Monday, April 6, 2015

An Eggs-tra Special Day

Hello, thanks for stopping by.  Say, I forgot to say thank you to those who are following my blog - I'm at 400 now and that makes me happy!  I so enjoy meeting you all - when you join in, I try to pop over and visit your blog and return the favor.  I hope you had a great weekend.  We sure did - yesterday was a fun time all day.  Our DIL Kristi is a great party planner and surprised us straight away with an Easter basket for Dayle and I - along with the kids!  LOL!  We were so touched as no one has given US a basket since we were small children.  These wonderful hand painted eggs were in the basket - aren't they pretty?


Then, when my son hid eggs in the yard for an egg hunt - there were some especially for me.  :-D  The kids helped find mine.  Kristi came up with a great idea so the kids each got the same amount - she had the boys draw an egg out of a bag and they had to find the same egg design - footballs and soccer balls, etc.  So each of them got a dozen eggs filled with chocolates, etc.  Those pretty ones below are mine.  :-)



Our surprise baskets.


The boys showing me their bunnies and baskets.  Their mom and dad.. and Dayle's feet.  :-)


Grandpa and his basket of goodies and a bunny.  


Kristi spent hours in the kitchen putting together a snack buffet with a MineCraft theme.  All the boys had fun with this.



After our son Shawn and his family arrived we hunted eggs in the yard.  Mother nature was good to us and it was warm and dry and partly sunny.


The boys and their eggs.. the big boys used their riding helmets for baskets! LOL!


I noticed that the apple blossoms were opening so I had to go take a snapshot.



Such a pretty and fleeting bloom.. 



Forget-Me-Nots are popping out here and there.


Our wild garden of Purple Ajuga, Star-of-Bethlehem and see the tiny Forget-Me-Nots?



Above those flowers my Honeysuckle is beginning to bloom!



And the Pink Rosebud Azalea is beginning it's bloom.


The big floppy Rhododendron.


Our Elder flower is in bloom, too.


Red Azalea.


Want to smell my dark purple Lilac?  :-)



Our Stargazer Lilies are coming up nicely!


And then the boys wanted to ride their dirt bikes and quads so off we went to the pasture to watch them have fun.  Here is Caleb - just turned 6.


Here comes Gabriel down the hill.


Gabe zooms by and the storm clouds are moving closer.


Our four grandsons.. a good bunch of boys.


Our youngest son Travis joins the kids for a photo.


The coming storm.. 


And behind me the blue sky is in retreat.


2 of our pear trees - the one on the right is leafing out lushly.


I felt a raindrop so I headed back to the warmth of the farmhouse - this is our 25 foot tall old-fashioned farm lilac - all the good blooms are way up high!



Dayle roasted our big ham in his smoker/grill leaving the oven to me for my "Classic Bistro Style Gratin French Dauphinoise Potatoes" - I had to wing it as I didn't have quite enough potatoes, but we had enough for the dinner and everyone raved about them.  The obligatory traditional family photo before we dig in.  I raised my glass of ice water in a toast to the day and the family.


I sliced into the ham before I remembered to take a photo of our dinner.  I made sure to watch the asparagus closely, it gets done so fast!


Hayden requested a Black Forest Cake.. with marshmallows.  So, Kristi baked 2 round layers of rich chocolate cake from scratch, cut them in half so there were 3 layers, made a whipped cream frosting, added cherry pie filling to the top and sprinkled mini-marshmallows over it all.  :-)  She then got 5 pints of Haagen Dazs "Black Cherry Amaretto" gelato to serve it with.  Oh yum.. num num.  They put a 6 and 7 shaped candles on top, one for each boy.. we were singing Happy Birthday and Caleb blew both candles out in the middle of the song.. so we had to re-light the candles and start over.  LOL!  Fun times!


Lastly we had them open their presents - they got a LOT of Lego sets!  This should be fun!


Our daughter Amy lives in Ohio and she called us to wish us a happy day and she and her husband sent the boys these HUGE trucks and a plane each.  



We had a VERY busy and happy day full of activities and a wonderful dinner, I hope you had a great weekend, too.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

25 comments:

  1. Easter egg hunt looks like a lot of fun! Love your photos.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  2. Now that was a great time Teresa! So much good fun, lovely baskets, sunshine, delicious food and best of all FAMILY! So thoughtful and sweet of your DIL to make baskets for you two, then that was a surprise. Loving all your flowers, colors and aromas in your yard.... I think I can smell them! Hope your week is looking good, take care, xoRobin

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  3. Looks like you had a wonderful Easter, Teresa! How sweet of your daughter-in-law to have baskets for you and Dayle. What a nice surprise for you! Your grandsons must love Legos like mine do. Clayton absolutely loves Legos and building things. Last I knew, come July, he wants to have a Lego themed 8th birthday party. :) As always, your flower pictures are beautiful! I can almost smell the lilacs!!! :D

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  4. How lovely I'm very envious of your painted eggs.
    Lovely family day yesterday then a good 5 mile walk today in beautiful sunshine 19oc/20oc! An unexpected surprise this early in Spring in England! X

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  5. The egg hunt looks like a lot of fun, and you have so many lovely things flowering and coming to life in your garden! Great times! xx

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  6. I'm waging an all-out war on those Star of Bethlehem flowers. Anyone need some?? Mwwaahaha...

