 6:30 a.m. Sunrise Service.  Then we enjoy a pancake breakfast at church.  Then it's back to church for the 9 a.m. service which the kids sing in.  After celebrating Jesus rising from the dead, we spend the day at a farm near Fairfax with Scott's extended family which is always a wonderful time!  Here are a few of our Easter highlights!

We try to teach our children that it is important to dress nice when you are going to church.  It is God's house and that is a simple way to show respect.  Easter and Christmas are special occasions and the kids often get a new outfit to wear.  I love the fancy Easter dresses and remember white gloves and Easter bonnets from when I was little. Being the second daughter, I didn't always get a new dress and often wore hand-me-downs and I'm sure I didn't think that was fair and was probably quite vocal about it!

Kate surprised me by having no qualms about wearing Keeley's old Easter dress.  Keeley surprised me when I took her shopping for an Easter dress.  We went to Kohl's and she quickly picked out two - she does NOT like trying clothes on!  She liked the bling on the pink dress but liked the style of the blue dress.  After a couple minutes she said, "Do I get to wear by sparkly heel sandals with either one of them?"  I said, "Of course."  Then she shocked me by saying, "Weeeellllll, I think I'm going to go with the blue one.  I like the pink one and it is fancier but pink is not really my thing and I'll probably wear the blue one more."  I almost started crying!  She's only 8 and she's supposed to want the fancy dress!  She's not supposed to be so rational about it!  Anywho, we bought the blue one and she was beautiful!

Even though I say I'm not going to be ironing the Easter clothes the night before, it never fails....

New to the Easter prep this year was French braids.  Since the girls hair is curly and long it tends to be a nightmare in the morning.  We have finally come up with a routine that works and everyone loves.  On shower night they get a braid.  They wear the braid the next day and night.  On the second morning they take the braid out and have gorgeous wavy hair!  (This will be important later!)  

Bright and bushy tailed on our way to the Sunrise Service!  (With hairstyle #1...)

After 9 o'clock church with hairstyle #2.  Back story here...Scott is obsessed with the girl's hair.  If he is home on shower night, he is typically the one to wash and condition their hair.  He also has a coconut oil, water, brush ritual that he does after showers and on Sunday mornings.  My job is to style and accessorize their hair.  He wanted their hair braided before bed so that it would be wavy for Easter church in the morning.  Weeelll, that didn't happen so well this time.  We didn't take into account that the braid wouldn't have an entire day to set and Scott was not happy with the frizzy hair when we took the braids out.  We had to come home between church services so he could wet down and re-do their hair (with lots of tears from Keeley!)

The girls filling the water glasses at Paul & Janet's

Janet announcing the winner of the bunny counting contest - there are 127 bunnies at her house!  Keeley was the lucky winner with a count of 126.

Runge Cousins!

Fun in the shop!

Pinatas!

The Easter March before the hunt!

READY....SET....

GO!!!!!  I LOVE the excitement on their faces!!!

Filling their baskets!

The beautiful ladies with the middle name "Christine".

Everyone in the family with the first name "Sam".

Easter wore Kate out!

After supper and an egg hunt at Grandpa & Grandma Runges we finally got PJs on and had our Easter hunt at home.  Yes, the prizes included a bag of their favorite chips for each of them - simple things! :)

My kids love deviled eggs and we don't just make them on special occasions - last week we made them because it was Wednesday!  If your kids dyed Easter eggs and you have a bunch sitting around, this is a great way to use them up.

 To hard boil eggs, place them in a pot and cover them with water until it is 1 inch over the top of the eggs.  Bring them to a boil.  Boil them for one minute, then cover them and remove them from the heat.  After they have sat for 15 minutes, drain and run them under cold water.

Thankfully my kids love to peel hard boiled eggs - even better when we can keep the shell mess outside!

Once the shells are removed, cut the eggs in half the long way.

Then scoop the middles out into a bowl.

Mash them up using a pastry blender or fork.

Then add in the seasonings and mix again.

Once again the handy dandy Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator to the rescue - it's the perfect way to quickly fill the egg whites and make them look pretty!

After they are filled, sprinkle the tops with a little paprika.

Then dress them up with a little bit of parsley or chives.

Delicious, decadent deviled eggs!

DEVILED EGGS

1 dozen hard boiled eggs - shells removed

1 Clove of Garlic, minced

1/2 C. mayo or miracle whip (we use half of each)

1/2 tsp. dried parsley (or chop up some fresh)

1/4 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. tarragon

1/8 tsp. celery salt

Black pepper

Chives (optional)

Paprika

Fresh parsley (for garnish)

Cut eggs in half the long way.  Use a spoon to scoop the yolks into a separate bowl.  Smash the yolks using a pastry blender or fork.  Add in mayo, dried parsley, dry mustard, onion powder, tarragon, celery salt, some fresh cut chives (optional), and black pepper to taste.  Mix until well blended.  Using a spoon or Easy Accent Decorator (even a spritz cookie pump would do the trick), place an even amount of egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves.  Sprinkle with paprika and add a small piece of fresh parsley.