Happy Easter!

Well, we're at the end of a beautiful, fun-filled day. Annie is still up, reading books in bed and chatting with her new stuffed animals about the Easter Bunny.


Easter started early; last night we opened a package from GramE. This outfit was included, and Annie put it on immediately. She was so excited to show us how she can dress herself, and she did! Then she posed for pictures.

 Also in the package were some books, a new swimming suit, a stuffed rabbit, and 2 new cars!! Oh, the joy! GramE gave us some clothes for the new baby girl, too. Annie was just as excited about "Mommy's Baby"s clothes as she was about her new ones. :)



This morning we woke up and found that the Easter Bunny had come to our house and hidden eggs with candy inside!

Then it was time for church! We all got dressed up and took pictures. Annie's were the cutest, so here ya' go!

Church was wonderful. We participated in 2 choir performances (Brant sang in the men's group, which sounded awesome), I got to conduct the congregation in the Easter hymns, which I LOVE, and I taught my Easter lesson for the 7-year-olds. So much fun.

After church we rushed off to be in Gettysburg for dinner with Grandma and Poppy, and Thomas and Caroline. You may not believe it, but the Easter Bunny stopped by their house too!! He hid the eggs outside this time, though!

finding eggs in the raspberry patch . . .

and the horseshoe pit . . . .

and the woodpile!

Then we all sat down inside and watched a little baseball while eating some of the loot before dinner.

Easter dinner was delicious! Ham and scalloped potatoes and yummy green beans! MMMmmm!

After dinner we played a fun game of Peggity (a British version, actually) with Thomas and Caroline and then headed home after lemon meringue pie, coconut cake, and ice cream. :) Lovely!

time for some serious gardening!

Yay, spring is here! It's been rainy rainy RAINY lately, but today seemed like the perfect day to get started on the Ellsworth Garden! :) 

Brant did all the heavy lifting.

Annie wanted to stay in the front yard while we brought in bags of compost, sand, and peat moss. See my yellow tulips in the background? They just bloomed this morning!

Nancy came to help out. We're going to co-op our garden with the Joneses this year. Yay! :)

The girls did their part by keeping the baby dolls happy, going on walks around the yard. :)

Oh MAN that dirt felt soft and delightful! 

I hope you all appreciate this picture of me, big and pregnant and barefoot in manure. :)

Finished product! Today we planted a few early spring goodies--peas, spinach, kale, and chard! The little seeds are tucked in there. :)

Happy Springtime!

just playin' on a sunday morning

Annie and Brant built a huge ramp and slid all her cars down it!

At one point, Annie of course took a break to read a book :)

 . . . and here's a video!

fun in the sun!

Wow, it was warm today! The sun was shining, so Nancy and Anne came over to play. We walked down to the park for a picnic, then walked to Rite-Aid for some much-needed frozen treats, and then we played in the sandbox and the sprinkler until well past naptime! :)

Wa-hoo!!

little lady's almost better

 . . . and we'll be retiring Arthur, as well as The Backyardigans, for the next year or so.

rainy

I've got a sick little girl sleeping upstairs, and downstairs, a basement that is filling up with water too fast for me to keep up. Ah, what a day. I do love the rain, though. :)

signs of spring

Hi there! Today is chilly but oh so sunny, so Annie and I spent a good part of the afternoon outside playing and cleaning up the yard. I noticed some pretty happy things going on back there . . . 

 willow bush buds!

chives!

daffodils and crocuses!

tulips!

more daffodils!

Here's to more sunny days ahead!

Oh, and this isn't really related, but check out these two cuties playing piano together and singing on Sunday night . . .

(that's right; we still haven't gotten rid of the piano smack dab in the middle of the kitchen :) )