A Package from Nana

Dear Nana,

Since you couldn't be here to see it...

We love you!  Thank you!

Bella's Adventures with Poppi & Nana

Despite the fact that we live in a faraway land, we have recently been blessed by special visits from both Georgia and Texas.  And these visits came in the best form possible... grandparents!  

First came Poppi!

 He's a captivating storyteller.

 And he's not too bad at this feeding thing either!

Yes, it's decided!  Bella loves her Poppi!

And next came Nana!

 Nana excels at the playground.

And this former history teacher ran circles around the The National History Museum.

She can even throw balls, too!

But perhaps the best memory from Nana's trip was taking Bella on her first ever Merry-Go-Round!  After the first three ups and downs, Bella made the executive decision that carousels rock and exclaimed "WEEEeeeeee!!!" for the remainder of the ride.  Oh happy day.

Speaking of happy days, one major bonus of having Nana in town was that Mike and I got to enjoy our first vacation alone (since Bella arrived) to a nearby B&B for some much needed R&R.  We stayed at the Brampton Inn in Chestertown, MD (Highly recommend it to any of you local couples looking for a weekend getaway!).  We also managed to discover the best crab bisque we've ever eaten at the Lemon Leaf Cafe.

But mostly, our days started out like this...

And ended like this...

Hooray for the gift of AWESOME grandparents!  We love y'all...especially the two that we missed seeing this time around!!!

What To Do with All the Extra Peeps?

I hope everyone had a blessed Easter.  Our life has been so full and busy lately, so we really enjoyed the opportunity to reflect on the hope we have in our risen Savior.  Yesterday, in addition to our regular Sunday Service, we had a group of interns over for Easter supper (one of our annual traditions since we got married), and we also had a good bit of fun with Bella. She is just getting to an age where she really enjoys holiday fun.

And so, Bella participated in her first official Easter egg hunt, city style!  We have a small back porch with four planters.  I mean, what more could you need?

 

And in case you really want to feel like you were there:

Then we turned to breakfast and a few gifts from loved ones...

 ... including a gift from Bella's great grandmother, Memaw.  Oh, the magic of tissue paper!

Bella digs plastic grass.

And don't forget the family Easter pic!  A-hem, Bella, can you please put the candy down for one second?

Okay, this one will have to do.

And before I leave you, I want to let you in on a new tradition that began this past weekend.  On Friday night, we were introduced by some dear friends to the sport of Peep Jousting.  My husband happens to be a huge fan of Peeps. Yes, I know. Gross.  Close friends and family all know this fun fact about him and quickly grab $.99 boxes of Peeps when they come out at Easter just to witness the smile that appears on his face.  Needless to say, we always have a surplus of Peeps.  So what is one to do?

Peep Joust.  That's right, you heard me...

Of all the meaningful and pious traditions out there, I think this one will be joining us next year.

(By the way, we had better success with our jousting matches on defrost... you know, just in case you have an itch to try.)

Happy Easter!