Easter

 Zachary is in this phase where everything is "my favoritest thing in the whole wide world!"  I made a new lemon cake the other night, and heard about it all day long.  Maybe he's learned that constant compliments will earn him a second piece, or some other strategy, but I prefer to believe that he's just a grateful kid.

Easter was his "favorite day in the world."

Easter came the weekend of our move--which meant that the religious picture books we ordered late didn't make it to our new address and we ended up making a quick run to town for bubbles and play dough the night before.

I love holidays, and while I agree with commentary that holidays can get out of control, I still believe in making them fun.  The excitement of my kids the night before Easter rivaled Christmas and that was adorable.  It was contagious--so much so that we were happy to set it all up wayyy after midnight (and after unpacking all but a few of our
boxes!).

 Brady snuck out early in the am to set out the loose stuff.  Not sure what the pest situation is in our new neighborhood, but we didn't need to invite a crowd.

 The kids were giggly and ecstatic, and the volume level from their squeals ("KATE!!!  I FOUND ONE OF YOUR EGGS!!!") was a little nuts. 

  Kate is all girl and wanted to check out her dress before anything else.

 We snapped a few, relatively unsuccessful shots of the kids before rushing to church.  Brady was speaking for the meeting and I was playing a piano solo, so we needed to get there early.

That night, we (over) cooked a ham in our new oven and met up (late) with the 5 other families at the Hadleys.  We blamed it on moving.  Moving is SO HARD.

 It is my perception that holidays are celebrated before the actual day and never, ever after it.  Well, good think I'm only trying to please a 5 yo and 2 yo, because they didn't care one bit that we decorated eggs on Monday and talked about Jesus and the resurrection that night. 

 Zachary wanted a picture with every single egg.

 This picture showcases my gray and blue linoleum floor, as well as the red/pink egg that crashed and brought about a few tears from my children.

 "Mom, this egg is bleeding!"

  You know all those fancy eggs people make and post on pinterest?  Yeah, me neither.

 This is a random picture of Kate during a nap.  The first week in this house, she struggled to get used to the new surroundings and slept badly.  I think I took this picture after a frustrating morning of non-stop fussiness.  How can I stay annoyed long while looking at that sweet face?

This house is a change!  It is up on a hillside adjacent to a busy road.  Our kids are in no danger from the road (the house is up too high), and they are able to play in the cul-da-sac, which is the major plus.  However, we hear every single noise and there is a lot of it.  We also have the "chicken highway."  Apparently, chickens and roosters also have a morning and evening commute to work, and they make it through our backyard. Our view includes power lines, storage units, a tiny general store, and oh, some canopy trees.  There is a (fenced) pit bull next door.  I saw an enormous boar nearby on my way home today.  The only thing we're missing is a neighborhood goat.  We livin local style, ya?

It is good to write this post a couple weeks after moving in, though.  The noise is no longer unbearable and I've stopped cringing every time I walk through the door.  Old house smell has all but disappeared thanks to Glade Plug-ins.  I'm almost used to doing all the dishes by hand.  I've learned that as funky as our flooring is, it's also awesome because it doesn't show a crumb--sweeping it one time a day is adequate!!  This place is starting to feel like home.  Our neighbors are friendly, our kids love their new rooms with their mirrored closet doors, there are other kids for them to play with, and Poipu--with all it's beach, park, and sunshine--is only 10 minutes away.  There is even some fabulous running from our house.  It works great, and best of all, we don't have to move in 12 weeks!