Easter with Nana Banana and Sport

Since we have lived in Lexington our Easter tradition has normally involved hanging out with the Chrismans.  This year we were extremely lucky to have that tradition overlap with a visit from Nana Banana and Sport.  This meant they got to be up close and personal for all of our Easter preparations.  Let the egg dying commence!

Callie is a strong participant in these kinds of craft activities at this point, and does not need any real oversight.  Reese still needs a bit of watching, especially when liquid is involved.  And when that liquid is vinegar with dye then it is all hands on deck.  Nana Banana and Sport did well in managing Reese even as they demonstrated their own creative sides.

The final products were pretty impressive, especially since we included a new ingredient, vegetable oil, into the mix.  It made for some neat tie-dye effects on the eggs.  Reese and Callie were just really excited to have their grandparents in town.  This was illustrated particularly by their willingness to pose and smile for pictures at almost every opportunity.

On Saturday morning the whole crew ventured downtown to the Farmer's Market.  It was early in the season so there weren't too many vendors out and about.  We did manage to locate the kid craft table, however, and their theme that week was the Lorax and Earth Day.  Callie and Reese smiled for the camera and did their best impressions of truffula trees.  Pretty cute if you ask us.

We then returned to Jacobsen Park to show off our new kite-flying skills and playground acrobatics.  Over the past year Callie has become a monkey bar daredevil and is constantly looking for apparatuses on which she can hang upside down.  And that of course means that Reese wants to hang upside down with her.  They truly are quite a pair.

Every night that Nana Banana and Sport are in town means some good bedtime book reading.  Callie and Reese love to have their grandparents read to them, and their grandparents are more than happy to oblige.  Of course, by the end of the day our activities have usually worn everyone out, and it is often a question of which of the four is going to fall asleep first.

Easter Sunday started off with a couple of gift baskets for Callie and Reese from the Easter Bunny.  This year the bunny delivered umbrella hats, flip flops, headbands, underwear, books, and of course, candy.  Just because the bunny is practical does not mean that candy is overlooked.  That would be just plain silly.

Next stop was the Easter egg hunt at church, and this year it was more of a scavenger hunt to find the special egg in each room that helped tell part of the Easter story.  There was a big crowd of kids, so at times the story may have gotten a bit lost in the craziness.  But it was a very strong effort by those who organized it and the girls had a lot of fun.

This is a picture that we enjoy taking every year, not only because Ella and Claire are such wonderful friends, but also because it is one more way we can track how fast everyone is growing up.

These four girls have become good friends and they play so well with each other at this point.  It never hurts to say again how lucky we are to know them.

We decided to do a little photo shoot in front of the church and got some good ones.  This one certainly highlights the girls' personalities.  Callie constantly checking things out and wondering what other folks are up to, while Reese is just hamming it up and demanding your attention.  And they both still like to have the opportunity to dress alike, which still surprises us at times.  But we will indulge them as long as they want to do it.

Once we had a picture of the girls then it was time for a picture of the girls with Nana Banana and Sport.  We strategically did this one before one of the entire group knowing that a meltdown could occur at any moment.  Thankfully the bribe of an Easter basket treat allowed us to get all the shots we wanted without any tears.  In this one Reese felt the need to stand off to the side, but at least she didn't cry.

It was perfect timing that just when we needed a photographer our pastor was walking by.  He was happy to help us out, perhaps because he wanted to make sure we had proof that John has worn a tie to church at least once.

As you can tell it was a beautiful April day, and the fun had only just begun.  Next up was a fantastic Easter dinner at the Chrismans.

What made the afternoon even better was the fact that Sharon and Chris's daughter Sarah was there with her husband Alex and their two girls, Lucy and Libby.  Callie, Reese, Lucy, and Libby have a lot of fun whenever they have a change to get together, so they were all looking forward to having their own personal Easter egg hunt.

Sarah and Sarah did a great job of managing the hunt.  The best part was the sharing of Easter eggs so that everyone ended up with an equal number of eggs and no one felt left out.  The girls were really sweet with this part and did not complain a bit, which is pretty impressive when you are talking about four kids who are 6, 5, 3, and 2 respectively.  It also shows how much they like each other.

All in all it was a great day.  And while this picture captures some of that fun, we are not sure how we managed to not take a picture of the incredible spread that Sharon and Chris put on the table again this year.  We keep hoping that their ability to host events like this will rub off on us.  No signs of it yet, but we remain optimistic.