Easter Activities

Easter was a lot more interactive this year. Because Greyson was old enough to hunt eggs, we took him to 2 egg hunts on Saturday before Easter Sunday. The first one was at G'mama's with all the great-grandkids....the tradition here is that among all the regular sized eggs is a big one called the PRIZE egg. It usually has more candy & money in it! Guess who found the prize egg! =) 

After hunting eggs, we had a big lunch & visited for awhile. It was fun being with family that day.

Then we headed over to our church to hunt eggs in the afternoon. 

All of Greyson's little buddy's were there & they had fun gathering up all the eggs...needless to say we came home with LOTS of candy! We came home with a few Easter baskets from Aunt Maudine & Uncle Jimmy too =) 

Later that night, after naps & supper, I started another activity that I think will become another new family tradition for us. We made resurrection rolls & they were SO good! It was a great way to get Greyson involved & also explain to him why we celebrate Easter in the first place...it's not all about eggs, but the reason is because Jesus gave his life for us & rose from the dead on the 3rd day! We celebrate his resurrection & life! 

We called the roll part the tomb instead of his grave clothes to make it easier for him to understand. He helped put everything together & after they had baked, we got to see if the tomb was empty & it was! It was so cute to hear Greyson say... He's alive! Him's not dead...the tomb is empty! =)

We also colored eggs & made deviled eggs out of them for Sunday lunch. They looked so cute!

If you have never made resurrection rolls...it is the easiest thing & they are so good.

Here's the recipe below...

RESURRECTION ROLLS

You will need:

1 package Crescent rolls 

8 Marshmallows

4 tbsp melted butter

3 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions:

Melt the butter and put the cinnamon sugar mixture in a bowl.  Grease your baking pan and pre-heat the oven according to the crescent roll directions.  (You can read John 19 if you would like!)

Give your child a marshmallow and explain that it represents Jesus.  After Jesus died on the cross he was prepared for burial.  Back then that meant using oil (the melted butter) and spices (the cinnamon sugar mixture.) Dip the marshmallow in butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place the marshmallow in the crescent roll.  (We explained that instead of linen burial clothes, that the roll represented the tomb...so we placed his body in the tomb). You will need to wrap it up tightly and pinch it shut.  You will want to make sure that it is sealed! Place on a cookie sheet. Cook according to crescent roll’s package instructions.

EASTER SUNDAY

The next day, we got the kids up early to find the Easter baskets we had made for them. I found several neat items in the $1 rack at target...carrot shaped sidewalk chalk, hair clips for Rilynn, etc. I got them a little bit of candy from our favorite chocolate shop in PA (we enjoyed Rilynn's hehe) a few useful items like new cereal bowls & a couple toys. The new train for Greyson (Toby) & a little rabbit rattle for Rilynn were the big hits. Greyson also got a little deck chair that he can use inside or outside. 

Then we got all dressed up in our Easter outfits & headed off to church! Mimi bought the kids outfits & had gotten Rilynn that little bow for Christmas. It has a velcro piece in the middle that changes out a little white bunny to a painted easter egg. We used the bunny for church. =) 

After church, we all came back to our house for Sunday lunch. My friend Courtney surprised us all with a bunny cake for dessert! It was SO cute!! There were little chocolate easter eggs & a chick peep on the side. It was DELICIOUS! Greyson got to eat one of the bunny's ears & he was very happy! 

Rilynn got in some cuddle time with Poppie before lunch...Mimi was in the hospital, so we missed having her with us.

 After lunch, we took the kids up to the hospital to visit Mimi...just before going in, we changed the kids back into their Sunday outfits so she could see them dressed up.

She looked so beautiful & we had such a good visit! She has been back & forth to the hospital for fluids after some of her chemo treatments. She seems to always be in the hospital over holidays, but we still get to celebrate with her =)

We are thankful for the many blessings we have as a family & had a great Easter this year!