The Easter Bunny hides our baskets.
Irelynn got waaay into Easter this year. We practiced egg hunts several days in advance so she was more than ready for the Easter Bunny to arrive.
The kids were floored by how high the Easter Bunny hid our eggs! Natalya debated whether or not the Easter Bunny was small but could hop super duper high, or if the Easter Bunny himself was just really tall.
Because Branson's birthday was on a Sunday this year, we planned a quiet day at home. I guess it was quiet - a little, anyway. Branson had a great time opening presents, playing with balloons and reminding everyone multiple times that he turned 4.
That was his reaction when he found out that Nana got him his own magazine subscription that would be arriving in the mail shortly.
Branson LOVES Disney's movie Cars.
Branson is collecting all the characters from Cars. He plays with them every day.
We had pancakes for breakfast. I made wheels for Branson and hearts for Natalya.We did not plan a formal birthday party for Branson - but we partied anyway. Branson's vision for his birthday consisted of a Cars cake, balloons, confetti, and a pinata. We waited to do his pinata the next day at his preschool.
Classic yellow cake. Milk chocolate frosting. Crushed Oreo cookies with chocolate filling. I didn't have much of a plan when making his cake. I just made it up as I went along. But I think it turned out pretty cute - and Branson was thrilled.
Branson's preschool teacher gave his class rainbow sherbet ice cream one day as a snack. She pulled me aside at the end of his class and told me how adorable he was while eating his ice cream. He told her that it was 'just so juicy!' It was 'the juiciest ice cream he ever had!' We both laughed. Needless to say, it was imperative to have rainbow sherbet ice cream for his birthday. I think that made him happy.
Since we didn't throw a party for him, we took his pinata to his preschool class and Ms. Kristi reserved the last 15 minutes of class time to break the pinata. We filled it with some of Branson's favorites - Starbursts, Smarties, and Dum-dums.
When the rope broke, they just beat Lightning McQueen to pieces on the patio. Boys love beating stuff to pieces.
Branson had a great birthday! He woke up the next morning and said, "Mom, am I still 4?" When I told him he was, he asked if he could have his birthday again today.
April 5th, Brian's Birthday
Despite the busy weekend, we were all very excited for Daddy's birthday on Monday. Brian decided to take the day off of work (which was awesome) because he was ahead on his hours and the week previous was exhausting. So we spent the entire day out and about. After dropping off the kids at school, I took him shopping. He needed some new sunglasses, dress shoes, and shirts. Irelynn was an angel throughout all the shopping which made it easy to take our time. It was so fun just spending time together.
After school was dismissed, we picked up Natalya and Branson for lunch and more shopping. We finished the day with Cafe Rio (one of Brian's favorites) and conducted Family Home Evening while in the car on the way home. Since I forgot to bring the camera during all this, I had to wait to take a couple of pictures once we got home.
We love The Office. This shirt was a must.
Birthday notes for Dad. Notice that Natalya's didn't say, "Happy Birthday," it said, "Go Michigan". She knows what makes her Daddy smile.
Happy Birthday, Sweetheart.
