First Annual Cousin Easter

When I was growing up, we would go to my grandmother's house for Easter every year with all of my cousins.  We did it for Christmas and some years every Sunday.  She was one of the greatest people in my life (and in everyone's life that knew her) and I miss her like crazy and listen to songs and think about her even now.  So many of my childhood memories are at her house or doing something with her.  I wish I had the emotional energy to write exactly how much I miss her and respect her, but thats not for tonight.

Since she died, we have not all gotten together for Easter as a big family.

And that is crushing.
This year I decided to take Easter into my own hands and host it over here.  (And then hijack it every year to come.)

I am a such a sucker for traditions.
I love them so much. And my cousins.  My cousins, as everyone knows that reads this, are some of my very closest friends.  I have missed seeing them every week and every holiday.  I want my kids to feel the same way about their kids as I do about them.  I don't know why I didn't think to host Easter before, but I am so glad I did.
Not everyone was able to come, as I decided to do this about two weeks before Easter… BUT next year, its on guys.

We did everything that I had done growing up and it was pretty much one of my favorite Easters ever.



We dyed eggs and spilled dye everywhere, the kids hunted eggs that we stuffed and hid all over the lawn, we used the exact same eggs that we all hunted with when I was a kid and each kid got a "big eggs" that we put money in, ate without enough seating, or tea, or warm pies, because I am not the best at hosting (yet), ate way to much candy and videoed and interviewed every kid about the eggs in their baskets, you guessed it, just like when we were kids.   We only lacked confetti eggs (that I looked for everywhere to no avail).
(Oh and Shea and Hilary are asleep during all the picture taking time.)







Thank you guys SO much for coming.  Love you all so so much.
It just meant more to me than I can write here.
Cant wait for many more years to come.

Barstad Easter

Just some snapshots from our day full of kites, egg hunts with neighbors (with minimal eggs.  bummer), ben and sassy learning how to shoot soda cans, church and eating candy until we were sick.  Overall, it was just a wonderful day.
We are so thankful for this Easter and for Christ and all He did for us.  Knowing that He gave up everything to die for me is something that I know I will truly never grasp entirely, but I hope that it changes, challenges and fulfills me more every day.  I hope that His grace is evident in how I love people; in who I am; shining out of every part of me when I dont have the right words to say. That gratitude, mercy and love are there even when I dont see them.  Not in a preachy, stuffy, judgmental way, but in the way that seeks to know, hear and love everyone around me.  More like Jesus and less like me.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him." Mark 16:6 

Easter Party!

The girls had their school Easter party today and they were both so  excited   EGG-cited! I made them bunny shirts last night and had them laid out with a cute little Easter skirt. Of course Ella insisted on wearing her target jeggings with paint stains on them, which then led to McKenna wanting to wear her matching pants too. Oh well, at least they still loved the homemade shirts!

For the teacher's treat I took an egg carton from the grocery store and peeled the sticker off. I saw this cute label on pinterest but couldn't get it to fit my egg carton so I just designed the same look on my silhouette and then printed it off. You can go here for her free printable. Wish I knew how to make mine into a free printable for ya. 

Each egg was filled with yummy Easter treats.

For McKenna's class I was in charge of dessert. I made rice crispy treats into birds nests and filled each one with some chocolate robins eggs. I used a cupcake pan to mold each one into a nest like shape.

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Egg-cellent Lunch Fun!

With Easter right around the corner, we have been having some fun with eggs over here. Last year we hunted lunch in the backyard more than once. It was a huge hit with the girls. This year we did it again but at the park with a group of friends. It was so fun and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. 

Each mom filled some eggs with their own child's lunch and labeled each egg with child's initial. The kids had so much fun filling their baskets up!

Once we sat down to eat, we just matched each egg to the correct kid. They loved opening the eggs to see what was for lunch.

Today I made the girls an egg shaped sandwich that I painted with food coloring. You just mix about a tablespoon of milk with one drop of food coloring. Use a q-tip to paint on your bread.

Then put the bread in the toaster, this helps it not be so soggy.

So fun! 

Hope everyone is having an egg-cellent week!

Water Color Eggs

Continuing in our eggstravaganza, we made water colored eggs last week.  

Just water colored on some eggs.

Pretty simple and fun.





We also tried glitter glue and glitter and that was a fail.  We were kind of trying the idea behind putting glue dots on the eggs and glittering them, but I didnt have glue dots and drawing on eggs with glue pens is not eggsactly the smoothest (Im here all week, folks).  We are going to get glue dots and try again and see what we can come up with next time.
Oh, and then yesterday I saw watercolored eggs on Oh Happy Day and of course they are much cuter and creative.  I guess I was channeling my inner not-near-as-beautiful-or-creative oh happy day last week and didnt know it.  What what.

Eggciting Start to Easter Season

(I know.  I couldnt help it)

We started easter decor off a little early this year.  I mean, thats what happens when you rely on holidays to be the source of entertainment for your kids.  When a holiday is even close to being around the corner you jump on it (it is early this year right??!).  And I need something to get me off the couch from rewatching felicity for like the third time in my life.  Netflix, I love you.  I cant barely make time for anything else in between finding out whats happening with bens gambling, noel, and I hate Eli, while we are on the subject.  Ugh.  Ok, sorry. Yes, easter eggs.
This was just run of the mill decorating this time around.  The usual box from target with colors desolving in vinegar.  My cousins friend sent me the coolest list of ways to decorate eggs and I want to try the natural dyes next. And every other thing on that list.  It is fantastic!




We put stickers on them that we had left over from other stuff and they really worked to keep the dye off.  We may have pulled them right out of the oven and started coloring them too soon because some of them melted on the eggs and were a little hard to get off.


I baked them this time and it was super easy.  Just 350 for 30 min.  So easy.
and the kids at almost all of them right after.  So I think they tasted about the same.  Hard boiled eggs make me want to vomit, so I cant say for sure, but the kids didnt even notice that I made them different.
Hoppy Easter!