Easter Egg-stravaganza!

What's Easter without a few (thousand) eggs? Check out our Easter Egg fun!

Easter Egg Hunt

The weekend before Easter, we joined an Easter Egg Hunt at the Church of the Savior in Cleveland Heights. There was separate hunt for kids not yet in kindergarten, and the eggs were all hidden outside, despite the light blanket of snow.

The event was BYOB (bring your own basket!), and Ainsley was excited to use her new basket from Auntie Meg & Uncle Nate. Each egg contained a piece of candy.

I got one!

Here are some more!

A big crowd

Eggshelland

On Ainsley's first Easter, we discovered a local family who displays tens of thousands of colored eggshells in their yard every year. We decided to make it an Easter tradition to visit this house each year. 

Unfortunately, Ron Manolio, the gentleman who led the whole process - draining & painting each egg - passed away last August at the age of 82. His family decided to do one last display in his memory. They incorporated a picture of Ron and the words, "Thank you all, and goodbye" in eggshells. After 55 years, the community said goodbye to Eggshelland.

The line of people went down the street and wrapped around the corner.

We waited about 30 minutes to get to the house.

Owl

Ron's portrait in eggshells

We even met the Easter Bunny!

Coloring Eggs

This is the first year we colored Easter Eggs at our house, and I'd say it was a success!

Daddy reading the directions

Ainsley is ready!

This is fun!

Ainsley making a purple egg

Lots of colors

I can do it all by myself!

Mommy & Ainsley adding stickers

Easter Bunny Lane

We kicked off our Easter celebrations with a trip to Easter Bunny Lane, at Kraynak's Garden Center. Great Grandma & Grandpa Paul Shellhammer took us for a fun afternoon.

Clifford's birthday party

"That's a peacock, Great Grandma!"

Hello Kitty bedroom!

The Sesame Street Farm

One scene showned Charlie Brown and friends on a school bus, backed by the song "The Wheels on the Bus." Being one of Ainsley's favorite songs, she immediately began to dance.

Mommy & Ainsley with some beautiful Spring trees

Lots of bunnies!

Back at Great Grandma & Grandpa Paul's house, we had a sing-along! Instead of playing the organ like he usually does, Grandpa Paul got out a new instrument this time. I asked Ainsley what kind of instrument he had, and she told us, "That's a violin."  Great Grandma's jaw almost hit the floor.  So proud of my little musician!

Ainsley yelled out requests - "Mary Had a Little Lamb! London Bridge!" - and Grandpa Paul knew them all!

Grandpa Paul played...

...while Ainsley and Great Grandma sang along.

Big Kids & Kitties

Ainsley sure loves her kitties - both her stuffed toy, Kitty, and our real cat, Clio. She's very gentle with Clio and has figured out how to play with her: Ainsley swings ribbons back and forth through the air, while Clio swats at them and catches them between her paws, leaving Ainsley in a fit of giggles.

Clio is also very tolerant and protective of Ainsley. She spends most of the night sleeping in Ainsley's room. If Ainsley starts to cry in the middle of the night, it's not long until I hear the "click-click" of claws across the bedroom floor and a little meow, as Clio comes to my bedside to let me know there's something wrong.

Best friends...

Awww....look at Clio!

I love my kitty!

Last weekend, we visited my friend Julie and her little boy, Cooper. (Cooper's baby brother, Coby, is only about three months old, so he didn't join in the fun just yet.)  It's been almost a year since Ainsley and Cooper played together, so it was fun to watch them interact, now that they're both "big kids"! 

I can't believe how big they're getting!

Ainsley took this picture of Cooper - she instructed, "Say cheese!"

Silly kids!

Ice Skating

Ever since we saw the ice-skating princesses, Ainsley has been talking about ice skating. A few weekends ago, Nathan and Ainsley went to the Cleveland Museum of Art, and seeing the nearby Rink at Wade Oval, Ainsley decided that she wanted to ice skate, too. So last weekend, we headed to the rink for her first ice skating adventure!

All bundled up

Lacing up the tiny, tiny skates

Out with Daddy for her first lap

It was nice to get outside for some winter fun and enjoy the sunshine. Every time Mommy or Daddy needed to sit down for a break, Ainsley announced, "I want to go ice skating again!" 

Mommy takes a spin

Go, Ainsley!

Warming up by the fire