Easter Sunday

Banks and Mary Reese woke up around 5:00 am to find the Easter Bunny had hopped through our house and filled up their baskets with some goodies...



Jody and I made them wait until Owen woke up to dive in.  He normally wakes up around 6:30 am but on Easter Sunday he decided to sleep in until almost 8:00!  I thought Banks and Mary Reese were going to bust at the seams waiting on him.

They were precious helping each other go through their baskets...



After the Easter Baskets were explored, I moved to the kitchen for a special Easter morning activity...



Resurrection Rolls

I gave them each a marchmallow to represent Jesus.  They dipped the marshmallow in melted butter to represent the oils of embalming.  They sprinkled the buttered marshmallow in cinnamon and sugar to represent the spices used to anoint the body...



Then they wrapped the marchmallow tightly in a crescent roll to represent the wrapping of Jesus' body in linen after death...



We placed them in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes to represent Jesus being in the tomb for 3 days...



When we opened the rolls we discovered that Jesus was no longer there...



He had RISEN!

The kids loved the story that went along with the rolls.  I believe we have a new Easter Sunday morning tradition.

We had our families over for Easter lunch.  We used all our Easter crafts to decorate the tables...





We had ham, pulled pork butt, mac & cheese, asparagus with smoked tomatoes, honey carrots, a salad made from all the lettuce in the garden and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It was all delicious & delightful!



After a huge lunch the kids were dying to hunt eggs on more time...



They waited patiently for all the adults to hide the eggs.  They they took off...



Banks and Mary Reese knew there was money in some of those eggs...so it was a free for all!



Owen just took his sweet time...enjoying every minute.  And when his basket was full...



...he headed in for a nap.

Happy Easter to all!

We have a busy week ahead with 2 Open Houses, 4 ballgames and a Leadership Showcase.  I can tell we are trying to wrap up another school year!

Egg Hunting

Mary Reese and Owen were invited to the 2nd Annual Roberts/Perry Easter Egg Hunt.  They have been looking forward to it since last year. 



The Roberts have the perfect egg hunting yard.  It was filled with eggs, families and fun!

[This would be our only time to hunt eggs with our friends due to baseball games/practices.  Banks was kind of bummed he "aged" out of the hunt but was fine when he ended up having baseball practice at the same time.]

Owen found the cupcakes super fast...



It was time to hunt eggs but Owen was still more interested in the cupcake...



He finally got into the groove of hunting...





After the "babies" hunted the front yard, it was time for the bigger kids...



Mary Reese and her friend Gray were super excited!  As soon as they gave them the ok to start hunting, there were kids flying all over the back yard in search of eggs...



After we hunted eggs, we ran by Debbie's to pick up her and Leo.  We headed out to Pat's house for a visit with her grandkids...



Pat's kids [Ginny & Chuck] were both in town.  Ginny is one of my good friends [in fact she was my first friend when we moved to Decatur] and Chuck is one of my brother's good friends.  Ginny has 3 boys [twins ages almost 3 and another one almost 1].  We added Mary Reese [6], Owen [2] and Leo [ 8 months] to the mix...6 kids, 5 of which were under the age of 3.  It was like a baby romper room.  They all had a great time playing with bubbles & bugs.  Leo and Oliver even got a wagon ride from Mary Reese...



It was wonderful Saturday hunting eggs with our friends and visiting with the Smithson crew!

Egg Crafting

Debbie ordered us this Easter Decorating kit from Williams Sonoma...



It was so much fun to use the cutters, stamps and rollers.

We used it to make cookies for school...



Mary Reese's teacher asked me if I could send some plain sugar cookies cut out in the shape of eggs.  They have been studying about Easter Eggs and she was going to let them decorate their own cookie.

Owen's teachers requested sugar cookies for their Easter party.  Banks didn't want to be left out so I sent some for his class as well.  Owen and Banks took eggs, chicks and bunnies...



We also did a couple of recipes of salt dough ornaments [we have made some for every holiday since Christmas].  We decorated the chandelier in the kitchen...



...and put some on sticks to use on the table...



[That is my same grass from Valentine's Day decorating.  I just keep giving it a haircut and watering it.  It still looks great!]

Egg Dying

When we got back from our Spring Break trip, we had a few days before we had to get geared up for the last few weeks of school.  We got busy with a favorite Easter time activity.

I mixed up a bunch of dye...



...and boiled 5 dozen eggs...



I got smart this year and set everything up outside...



The kids had a ball!  It is one of their favorite annual activities.  I have been dying eggs with them since they were born!

Even Owen got into the action this year...



But I think he ate way more eggs than he dyed...



Speaking of eggs...

After we got the eggs dyed, I went to put them in the garage refrigerator.  On top of it, it made a little discovery...



A dove made a her nest in a container on top of the refrigerator and laid two eggs.  We can't wait to meet the babies!

spring break @ the grand

We had such a fabulous time over Christmas Break at The Grand, we decided it would be the perfect location for Spring Break 2011.  [According to this article, "This year, Travel + Leisure magazine rated the Grand higher overall than the Plaza Hotel in New York."  I have never been to the Plaza but I ♥ The Grand.]

So Tuesday morning we packed up - armed with movies, nintendo ds, and the iPad for our trip down south...



The trip down was relatively uneventful...only a few "How much longer?" sessions and trying to force Owen back in his shoulder straps [he is a Houdini].  We made it to Mobile around lunch.  We traveled through the children's favorite stretch of road...



...the George Wallace Tunnel.  [When we go to The Grand, we always take I-65 all the way into Mobile, then hit I-10 until it runs into 98.  The kids always enjoy seeing the sights of downtown Mobile and passing the USS Alabama.  Maybe one day we will actually stop and tour the ship.]

