The Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

So the Easter egg hunt that got postponed last weekend was on for this weekend.  We were afraid of rain again, but although it had rained a little the previous night, Saturday morning was pretty nice albeit a little chilly.  The boys had a great time!

Meeting the Easter bunny again.  Yes, Mommy does look enormous!  

Brody still loved the bunny. 

Evan and his old school pal,Alejandro, pick out a prize. 

Mommy and Evan help Brody find his eggs. 

He didn't need too much help. 

The little ones' eggs were "hidden" in the soft grass. 

Brody filling up his basket. 

The little hunter is finished. 

Is this the face of success? 

He thinks he's so big!

Carrying his basket of goodies. 

Brody and his school friend, William, comparing their finds. 

Evan's hunt was on the playground. 

It was more of a race to fill their baskets. 

Going for the easy ones. 

He just looks too big now. 

Then apparently it was time for a Brody hunt. 

A big turnout for the hunt. 

Brody "found" a little flag marker.  Mommy rescued him before he needed a tetanus shot from the rusty metal spike. 

Where's Brody?  There he is! 

Then he had to do a little swinging before we headed home. 

Evan enjoyed playing with his old pal, Liam, that he hadn't seen since last summer at the pool. 

Celebrating Our Big Birthday Boy

Since Wednesday was Evan's 6th birthday, we wanted to make his day feel extra special.  We aren't planning to have a party until later in April when he and Brody will share a special party at a local private owned zoo called The Lazy 5 Ranch.  We actually tried to have a party there when Evan was 2, but the weather did not cooperate.  March has not been a good month for planning parties thus far.  We hope that April will bring us fairer weather.  Since this weekend is Easter weekend, we knew it wouldn't be a good time for party planning since so many family will be out of town.  Thus, we tried to make Wednesday a special day.  We woke the birthday boy up with singing and allowed him to eat one of his favorite doughnuts for breakfast complete with birthday candles.  Then, he headed off to school while Mommy and Daddy prepared to take a little birthday treat to him at school for lunch.  We picked up cupcakes, some balloons, and a yummy Chick-fil-a lunch.  He loved being the birthday boy at school and passing out cupcakes to his class.  Daddy asked him if he wanted to leave school early and go with us, but he preferred to stay at school.  What can I say, the boy loves school!  Mommy and Daddy left to pick Brody up for school and then after a little nap, they all picked Evan up.  Mommy then went to get a birthday cake for later for the family and then Grandma and Papa James arrived.  That was probably Evan's favorite part of the day.  Evan wanted to go to Pinkberry for our favorite yummy cool treat.  We only a little time afterwards for playing in the yard before heading to Evan's and Daddy's baseball practice (Daddy is coaching along with Uncle Paul).  Unfortunately, Uncle Paul had his hands full when he arrived because Aunt Jessica was with cousin Emma at the doctor.  The first child had to be the first to have a broken bone.  She had fractured her wrist playing in the yard earlier.  After practice, we all went to eat dinner.  Evan chose a place that he loves because they have a little arcade room that the kids play in while waiting for dinner.  By this time, it was getting pretty late, but we headed back to our house for a little cake before bedtime.  Yes, it was a busy day, but the birthday boy felt celebrated with his favorite people to share it with him.

The birthday boy with his birthday doughnut!  

Blowing out all his candles.  Don't know what he wished for.  

Sweet boy showing us his birthday ribbon he wore at school.  

Daddy eating lunch with the birthday boy. 

Mommy and her big birthday baby. 

Evan passing out cupcakes to his friends. 

And getting one of his own. 

Evan's class eating lunch in the cafeteria. 

Yum!  Mommy always gets the best Pinkberry...she decided to get her two favorite flavors, chocolate hazelnut and salted caramel, swirled together with some chocolate shavings and chocolate hazelnut wafers.  

Grandma enjoying Pinkberry with the birthday boy.  

Daddy helping little man eat his Pinkberry. 

Just original for little man, but he enjoyed some of Mommy's too. 

Evan's birthday cake

And some balloons to complete the festivities. 

Emma helps sing "Happy Birthday" as she shows off her pretty green cast.  Seriously, she was pretty happy about her cast except the itching. 

The cousins waiting for some birthday cake. 

Blowing out his candle. 

Sweet baby enjoying his own little cupcake.  

Evan and Lanny digging in.  

And sweet cousin Reade. 

Opening a couple presents from Uncle Paul and Aunt Jessica and the kids.   He also got some money from Grandma and his Great-Aunts.   He really didn't ask for anything this year since he had already gotten his new bunk beds and other things he wanted so he and Daddy enjoyed going to see a movie together today.

He loved his new Stomp Rocket from the cousins, and he also got a cute new outfit for summer.   Aunt Jessica knows I like to dress them preppy so he'll look extra cute in his new J Crew shirt and plaid shorts. 

Date Night!

This was actually a picture taken from one of our date nights last year.  I think this was when we went to see "Jersey Boys."  

With two kids and a pretty crazy life right now, it is kind of hard for Eddie and I to get out on a lot of dates these days.  We really do enjoy just spending time together though.  A lot of our regular "dates" lately are just lunch dates.  He picks me up from work, and we enjoy eating lunch together somewhere close to my office.  These times are just special because it gives us a chance to talk "grown up" talk without the kids around.  Of course, we still do talk a lot about them.  Last week, we actually got a pretty special date night out.  My brother and his wife bought tickets to see the Broadway show "Wicked" which was here in Charlotte.  We had been wanting to see the show for a while so we planned a double date.  I really hate that I took no pictures of the night's events.  I, of course, wore my one "nice" Motherhood maternity little black dress, and Eddie also looked nice in slacks and sport coat.  My sister in law looked like she stepped out of a fashion magazine in her little black dress with red heels and cute red necklace.  We met for dinner at a local restaurant close to uptown and my office for an early dinner since the show started at 7:30.  Eddie and I have been to the restaurant a couple of times, and my office holds our Christmas parties there because one of our attorneys' family owns it.  It is called Dressler's for any Charlotte readers who want to check it out.

Anyway, we all enjoyed a yummy dinner in a beautiful and trendy establishment and then headed to the show.  It was every bit as good (and better) than we had hoped.  I loved the twist on the Wizard of Oz and that the "Wicked" Witch of the West actually got her much deserved happily ever after.  I am such a hopeless romantic!  We were all very impressed with the actors and actresses in our showing, especially the girl who played the main character, Elphaba.  We also loved seeing so many guests dressed in some pretty awesome themed attire.  Witch hats and emerald green were popular choices.  It was just a fun night out on the town!