Easter 2023- Howell's Easterfest and egg hunt in Des Moines.

We had such a fun Easter weekend in Des Moines! It felt extra special because we are finally having spring weather and it's been incredible to be outside more. All of my siblings were there and it was great to have family time all together and to watch the cousins play. 

So sweet to hold Brooks and Margo, the two newest baby cousins!

Outdoor egg hunt at Grandpa and Grandma's.

It was neat to get to know my sister's boyfriend, Tyler, a bit more too. Love you Aunt Kayla!

Such a beautiful day with our beautiful girls!

We went to Easterfest at Howell's (an amazing pumpkin patch in Des Moines that also does an Easter celebration too), and the Groen's, our family friends, met us there too. So glad to see my good friend Stephanie and give her a hug!

The whole gang! (Almost, my SIL stayed home with Margo so she could nap.)

The Groen gang.

Egg hunt at Easterfest.

They have a bathtub train ride there that's super fun!

They had a new egg wall this year that was neat for pictures.

Love cousin times- I pray we can always be intentional about spending time with them!

Ellory and Averie, the only ones who wanted to take a picture with the Easter bunny.

Thankful for a beautiful day with beautiful reasons to celebrate! 

Easter 2023- bunnies, baskets, and eggs!

We did our family Easter celebration on Palm Sunday because we were in Des Moines visiting my family over Easter. I always love seeing the kids wave the palm branches during church! Easter baskets and egg hunts are fun, but always great to celebrate the most important- His death and resurrection! We do resurrection eggs each year and the girls enjoy opening it each day. It's also neat to see their understanding and questions deepen each year as they get older. So thankful for the greatest gift and our ultimate hope in Him!

The three cutest bunnies ever! 

Opening Easter baskets. We gave them some smaller items- new water bottle, pool toys for the summer, perler beads, chalk, and a few candy items. I love picking out things I think they will enjoy, but also practical things that we will really use!

Egg hunt! It is definitely warming up here thankfully, but is still wet/muddy in the yard, so we did our hunt inside. It went great!

Happy Easter, He is risen indeed!

We also got to celebrate Easter with the De Jongs early too- love cousin time!

Cancun 2023.

So thankful Kley and I got to get away for a few days to Cancun! My parents, one of my sisters, and aunt/uncle were here too. It was an open family invite, and we joined in somewhat last minute, but are glad we could work out flights and childcare. Some days in the sun by the beach were incredible! We had great weather and it was so relaxing. So glad the girls could have some fun with grandparents back home and were well taken care of. 

The last day my dad and I went parasailing- it was amazing! So beautiful- we could see so far! And we saw a big sea turtle swimming!

Kley, I love you and you are my greatest earthly blessing. I still think you're pretty handsome even though you love to wear big bucket hats. :)

The group! The dinners here were long, which was totally fine since it was all adults. Strange to sit for a two hour meal, but nice!

Cancun! I was sad my lens fogged up in the humidity for this picture, but oh well. A cool sign!

You can see Kley, my dad, and Uncle Jeff out in the water here. The water felt nice!

We went on a ferry ride to Isla Mujeres one day for a little outing and some shops.

Here they claimed they were off to find and wrestle sharks in the water. No such luck. Thankfully.

Drinks by the ocean- a dream!

It was a gift to be able to come and grateful for time together. Such a great few days, but ready to hug our girls again too!

Fun Friday off of school with gymnastics and first time back at the park for the year!

The girls had a Friday off of school and we had a great time! Love time with my girls and watching them grow. I was really happy because I got to last minute surprise them with a trip to a gymnastics place in a neighboring town that has a neat facility. The girls have been very into gymnastics lately with lots of made up dance routines and flips and twirls all over our couch. I didn't think it would work to go, but last minute saw they had an open gym time that was technically for preschoolers, but the owner was kind and said we could come if they were careful. They were very excited and it was fun to do something special!

We hung out at home in the afternoon and they (mostly) played well with making bracelets, playing restaurant, Polly Pockets, and play-doh. These are the days. :) Once Kley got home we went out for supper (a big treat!) and to the park! It's still not super nice here to go to the park, but we are definitely looking forward to warmer weather hopefully soon. Thankful for extra time with my three beauties today!