Easter weekend, part 2

(In case it's not obvious from the title, there are more pictures in the previous entry.)

OK, before we get going with the pictures for Part 2, I have a few videos to share. They weren't working for me yesterday when I was writing the last entry, but I figured out the issue, so they should be fine. They relate to the pics in the last entry, but rather than edit it, I'll just add them here. There are 4 videos, but the longest one is only about a minute and a half.

These first 2 show Ari opening her Easter basket from Tony's mom. You can see the outfit on the couch next to her, though you can't tell what it is--it's purple shorts with a flowered shirt.


/>Ariana 4-11-09-1 from Sariana on Vimeo.

In this video, I got her to talk to Grammy and Uncle Chris.


/>Ariana 4-11-09-2 from Sariana on Vimeo.

These last 2 are from when we colored Easter eggs.


/>Ariana 4-11-09-3 from Sariana on Vimeo.

I feel like I should title this video "A little bit longer."


/>Ariana 4-11-09-4 from Sariana on Vimeo.

All right... on with the pictures.

Immediately after the church service, they had an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids outside. You can see it was a nice, sunny day... but it was chilly. That didn't stop the kids, though. I missed most of the hunt since I was busy inside, wrapping things up after the service, but I did manage to sneak out and get a couple quick pictures of Ari, who was almost done by the time I got there.

I asked her to show me her eggs...



And I got to see her find one, too. She looks so serious, huh? She was really just squinting in the sun.



I was hoping for a nice close-up shot of her and her egg here, but she was much too intent on opening it to pay any attention to me.



Then we went back inside to finish cleaning up and such. Because we rent the building we have church in, instead of owning it, we have to set up and tear down every week. We're always among the last to leave the building. But Ari has no problem keeping herself entertained while she waits on us. Here, she was dancing her little heart out on the now-empty stage.



The church service went well. I was battling a nasty cold most of last week, and I was actually starting to feel better... until Saturday night, when I swear I could literally feel it migrating from my head to my throat/chest. By late Saturday night, I was all croaky and froggish, and when I woke up Sunday morning, I could barely talk. When we got to church, my first few tries at singing were pretty miserable. I started to panic a little, because I had to sing a lot during the service, including several solo bits, but as I sang more, it got a little better. We made a couple amendments to a couple songs as well--for example, there was one song where I was supposed to sing the first verse alone, but Kerry joined me just in case my voice gave out. Of course, I am my own worst critic, so I was cringing through every song, but several people reassured me I did a good job, so either I did, or they're just being nice. Either way, there were no gigantic "oops"--no cracking or complete voice loss--so that's something.

The skit (that I wrote the script for) went really well, too. They even built a set for it too--one that can easily be reused with future drama presentations. I was really pleased with how it all came together--it was just how I pictured it, and even better. And it seemed like people really enjoyed it, too, which is always a plus.

So it was a good service. Lots of people in attendance, some visitors, some people we haven't seen in ages, and overall a really good spirit. But with all that said... I'm so glad it's over. These "special" Sundays exhaust me, and I usually don't really realize it until it's all over and I remember what it's like to breathe normally again.

Anyway... back to the pictures.

After a quick stop at home to let the dogs out, grab the dessert I'd made (those killer chocolate chip cookie dough brownies), and throw together a quick basket of laundry (hey, can't pass up a chance to do free laundry, right?), we headed down to my parents' house for Easter dinner. Mom was ready and waiting to give Ari her Easter "basket"... which turned out to be 2 gift bags full of stuff.

This picture cracks me up, because this is a common response when I ask her to pose--some kind of weird stare.



This little bear-dressed-as-a-bunny was probably Ari's favorite thing out of the gift bags... well, besides the candy, I'm sure.



My mom set up an Easter egg hunt for Ari in the family room, which I thought was such a sweet idea. Ari only got about 4 eggs from the church Easter egg hunt--which she was fine with, of course, because she doesn't know any better. But I think she really loved having all these eggs to herself. (Also, that horse in the background was my little brother's when he was little. Still in good shape, and Ari loves it.)



You can't quite tell in this picture, but the eggs were all shaped like animals or animal heads. Mom bought them as a set--they were called "Noah's Ark" eggs or something like that, because they all came in pairs. And they were pre-filled with candy, too. How cool is that?



Dave and Jess were there, too, along with Micah, of course. Ari just adores him, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.



See? He's pulling her hair out of love, I swear.



Ari gave him a nice hug goodbye before they left.



Another awesome father-daughter picture. Tony was tickling her... and I love the way she's biting her lower lip as she giggles.



Our last pictures of the day were an attempt at a nice family portrait... which I figured was a long shot, but was worth a try. This one kills me... this really should be the one I print and frame. Get a load of Little Miss Attitude.



We made a couple more attempts... this one is OK. I don't like the way I'm smiling, but Tony and Ari look good.



And yeh. I don't know what's going on with Ari's face, or with my hair. Oh well. We tried.



But I will end with this. This is one of my absolute favorite shots of the entire day... maybe ever.