Seattle Day 3: Easter 2016!

The Easter Bunny visited and had stuff for the kids even though we weren't at home

All the kids ready to go find their baskets and the eggs! Sam, Emmalyn, Maxwell, Kimber, Camryn, and Allison

Emmalyn has loved going up and down these stairs all day

You know how it goes...once she knows what's in the eggs it's hard to keep looking instead of opening.   :)

In Ashlee's house, the Easter Bunny not only hides eggs but he hides the baskets too - - Emmalyn found hers!!

Maxwell found his and was really excited about what was in there (a transformer, a toothbrush...)

Everyone looking through their stash

The aftermath

Maxwell's favorite thing to do is play PacMan.  He's getting better and really enjoying it.

Two cuties reading their books

Yummy pancake bunnies for breakfast.  Ashlee's so skilled in the kitchen... she whips up amazing desserts so quickly or does pancakes like it's nothing.  

With the kids all dressed up for Easter, we took some pictures outside with the pretty lake as a background.

(Ashlee lent Emmalyn these rain boots and she is obsessed with them and LOVES them.)

These cuties...what a blessing they are to our family!

Enjoying the trampoline

We went out for lunch and then went over to my Aunt Leanne and Uncle Clay's for dinner and the annual traditional Easter Egg Hunt!  I was excited for my kids to get to participate in this tradition that is so special to me.

Maxwell really loves being around Sam.

Happiness is seeing a big pile of shoes by this front door.

Maxwell had dinner at the kids table (and Peter and I got to eat with adults!!!).  It's great to be around so many kids.

Even Emmalyn had her own little spot (although I helped her eat a little bit).

My baby girl searching for the eggs.  She did great!

It was rainy and cold (Pretty typical) so they were all bundled up.

Maxwell searching

Emmalyn and her money from the eggs

Back in to warm up and dry off!

Uncle Clay taught Maxwell how to play Uno.  He got to play with the big kids.  Uncle Clay called Max "Maxwell Smart".  Maxwell would teasingly tell him that's not his name. He closely watched Clay keep score and so later when I played with Clay, Maxwell, and Sam,  Maxwell wanted to keep score and did a great job adding up the scores!! (great practice on that multi-digit addition)

The adults played games too

It's not a good picture but here's Max playing Uno with Uncle Clay.  He couldn't get enough once he got started.  It was the only thing he wanted to do and Clay was so kind to keep playing with him. 

Eventually they stopped playing and Maxwell went upstairs to watch a movie with the other little kids.  (We put Emmalyn down to sleep earlier.  We tried as much as possible to keep her going to bed early so that we wouldn't have to adjust when we got back to our time zone at home.)

Seattle Day 2: More Easter Fun

Our first morning was an early morning!  The kids woke up around 4:30 am (which is 6:30 am our time) and we were able to keep them in bed/quiet for about an hour and then they were getting stir crazy.  We went up to the bonus room where we were away from most of the bedrooms and the kids could play.  

Maxwell loved playing Pac Man!

After everyone finally woke up (what a long morning that seemed!!) and had breakfast, Maxwell and I went with Ashlee and her family to their neighborhood egg hunt.  Peter stayed at home so that Emmalyn could take a nap.

Playing on the playground while we waited for the hunt to begin.  Even though the sun was shining, it was still chilly!  

The ground was sopping wet...like full on swampy.  My shoes/socks/pants were all wet by the time we were done.  Ashlee was far more prepared in rain boots - - - I should have looked to the locals' example! :)

I think his favorite part of the cupcake was the egg ring on the top.

It's almost time to hunt!

He had a great hustle and run around like a pro.

What beautiful scenery for an egg hunt, right?

Rocking his egg ring

The mud!!

We had fun watching the girls hunt for eggs, too.

After the hunt, we all went to Cafe Rio for lunch.  It was delicious!!!

It wasn't sunny anymore but it wasn't too cold so we headed to a park to burn some energy.

Maxwell connected with the girls quickly, especially Sam.  He loved playing with her and she was so great with him.

He played tag for a long time!

Emmalyn tried to make friends with this little boy and kept following him around and trying to tell him what to do.  She can certainly be bossy!

Time to dye Easter eggs!

We dyed with Ashlee's kids and Steph's kids too

The night Clay and Leanne came over for dinner and Ashlee's cousin Darcy and her family came too, they were in town from Utah.  We hung out, watched sports, played games, and the kids had fun playing together.  I tried to get Emmalyn to bed pretty early because I didn't want her to get used to the timezone since we were only there for a few days.  She's really loving going up and down the stairs (makes me so nervous) and someone brought something over on a motorcycle and she can't stop talking about it.  She thinks the motorcycle is so cool.

Maxwell loved watching the big kids play games with Uncle Clay