Easter 2012 (the first installment)

We went to an egg hunt on Saturday.  

Jack was terribly excited.  

He did "jazz hands" in about half of our pictures.

It was a chilly morning when we left but the day was clear and golden.

Tulips, as it turns out, smell divine.

We played some games.  My kids really don't know how to play tic tac toe.  That made it even funnier to watch...

They were crazy about the Easter Bunny's car.  Jack is a believer this year.  Good old EB is right up there with Santa Claus these days.

We love the Botanical Gardens. 

 We also love candy.  Candy was a bit of a theme of this weekend....

The actual egg hunt was at 11:15 but we were in line at 11:00.  It's a bit of a madhouse at this event. A well run, manicured, nicely dressed, fragrant madhouse...

The Easter Bunny himself graced our line and the children were entranced.

  

Here we are, heading into the magic of the Children's Garden.

We kept trading and re-hiding our quota of eight eggs per child, just so we could stay in the enchanted garden a bit longer. 

The darlings were quite pleased with their loot.  If "jazz hands" were in half of the pictures, "sucking on a piece of candy- mouth" shows up in the other half....

After the hunt we spent about an hour on the terrace, soaking up the day which had warmed up to Easterly perfection.

Naomi and Lillian joined us.

I love these children.

Travelin'

We flew to Denver, just me and the kids. And then we drove to Guernsey.  And we made it back home again. It turns out that my two kids?  They're wonderful.  They are troupers and amazing little travelers and they have been so very very tired since we've been home...

 Jack loved take-off and landing, was marvelous in the airport, and wished the train ride to the terminal could have been longer. Ivy was sunshine and patience and cuteness the whole time.  The portable DVD players in our upgraded Ford Edge didn't hurt, either....

Both kids were happy to get to Guernsey.

And we had two very happy grandparents, too.  Sadly, Grandpa wasn't feeling well this week, so it was a quieter visit than everyone had planned.  But, it was time together, good time together, time watching my babies get to know my daddy, watching them laugh together and seeing Ivy turn her flirty face to her "bampa" in adoration....

The kids learned how to use the Wii Fit, painted, and played on the ATV.  We visited all of the playgrounds in Guernsey.

The weather was sunny and windy and warm.

 On Wednesday we had a trip to the top of the world.  The Castle, the world's grandest picnic shelter.

 Jack remembered it from last summer, and climbed the walls like a little mountain goat.  Ivy clambered up and down the stairs and played peekaboo.  Last year she toddled around holding her Grandpa's finger.  Time, measured in steps on Guernsey stone...

I love my family. I love Wyoming sunshine and high mountain air. My girl started talking so much more this week; the boy ate well at most meals.  The altitude is good for them, apparently.

On Friday, a sunny drive took us back to Denver to spend a quick afternoon with Leigh and Blaine and their little boy Wyatt (and the amazing Porter, too!)

We always have a magical time in Denver.  The weather is invariably perfect as is the leisure time we spend in our friend's beautiful home.

Can we move to Denver yet??

Our trip home was almost... fun???  Everything went smoothly, and we had time for pizza, and ice cream, and plane watching at the gate.  My children ran like banshees and charmed everyone in sight (can you say free ice cream?) and Ivy girl went to sleep before take-off.  Jack, on the other hand, held out til the descent.  Getting off the plane was an interesting challenge.

It only made me happier to see my husband waiting to greet us.

It was a lovely trip.  I am happy we went, and rather proud of myself, if I do say so...

And, I am glad to be back home...