Then: Easter Sunday

We spent Sam's first Easter here in Rhode Island. We had a nice morning with the boys as they looked for their baskets (well, Jack looked for them), then headed over to Auntie Kate's house for a delicious breakfast with Grammy Judy's side of the family. The older boys searched for eggs in the yard, and a good time was had by all.

Our afternoon was spent back in our neighborhood, but instead of our typical Easter at Grammy Kay and Old Grandpa's house, we went to Grammy Judy and Grandpa Bob's. Judy did a great job with the dinner, as always, and of course the kids had a great time playing around and going on yet another egg hunt!

When it was time to head to Grammy's, Jack hopped into his truck and took off.

Perfect parker!

Goofballs.

Sam with his great-grandparents, wearing a hat that Marc's GG had knit for him as a baby.

Bunnies.

Now: Easter Sunday

As I've mentioned before, Easter is a big deal here in Rhode Island. Marc's Grammy Kay (GG to the boys) always hosted the most amazing Easter holidays, along with Marc's Grandpa Walter ("Old Grandpa"). But as the family has grown and Old Grandpa's health has gone through some challenges, it was time to pass the Easter torch. Since Marc's mom has taken on nearly every other holiday, Marc and I decided to take on Easter and keep the neighborhood tradition going.

Jack found a basket in the linen closet.

And Sammy found one behind the curtain.

Before our company arrived, the boys had a great time discovering their Easter Bunny booty!

Preparation was a teeny bit daunting, but Marc and I split the cooking and lo and behold, everything turned out delicious, if I say so myself! Although we did have some practice when we hosted a pre-Easter breakfast a few years back, and of course everyone chipped in to help. We had both sides of Marc's family over for brunch, for a total of 17 people, and it was so very nice to be able to spend time with everyone.

The Wolf Pack Band. jams at our house once again.

In keeping with GG's Easter traditions, we had plenty of activities. First we had a Guess the Number of Jelly Beans Contest, which Grammy Judy won. Marc had put together a pretty impressive egg hunt for the kids, which they did after brunch. Kasey, Jack, and Sam just had to find their hidden eggs, but Marc created a GG-style scavenger hunt for Kody. Marc took photos of different places in the yard, then cut up the photos puzzle-like and put them in plastic eggs. Kody had to find each egg, put the puzzle together, then search for the next clue until he found his grand prize. Kody was also the winner of the Bunny Mask Decorating Contest. GG always held an Easter Bonnet Decorating contest for the ladies in the family, so we put a twist on it and had our guests decorate a bunny mask while at the party. I was nervous that no one would do it, but all of the ladies and kids participated, and it turned out to be a lot of fun! All in all, the day was enjoyable and relaxing, and I'm looking forward to keeping up the tradition of Easter on Williams Street.

After doing his scavenger egg hunt, Kody created his own scavenger hunt for everyone else. It sure was tricky finding him, even with clever clues left all over the house!

Dinosaurs!

Jack has been on a bit of a dinosaur kick lately, looking for dinosaur tracks wherever we go and always asking how we think they became extinct. And since we're on a 3-week hiatus from our beloved "hippie school", yesterday seemed like a great time to finally check out the nearby Dinosaur Place.

The place was pretty cool, with a ton of life-sized replica (duh) dinosaurs, mostly located along a wooded 1.5 mile trail. There was also a really cool playground that the kids really enjoyed. Jack's favorite was a bridge made out of a "dinosaur bone", and Sam loved the little bouncy animals, particularly the seahorse. There was even a volcano that erupts each hour, i.e. rumbles loudly and lets of steam and then sprays water...lots of nervous anticipation for that part! The boys both did really well with the dinosaurs, although Sam did prefer to stay in his stroller and view them from afar.

There was one part, however, that scared the bejeezus out of both of them. Across from the volcano, there's a little cave (and to be fair, there is a sign stating that it might be frightening for small children) and I tried taking the boys in to check it out. Not the best idea, because it's really dark inside and the moment you step in, all you hear is an angry dinosaur roar. Now Jack is totally convinced that dinosaurs are not, in fact, extinct. Most of them are, but there is definitely one that is alive and it lives in that cave. Thanks so much, Dinosaur Place...

Can you spot Jack under the brontosaurus?

Jack tried hopping the fence to get to this guy. 

Sam definitely did not want to join his brother in visiting these two.

The only dinosaur that Sam was willing to view up close and personal. He must have picked up on her maternal nature :)

The dinosaur bone bridge

Ran into some friends there...the only other people in the park were Grammy Judy's friend with her son and grandson! The boys had a great time playing together.

The seahorse