Spring Break 2010

(Apologies to all who just looked at these pictures on facebook. But I have more commentary on them here!)

Saturday we headed to the suburbs to Chuck and Rome's. We ordered pizza and spent the evening watching DVDs of Castle and filling eggs for the Easter egg hunt in the morning.

On Easter day, we woke up to bright sunshine and warm temperatures. Almost unheard of on Easter in our area. No need for coats, gloves, or snowboots!

Our family--Easter 2010:


Elaine in her Bowture hat and with the Avery clip...


There are four services on Sunday morning to choose from--6:30, 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00. The 6:30 one is great because the church has been draped in black and symbolically locked since Good Friday night (obviously not really locked since people have to get in to decorate for Easter!) At the sunrise service on Easter morning, the congregation gathers on the steps and pounds on the front door. The minister is inside the door and asks them, "Whom do you seek?" Congregation responds: "Jesus of Nazareth," and the minister replies, "He is not here; He has risen!" Then the doors open, and everyone streams in, singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today."

We chose the 9:30 service though, and Darren took a picture of the church with the black banners removed and the Easter colors in place. (It's from across the street so you can't see it that well.) To the right, you can see Blanchard Hall in the background.


Here are the girls and I in front of the church before the service started...


The whole sanctuary is banked with spring flowers and Easter lilies and gold banners. We got to sing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," "I Know that My Redeemer Lives," and, at the end, "In Christ Alone." We also got to hear the choir sing "Alleluia" from Christ on the Mount of Olives (Beethoven) and "Hallelujah" (Handel).

After the service, we headed back for brunch and the Easter egg hunt. Tio (Chuck) and Darren and my dad had hidden the eggs and candy. Rome's cousins came with their daughter, Isabelle, who is 2, and the little girl next door, Amber, who is 8, joined in too. Tio had also put dollar bills in some of the eggs. We had filled so many, and the guys had hidden things pretty well, so the hunt took a good amount of time.

The girls gathered for a picture with all their candy in the garden shed at the end. On the way home, all we could hear was the munching of chocolate.


Later the same day, we headed up to Door County for Spring break. We were pleasantly surprised because Sunday was warm up there when we arrived, and Monday was even more beautiful. No need for a jacket in early April? Unheard of! We hit Peninsula State Park right away, and Darren promised that the first person who spotted a deer or a turkey would get to pick the next activity. Elaine leaned out her window and announced, "I'm looking for gorillas, OK, Dad?"

We parked at the tower and started hiking the trail there. Here are a few pics...


This is one of my favorites...


And a nice family picture (I won't say how many tries this took)...


After Monday though, the weather took a nosedive. For two days, it was cold and rainy. I had brought a bunch of games and books for the girls, but it was still hard to keep them quiet and occupied indoors all the time. One day we even headed 40 minutes away to the nearest Target to get them each a toy. I think I might have been a little depressed or something because the only thing I felt like doing at all was sleeping and reading. On the up side, I finished three books so I'll have a new Library Day post coming soon.

On Thursday morning we woke up to Lucy telling us, "There's no electricity in here any more." Sure enough, it had snowed three inches, the electricity, heat, and water were no more. Time to pack up and head home early.

"We could have gone to Tennessee for Spring break," Darren said on the way back.

"Yeah, I think the key in Spring is heading South instead of North," I answered. Go figure.

So, now we're home a day early, and that's not a bad thing. At least there's no snow here!