Happy Easter Sunday...

from the Weite Crew!!

What a beautiful weekend we have had...

Beautiful weather.

Beautiful run.

Beatiful family.

Beautiful service. 

Beautiful life.

Here's to expressing gratitude with grace & never forgetting everything you've been blessed with. After this morning's service, which was amazing, I'm continuing forward with more attention to how I'm spending each and every one of my remaining "pennies." You never know how many more you have to drop in the bucket....

Happy Easter! Much love on this glorious Sunday & always....

Easter on wheels....

The kiddos and I headed down to St. Louis for a little impromptu visit with my Grandma Jean (Dad's mom) who's facing a battle of her own. We were gone for about 39 hours, 12 of which were spent in the mini, cruising down the highway. Despite the short visit, we were able to get a lot of quality time in with everyone...and, as usual, it went by waaaay tooooo quickly. (pictures hopefully coming from Aunt Calie soon...I TOTALLY forgot  my camera!!! Can you believe it?!?!)

We made it home around noon on Easter Sunday....the kiddos hopped out of the car and headed straight for the Easter packages from all the out of town grandparents. Packages that had been sitting, waiting patiently to be opened by those little hands for at least two weeks. (I told you the trip wasn't planned...originally we weren't going to travel on Easter weekend.)

Finally!

Goody time!

I couldn't get this girl to look up...that cute bunny cup was just too exciting!

Excited about her ears...

A quick Easter ears pic!!! Can you believe we DID NOT get a picture with the Easter Bunny this year. The week got away from me and, with the last minute travel idea, I TOTALLY spaced it off!!! So, this little bunny ear pic will just have to do!!! 

After catching up on hugs and kisses with Daddy...we all headed over to Jason's parents to enjoy a little egg hunting and Easter dinner! 

I think it's safe to say that they had a ball....

First egg for Trey-Man!

Ty spotted hers...

Tay didn't let many eggs slip by...

Adding more to that basket....I can't believe how big she's getting. And, look...she has enough hair that it's blowing in the air...sorta!!! 

Trey's peace action!!

Getting a final count...

Making sure she didn't miss any...

The Big Cheese!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Me and my Munchkins!!! 

The best family shot we were able to get!!!! 

What a beautiful day!!! How blessed we were to get the chance to see everyone on Easter weekend! It wasn't a big chunk of time, but at least it was some face time and hugs all around!!! Those moments are just a special as all the others....Love you ALL!!!!

Happy Easter From the Weites!!!!

Easter

created the perfect opportunity for us to hit our first Iowa Cubs baseball game of the season and get together with a few of Jason's family members for a little egg-hunting and visiting.

Easter morning started out with a little visit from the Easter Bunny, where the kids got a few goodies and we got to give out at least a hundred hugs and kisses and tell our three just how much we love them. It's funny because the kids were able to open a couple Easter packages that had been sitting around for days just waiting for them. They were so caught up in checking those out that they didn't discover the Easter Bunny's gifts until a half-hour or so later. Thanks Grandma Cindy, PaPa Steve, Grampy, and Mi-Mi for sending wishes from back in St. Louis. The kids all loved it all!!!

After hanging out around the house for a while, we headed down to Principal Park in downtown Des Moines and got all sun-screened up for the Iowa Cubs vs. the RoundRock Express action. The weather was fantastic and the timing of the day game allowed us to stay until the 7th before we headed off to Grandma Marcia and Grandpa Ken's house for Easter dinner.....

Ty IMMEDIATELY found Cubby Bear. She definitely HEARTS him....

Look who else we ran into???

Ty having fun getting autographs.....

Family shot....HAPPY EASTER!!!!

After the game, it was off to a little Easter egg hunt. Whenever we are in town for the holiday, the hunt at Grandma Marcia's is where the kids enjoy spending their time. This year was no different and they quickly filled their baskets....

Tay got a chance to actually hunt this year...with a little help, of course!

She had more fun shaking the eggs and taking them in and out of her basket....

Miss Ty was all smiles and had a blast hunting....

LOVE this one....posing away!!! So happy....

The Easter Bunny even hid them up high....

Jackpot!!! Trey man...you are getting so big!!! Hope there are a lot more Easter egg hunts still left in you....

Checking out their loot....

After the egg hunt there was still a little fun planned. Jason's sister, Lyn, sent an egg-shaped pinata for the kids and they had a blast hitting away. The big kids, Damen and Caden, even had a pitch in and give the thing a whack!!! Thanks for the laughter and goodies, Aunt Lyn!!!

Youngest goes first, of course ;)

Whackin' away....

Caden's turn....

Grabbin' all the goods....

Trey's arms were officially filled....

What a nice little Easter 2012 we had.....so blessed!