We stopped off on the causeway to find some lunch.  We ended up at The Origninal Oyster House.  I am not a huge fan of the one in Gulf Shores but everyone we talked to in December said the one in Mobile was much better.  I opted for the Shrimp Po Boy and Jody got the Blackened Sutchi Po Boy...delicious.  Later in the week at the pool, a local suggested Ed's Seafood Shed.  We almost pulled in there...I guess we will have to try it out next time.

After a drive through downtown Fairhope, we finally we arrived at our destination...



The beautiful Grand Hotel!  It always reminds me of a modern day, southern version of the resort in Dirty Dancing.  We fall deeper in love with every visit.  The grounds are immaculant.  They were busy changing out the pansies with spring flowers...beautiful!

We checked into our room...



...on the first floor of the North Bay House with a breath taking view of Mobile Bay.  It was the perfect location for us...halfway between the cannon/craft patio and the pool area.  The arcade and the Fun Camp Room are located in this building.  I noticed most everyone staying in this building had children...several of them being from our hometown.  [These rooms were renovated in December.  On our last visit we were in the Spa Building.  Those rooms are the furtherest away from the main lobby area, the rooms are slightly smaller but the bathrooms are much bigger.]

Next door to us was another Murphree family [no relation] and just down the hall was a friend from high school and her family. Her son [Put] and my children played beautifully together.  They played pirates on the beach...



...practiced baseball, crafted and splashed around the pool together. It was such a blessing to have them there at the same time.

We spent our mornings...



...snacking on breakfast admiring the beautiful view of the bay.  [One morning we ventured into Fairhope for breakfast at Heavenly Creations on Fairhope Avenue.  They offer a variety of breakfast croissants, doughnuts, muffins and Conecuh sausage & cheese wrapped in puff pastry like a huge pig in the blanket.  Delicious & Delightful!  I tried to order beignets but their frier was down.

The first morning, a couple of ducks ventured up to our patio...



...which thrilled Owen!  I gave him some goldfish crackers to feed them...so every morning and afternoon they would come by for a little snack.

The first morning the 10:00 activity was feeding the ducks, we went to the front desk to snag some food before heading to the pond in search of the white ducks...



We found them at the far end of the pond...



Owen was thrilled to find his other duck friends.  He fed them and then followed them around the pond...



...quacking at them the whole way.

After our morning visits with the ducks, we would get sunscreened up for a lazy day at the pool...



Owen splashed and chased a ball...



Mary Reese practiced cheerleading stunts...







...when she wasn't sliding...



She has come a long way since last summer.  When we first got the the beach last June, she was too scared to go down the slide.  She never hesitated this trip.


Banks and Put threw the football when they weren't hot tubbing...



One day we lunched from the poolside from the Pelican's Nest and Marlin Bar.  The second day we smuggled in some hot dogs from...



...Battles Wharf Mini Mart.  It is not really a restaurant, more like a converted gas station.  If you are leaving the resort, you turn left and it is right down the street on your left.  It is so close you could actually ride your bicycle.  They have sandwiches made from Boar's Head meats, the best hot dogs, pasta & potato salads, lemon pound cake slices and delicious triple chocolate muffins.

At noon, the "big kids" ran to the craft patio for a little crafting session...



One day they made button bookmarks, the next day was glitter crafts.

The last day by the pool, the dads took the kids over to the the Colony pool for a change of scenery while the moms took a little snooze.  They said the pool was FREEZING, so they didn't last very long.

Speaking of snoozing, Owen napped poolside each afternoon...



We would just take him to one of the fabulous swings along the boardwalk facing the bay and swing until he passed out.  Then we would lay him down in a louge chair under one of the umbrellas around the pool.

At 4:00 each day we could hear the drums coming around the pool...



...the kids quickly jumped out of the pool to join the parade to the cannon firing ceremony...



During one of the ceremonies, Mary Reese and I snuck over to visit one of our favorite spots, the Chef's Herb Garden and the Secret Garden...



We smelled all the fresh herbs and admired all the beautiful flowers.

After the cannon fired, we all bolted to the lobby for tea and cookies.  Actually, we just grabbed a handful of scones and cookies on our way back to the pool.

Before heading to dinner each night, I made my kids take pictures around the pond.  You would have thought I was the WORST MOTHER EVER making them take all these pictures.  I told them they would appreciate it one day!  Here are some of the outtakes...









There are so many great spots for good photo ops!

Owen would get a little side tracked when he spotted the ducks...






I think he might need a pet duck.

For dinner, we explored some great local restaurants!  On Tuesday night the kids and I ran up the road with the Webster's to Wintzell's Oyster House while Jody dined at Felix's Fish Camp with customers.  On Wednesday night, we loaded up with the Websters and met the Smiths in Bon Secour for dinner at Tin Top.  Thursday night we took a tip from a local by the pool and tried out Jesse's in Magnolia Springs with the Websters.

Next door to Jesse's was this precious little market.  I absolutely loved their candy display...



After dinner each night, I rocked my baby to sleep in the rocking chairs on our patio and watched the sunset over the bay.  It was the perfect ending to each day!

We headed home early Friday morning.  I would have loved a leisurely departure but we were trying to beat the threat of severe weather back home.  We even scooted on past our normal stops along I-65...the Conecuh Sausage plant and Peach Park!  We hit rain just north of Birmingham and stayed in it the rest of the way home.

It was the perfect Spring Break trip.  We all came home with sunkissed cheeks.  Now we have the rest of the weekend to get organized and geared up for our last six weeks of school until summer vacation!

Hopefully another visit down south is in our near future.  I already have a list of a few more restaurants I want to try on our next trip...Panini Pete's, Down by the Bay Cafe, Tamara's Bar & Grill, Master Joe's and Ravenite Pizzeria.