Hippity, Hop!

Easter this year was our first with two kiddos!  Unfortunately, I worked the night before, so our normal routine of morning church, then dinner at home, then hunting for Easter eggs at our house didn't happen.  That's okay.  I'm quite a planner, so I made sure the Easter baskets were ready, and that the kiddos would still have a great Easter.  

The weekend before Easter, our church, Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, had a family Easter celebration with a movie about the meaning of Easter, an egg hunt, arts & crafts stations, a pancake breakfast, face painting, baby chicks, rescue vehicles outside, and the Easter bunny. It was supposed to be outdoors, but the weather this spring hasn't been too cooperative in the Midwest, so an inside celebration it was.

Unfortunately, I worked the night before and went straight to the event after getting home.  I think I got into bed at around 1:30pm that day.  But it was so worth it.  Caiden had an amazing time, and Lakelie... well, she slept through the whole thing :)  The video is at the end of our day, and you can see how tough the egg hunt was.  Caiden had so much fun, though!

The only time Caiden will ever sit in the back of a police car :) 

Caiden's favorite part of the day! 

Ready to "find" eggs!

Got my bunny ears and my basket...

Mom, this basket is as big as me!

Oh, I wish you could have seen the terror on his face when he came close to the K-Love monkey!

Like I said before, I worked the night before Easter, so I slept all morning.  We decided to go to the evening Easter service at church, wearing our new Easter outfits.  This year, the color scheme was salmon and navy.  I know that one day, I will have little (if any) choice in what my kids wear, so for now, I take advantage of their willingness to be my dress-up dolls!  They looked adorable, and the sun was out long enough for a few family photos outside of our house.  It was much cooler than it looked, but the kiddos did not seem to mind.   

Sibling love.

We went to the Easter service at church, then had the kiddos open up their Easter baskets in the memorable area of the parking lot.  It was still daylight, and we knew that by the time we got home, the sun would be gone.  So, the kids got their baskets, Lakelie's first time seeing hers, and they excitedly dumped out the contents and found their favorites.  Lakelie loved chewing on her new sunglasses and shaking one of the eggs in her basket.  Caiden was immediately drawn to his new puzzles, his current obsession. 

Easter is so fun!

Can I crack it?

What says Easter better than mother/daughter espadrilles?

Then, to find somewhere to eat on the way home.  Oh, it's Easter and nearly everything is closed!  So, our Easter dinner consisted of Five Guys.  Not too "Eastery" but delicious!!

It isn't ham with all the trimmings, but it sure was yummy!

Then, we went home, tried on a couple of Easter gifts, and called it a day.  A successful Easter in my book!

5 Years!

March 29, 2008

Ryan and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on March 29.  How quickly these last five years have gone!  We seem to have crammed about as much as we could have in such a short amount of time.  Moving three times and finally buying a house.  Getting our furchild. My going back to school and graduating with my nursing degree.  My starting an amazing job.  Ryan getting laid off, then finding his current amazing job.  Having our first baby, and then our second... and so much more is to come!

My work schedule for the week wasn't the most conducive for celebrating, as I worked Wednesday & Thursday night, had off Friday (our anniversary), worked Saturday, off Sunday, and worked Monday & Tuesday nights.  Not great.  And on my "days off" I sleep.  And when I'm awake, I'm tired.  So, the what-to-do-for-anniversary conversations had kind of come to a stop.  I just figured we would do something the following weekend. Well, Ryan had something else in mind.  Unbeknown to me, he had been planning every detail for quite some time.

Like I said before, I worked the night before, and as I trudged my way out of the hospital at 7:45am, I headed to my car in the garage.  I got in and was surprised to find an envelope, flowers, a suitcase, and my pillow.  Inside the envelope was a card and my itinerary for the day.

I was instructed to go to a hotel to sleep for the day.  The kiddos were at home with a sitter since their school was closed for Good Friday, and I have a difficult time getting solid sleep when they are at home.  This would be heavenly!  And I was also instructed to order room service for breakfast.  What a treat!  

The view from my amazing room.  Not too shabby!

Much better than my normal breakfast of a granola bar.

 The final instruction I had was to be ready by 4:30 pm at our house.  In the bags were pjs to sleep in and clothes for the evening.  Ryan had bought me a new outfit... dress, shoes, jewelry, and jacket.  OH, MY!!!  The fact that he went and purchased everything, got my correct sizes, and got it all ready (steamed, etc) was amazing.  On top of taking care of the details was that the outfit was cute!!  Ryan had a little help from my amazing sister-in-law, Melissa, but for the most part took care of it all on his own.  What an amazing guy!!

The outfit!!

I slept so soundly, I was a little late waking up.  I got ready and headed back to the house. Ryan was ready to go, dressed in a suit, with a freshly cleaned vehicle.  Our favorite non-family sitter was there with the kids, for an all-nighter.  Ryan prepped her and I was at ease, knowing the kids were going to be well-taken care of while we were gone that night. 

We headed out and drove to our first surprise destination, the Southmoreland on the Plaza.  It is this cozy little B&B tucked away right off the Plaza.  I have lived in KC for 15 years, and had been in this area for a while, and I had never heard of or seen the Inn.  Well, it was amazing.  We checked in, took our bags to our room, the Carriage House, and got ready for dinner.  

The weather was beautiful, low 70s with a bit of a breeze, so we headed out on foot.  Ryan had even remembered to bring me comfy flats to walk in.  How thoughtful!!  We strolled through the Plaza to our dinner location, which ended up being The Chaz in the Raphael Hotel.  I have heard good things before, but had never been.  It's not really the kind of place you take kiddos, so we had not had the opportunity in the past few years to try it out.  Well, let me tell you... DE - LICIOUS!  It was way more fancy-shmancy than we were used to.  I felt like I should know all about wines and rare cheeses and caviar, but we made it our own.  

We started with the Crab Cake appetizer, then two Chaz Salads.  I ordered the Berkshire Pork Chop, which came with a sweet potato ragu on risotto, a goat cheese filled arancini, and a date demi glace. Ryan had the Aged Prime Beef Tenderloin, which came with a brie-stuffed potato croquette, grilled asparagus, and a smoked sea salt demi glace.  But more fantastic than the food was the conversation.  I do not remember the last time Ryan and I had a full conversation without being interrupted by a toddler or infant.  It was nice to have a leisurely dinner, to take our time strolling around through the Plaza, and laughing and holding hands like we were dating.  What a treat!

Obviously, I enjoyed my dinner!

We took another walk through the Plaza back to the Southmoreland, just in time for their late night "happy hour," consisting of coffee/hot chocolate/tea and freshly baked cookies.  I didn't really have room for more food, but the smell was too good to resist!  

The next morning (after a full night's sleep, uninterrupted by any kiddo or dog), we woke up and went down to breakfast at the main house.  French toast stuffed with shaved ham and gruyere cheese, banana-mango frappes, juice/tea/coffee, and chocolate zucchini bread.  So good... I'm going to attempt to replicate that french toast very soon!

Our lives are very different, seven years after we met.  I don't think that I thought life could be this great after being married for five years, but it is.  I love my messy house, chaotic schedule, yoga pant wardrobe, and outings to Target.  But it is such a nice reminder to remember where it all started.  When two people fell in love and decided to say "I do" not too much later.