    Glad your easter rocked. Fantastic weather yesterday until 5 when the skies opened wide.

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  7. What a great party Teresa, your DIL worked so hard and how sweet to give you and Dayle a basket too. We have one more day off tomorrow then it's back to work! x

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  8. That's quite a cake. Your grounds are so pretty and green. Looks like a good time was had by all.

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  9. What wonderful family time at your home! Looks like the boys (both big and small) enjoyed their time!

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  10. Wow fabulous family fun time and awesome food too xoxo

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  11. You had such a nice Easter celebration! Kristi was so sweet to give you and Dayle a basket, what a nice person she must be. I love seeing all the foods you made. My Easter plate looked just like yours except I made scalloped potatoes with cheddar cheese (too much cheese, next time I'll use a little less). I'm glad you and your family had a good holiday. The boys are all looking so much bigger!

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  12. I can clearly tell that "A Good Time Was Had By All!" What special moments you are sharing and keeping close to your heart.
    Don't blink because those lovely grandsons will be grown in a matter of seconds. Our first one is headed off to college this fall. What happened?
    Thanks for sharing the goodness of your family with all of us.
    Ellen.

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  13. Awww the kids look so happy. I WANT TO RIDE ADIRT BIKE NOW!
    Love your flowers. And I'd love those potatoes.! Mmmmmmm they look so decadent.
    And may I have a piece of cake please?

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  14. What a wonderful Easter day y'all had. Sounds just as good as Christmas with all the presents and baskets, good food, and fun! We had a quiet day, as usual, just us and the dogs. I made our favorite potato salad with ham chunks in it and we were feeling fat and happy after dinner. I'm trying to hold off from buying any new plants until we move. I want some bleeding hearts and some of the other things you have shown us in your yard. I can hardly wait!

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  15. You took wonderful photos of your fun and flowers yesterday, Teresa! Kristi really did plan some great things to help your day be happily memorable for you all, too, and the farm looks so beautiful. [Elisabeth was disgusted yesterday while preparing the ham because she realized she had not purchased the spiral ham she had intended to. I told her you would be happy she got the whole ham because it would taste great and it could be carved in a variety of sizes of slices :) ] [It was delicious!] xx

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  16. You live in such a lovely place Teresa what with all those flowers and pretty green pasture! Glad you all had a great, joy filled day:)
    Blessings, Aimee
    PS: Yummy, yummy looking dinner!

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  17. Certainly looked like a wonderful day with lots of memories made of precious family.

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  18. Lovely post Teresa. I love the Minecraft themed snacks - what a great idea! We're still looking for one easter egg that got hidden for the big hunt, found 23 and the last one is no where to be found!

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  19. What a wonderful day Teresa, and how nice to see everyone outside. Your garden is looking beautiful, I love the lilacs and the elderflower - but my favourite is the apple blossom, wonderful. It will be a little while before we have all of these in bloom here. Your family sounds so lovely, always doing things for each other, thinking of each other, so sweet that they gave you an Easter basket. It really does sound like the perfect day, and it is very well deserved. CJ xx

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  20. mmmm that Lilac smelt beautiful. I'm fascinated with your snack table and the little labels. What is on the plate right hand side second row from the bottom? We call those Kiwi Fruit or Chinese Goosberries. I can't figure out what your sign says ?? Looks like you had a wonderful Easter with your lovely family. Another difference in our customs is that the only things we 'give' at Easter time is Easter Eggs. Is it common practice in the US to give gifts or is that just what your family does? Different cultures are very interesting. Have a good week. xox

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  21. You are so blessed to have such a large family around you. I just love your place and your beautifiu photos.. reminds me so much of my beloved place in Washougal (where I don't live any longer). The lush greens and all of your flowers make me very very homesick for that area. It is truly Heaven on Earth.

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  22. Thank you for sharing your lovely flowers and photos of Easter with the family! What a visual feast!

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  23. Wow, it looks like it was a wonderful day for everyone. Kristi is just the kindest person, love that she got you and Dayle a basket. The boys look thrilled with their baskets and presents.

    Hugs to you,
    Meredith

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  24. Beautiful photos Teresa. It looks as though you all had a wonderful family time - just as we have been :-) Hugs Anne x

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  25. Happy birthday boys! And happy Easter Teresa
    Jillxxx

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