The Easter Bunny....

was rather friendly this go round and managed to keep Taylen from falling into a screaming tizzy. Which, is what I totally thought was going to happen as I gently set her down in his lap. She scrunched that cute little face, squeezed those eyes, and started grunting as she reached for me. I walked away and stood by the camera man as he shook the bells and I snapped away. Her fear kind of dwindled and pure shock sort of seemed to set in. She spent the rest of her minutes on Mr. Easter Bunny's (or Mrs. Easter Bunny as Ty calls it) just staring into space.
The other two cooperated as they settled comfortably into that fuzzy, white fur. Ty gave him her fair share of high-fives and had been looking forward to this little visit for at least the past ten days!!! Trey whispered into those big, old ears just how excited he was to start playing baseball this spring with his buddies from the neighborhood and school. I'm totally loving the different stages they are all in right now.

I'm definitely hoping I can squeeze a few more years of Easter Bunny pictures into our collection from years past. It's always fun looking back and seeing the changes each one of them have undergone in the past 365 days. And, I know that one day all my little munchkins will be too "cool" to sit on the lap of anything...including their Momma. Until then, I'll continue to live in the present and enjoy all the little things about each and every moment!!!

So, thank you, Mr. (or Mrs.) Easter Bunny....I definitely think we can chalk this up as a successful visit....

Happy Easter from The Weite Kiddos.....2012

Happy Easter!!!

What a FABULOUS day...Our 1st Easter together as a family of FIVE!! I know I've been all about the family of five thing lately, but I truly cannot believe Jason and I now have three children. Our family is now complete and we enjoyed celebrating Easter 2011 with Jason's family over in Bloomfield, Iowa, where his sister, Lori, lives. There is about 12 years difference between her kids and ours, but Trey and Tylee still LOVE spending time with their cousins when they get the chance. Damen and Caden both are in high school and are super busy, but when we do get a chance to get together, our kids get pumped, and I mean PUMPED! Trey and Ty love hanging out with them, following them around, and doing whatever they do. They just don't get enough of those moments, so they took full advantage today!!!

Marcia and Lori cooked up a yummy dinner, including everyone's favorites. (My cooking isn't even in the same ballpark as those two, so I don't think there's ever been a time that I've brought something to our family dinners...at least nothing I've made from scratch....but, then again, I've never claimed to be a good cook!!)

After dinner, the kids headed out for an Easter egg hunt....SO.MUCH. FUN.

We wrapped up the evening with a lot of playing, visiting, and even some snoozing for those that needed a nap.

As usual, I waaaaaay over did it with the whole picture thing. But, I just had a heck of time narrowing it down to a few favorites!! Go figure, huh?!?!

Our family pic as we headed off to Bloomfield...it was definitely SUNNY! Yay!!

My two bucket heads ready to hit the yard for the big Easter egg hunt!!!

Trey and Ty with Aunt Lori....

Ty showing off what she found...it was a pink one!

Looking for more eggs! Jason and I totally think this picture and the one before it are straight out of Alice in Wonderland...so cute!!!

Trey J....Getting so big...I can't believe he'll be five in less than a month!!!

Daddy and Taylen watching everyone hunt a few eggs!!! Did I mention that the weather was BEAUTIFUL?!?!

Taylen with Mommy & Daddy on her first Easter.....

Trey scoping it all out and making sure he found them all...even though we later discovered we were two eggs short. The lawn man will have a nice surprise sometime soon!!!

Ty picking up the orange one...looking sooooo cute in her Fancy Nancy dress!! A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!

Ty still looking so stinkin' cute!!!!

Trey J too!!! So handsome!!!

One more from Miss Ty....You are one beautiful girl, and definitely a princess!!!

Had to capture this shot of her....checking out Trey and watching him finish grabbing the rest of the eggs!

I'd say they scored big time!! Thanks Grandma Marcia for filling all those eggs and making the hunt possible!!

Ty emptying her eggs....and eating every other piece of candy she found!! Good thing we ate dinner before the hunt!!!

Ty and Aunt Lori being silly with the bunny masks....

And, Miss Taylen with her FIRST smile!!! Awwww....pretty baby! Happy Easter, Cutie!!!

Gnawing on that hand...tastes soooo good!!!

Thanks, Lori & Doug, for having us over to celebrate Easter with you guys!! It truly was a perfect day...It was nice seeing grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and cousins...the kids loved everything and we enjoyed spending time with family!!!

To all of those we didn't get to see...thanks for sending cards, goodies, Easter messages, and phone calls to the kiddos. They truly are blessed to have such a wonderful and caring family. We may not have been able to spend the day with you in person, but we were definitely thinking about each and EVERYONE of you!!! Happy, Happy Easter and know we are sending Lots of Love and Hugs!!!