Easter with the Smith clan

Friday morning we began our Easter weekend by heading to Pulaski. We have not been there since January when we celebrated Christmas, so I was pretty excited to go. Kelsey did great on the car ride over. She slept for the first two hours of the drive and then was able to stay entertained the remaining three. We have been SO lucky with this. (I hope I didn't just jinx myself!) My brother and sister were already at my dad's when we got there, so we spent the afternoon letting the kids play and getting settled. Brian and Matt were even able to hit golf balls due to the nice weather we had.




That evening we went to Sammy's Pizza for supper. Sammy's was our favorite restaurant growing up, so we try to fit it in when we go back. It worked out that our friends Paul and Mary were able to join us as well.
That night, Jolene, Brian, Molly, Matt and I stayed up playing cards. We all had some good laughs ;)

Saturday morning we woke up to a much different scene outside. The weather was cool and rainy. Pulaski had an egg hunt scheduled and we were pretty back and forth about going because we didn't want to take the kiddos out in the rain. In the end we decided to brave it and it stopped raining right when we got there. It was still pretty cool though, so we had the kids all bundled up. Kelsey was a pro at finding eggs! This was her 3rd hunt of the year, and we didn't have to even tell her what to do. She automatically just started picking up eggs.
She got her picture with the Easter bunny again, and even gave him five.




Once we got home and warmed up, we dyed Easter eggs. I shouldn't say we, because Kelsey didn't do any this time. She was pretty tired from the hunt and in need of a nap, so we didn't push it. But we did watch everyone else.


Next, we celebrated my niece Korinne's 1st birthday. She will be 1 next Saturday, so it worked out to celebrate since we were all together. We later had an Easter meal with my family. The house gets pretty wild with 8 adults and 7 kids, but there is something so special about all being together and making time for one another. To finish the evening, my mom's side came over to visit. My cousin Jody just had her fourth baby, Cale, and we were able to meet him for the first time. Here is Kelsey with Uncle Dennis, Aunt Evie, Uncle Jim and Kaesyn:


Sunday morning we were up bright and early to attend Easter service at my dad and Chris's church. The service was awesome! We love going to their church. The music was amazing and the words spoken by the Pastor were moving. It was the perfect way to celebrate that Christ is risen!

After church we took family pictures. Funny story: Molly and I had been talking about the Easter dresses we got for our girls. I told Molly there was a dress I had found, but I already had a dress for Kelsey so I didn't get it. Well, when shopping for a gift for Cale, I happened to see it was on the clearance rack! I couldn't pass it up. It turns out it was the same dress style that Molly had bought for Lauryn. So they all matched...hehe


To end our time in Pulaski we all stopped at my mom's grave. My mom loved Easter. She loved anytime we could get together with family, but Easter was special to her. We always got new Easter outfits, complete with hats, gloves and shoes for the girls. My mom used to make a bunny cake and of course we had to have an Easter lily. It is neat because Chris carries those same traditions, so we still get to experience it. While at the grave, my dad said a beautiful prayer about faith and family. It was a fitting way to end our weekend.

On the way home we gave my cousin Katrina a ride back to Eau Claire where she attends college. She helped with Kelsey in the back seat, although Kelsey did sleep for the first couple hours of the trip again.

What a fun and busy weekend!