Picture-Perfect Easter

We have had a crazy-busy weekend. Looks like Ty's nap that began at 4:30 this afternoon has transitioned into his overnight sleep. I'm tired too, but if I don't post these pictures now, it could be June before they go up on the blog.
Most of our time this Easter was dedicated to spending quality time with family and friends. The first shot below is of the family lunch on Sunday. The family has grown exponentially since last year. This couch is holding most of the kids, but we have two young babies who didn't make it in the shot and one more due in a few weeks. The best part of this picture is actually the mirror behind the kids. The adults were going wild to get the kids to all stay on the couch and all smile at the same time. You can see a few of our antics in the reflection.
The weather was beautiful today. Friday's storms gave the grass and flowers a generous drink of water, so the spring colors were especially vibrant against the clear blue sky. The first outdoor shots below are of our final egg hunt of the holiday. By this point Ty had the hang of the game. When we practiced with Ellie next door earlier this week, he stopped after one egg because he didn't want to put his treasure into the basket. At Saturday's egg hunt, he was pretty good at collecting the eggs until he came upon a few that were fashioned after sports balls. Egg hunting then took a back seat to his pitching/passing practice. By this afternoon, though, he was a pro.
Lauren Clay has grown a few inches lately. I don't think she could have reached this egg last month:

Aren't those some precious smiles? I had to do a lot of reverse-psychology today to coax them out of her! Hopefully the end justified the means.

In the below shot, I didn't have to coax a bit. The kids were very loving with Great Grandmother Doris during our trip to the nursing home to get her ready for Easter lunch. They showered her with hugs and kisses.

We took the next pictures during our morning visit to Poppy Joe's gravesite. John had never been to the cemetary during the Spring, so he grabbed a camera and joined us for the visit. I bet we took 100 pictures there and most turned out looking spectacular. We will make this visit an Easter morning tradition, I'm sure.

The last pictures were taken on Saturday afternoon at the party of our life group at church. Here all the girls waiting for their Easter lunch.

Here are all the kids after Saturday's huge Easter egg hunt. The backyard was large and each family brought a dozen eggs per child. Lots of eggs plus lots of space makes for an especially fun hunt.

Below, Ty is trying to taste his candy. He's never really had candy before, so he doesn't realize he has to open the box or take off the wrapper to get to it.

The final shot below was taken just after Sunday's party, after a packed weekend. Look at Lauren Clay's precious feet curled around each other. Also notice the Starburst in her hand. She carries the Starburst around and calls them her gum.

I'm off to bed... I can't believe I'm up late again. I have been waking up super-early to run with friends before our husbands have to leave for work. Between that and the non-stop reveling this weekend, I should have no energy. Maybe the candy has me a little wired. Or maybe I'm pushing through because I don't want to hear any more nagging from Jason U. about my lackluster blog performance for the past few months...