Easter Weekend

Hello, Friends!

Today was Easter, and it was a great day. The week has been very busy! On Wednesday afternoon we picked Kayla up to come spend the weekend. 

The Girls Enjoy Time Together

On Thursday I started my deep-cleaning of the house. We started with the upstairs bathroom and master bedroom. We scrubbed and washed and swept and dusted. We washed curtains and shampooed carpets. It was exhausting, but the results were totally worth it.

On Thursday evening our family gained a new friend...a small tadpole that we named Buddy. The tadpole is part of our study of the Mississippi River. I ordered our tadpole friend from Nature Gifts online. It is a leopard frog tadpole, and he is adorable and enjoys swimming around in his aquarium. He likes to sit facing the corner and watching our every move.

"Buddy" - Our Leopard Frog Tadpole

On Friday afternoon we took a break and went to Antioch Park in Miriam, KS for a picnic. The weather was beautiful. We had our picnic near the water where we got to watch some Canada geese and a mallard duck. After lunch came playground time. In addition to a traditional playground the park has a miniature Dodge City. 

Kayla Enjoying the Sunshine

Kayla and I at the Park

Mallard Duck at Antioch Park

After we got home from the park we started cleaning again with a deep clean of the upstairs hallway and stairs. Our bannister paint had chipped badly and was looking pretty bad. The girls and I scraped the old paint off it and took it down to sand it. Once we were done it was so smooth and looks so much better.

Kayla and Alysia Assist with Removing the Bannister

Friday night we went to the Good Friday service at church. There was a short service followed by a cantata. It was a beautiful service.

Alysia and Kayla at Church

Saturday we deep-cleaned the girl's bedroom and that completed the deep-cleaning of the upstairs. Whoo-hoo!

When that was done we did a general cleanup of the downstairs and the yard to prepare for Easter. We have more deep-cleaning to do this week, but that will have to be paused for now. 

After we were done cleaning we started cooking to prepare for Easter lunch. Once most of the prep was done we dyed Easter eggs. It was Kayla's first time of dyeing eggs, and she loved it!

Kayla Enjoying Dying Eggs

Kayla and Her Easter Eggs

This morning we attended the Easter morning service at church. After we got home we put the finishing touches on dinner:

• Glazed Ham
• Parsley Potatoes
• Green Bean Bundles
• Deviled Eggs
• Hot Rolls
• Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cake

The weather was beautiful, so we decided to decorate the gazebo and enjoy the spring air.

Easter Gazebo

Easter Decorations

Kayla Enjoys Her Easter Eggs

Mother-in-law (Lisa), Izzy (Sister-in-law) and Chris (Izzy's Fiance) Joined Us For Easter

After lunch and dessert we played a couple of games. In the evening they headed home and I decided to catch up with you.

In the meantime, just to keep you updated (and to keep accountability on trying to accomplish something this year), here is my updated to-do list. I've made some progress.

• Make to-do list
• Plan garden plot
• Order garden seeds
• Balance checkbook
• Create Hannibal vacation plan
• Create budget
• Update spring cleaning list
• Make Easter plans
• Plan Easter menu
• Order key rings for project
• Adjust bobbin winder on sewing machine
• Complete mending
• Finish unicorn cross-stitch project for Alysia
• School planning
• Purchase house project supplies
• Fix rain barrel
• Set up lunch/dinner plans with a few friends
• Take care of business paperwork
• Re-paint kitchen table top
• Order 4th grade art supplies
• Organize scrapbook totes
• Practice piano
• Complete Master Class chef lessons
• Check into Ebaying some items
• Deep-clean master bedroom
• Deep-clean hallway/stairs
• Touch up paint
• Scrape handrail
• Deep-clean upstairs bathroom
• Re-caulk bathtub
• Deep-clean girl's room
• Deep-clean livingroom
• Deep-clean kitchen
• Deep-clean hallway
• Deep-clean downstairs bathroom
• Paint bathroom accent wall
• Replace faucet
• Deep-clean office/laundry room
• Sweep outside - porches, steps, carport, gazebo, picnic table pad
• Power-wash porches
• Clear bushes/trees across driveway
• Clean yard
• Till garden and add compost
• Plant garden
• Plant herbs
• Plant flowers
• Straighten grape arbor
• Cover window wells
• Clean garage
• Clean basement
• Clean up woodpile
• Burn trash wood by garage (Yay! Wienie roasts!)
• Replace rotten landscaping timbers by steps
• Crochet hat for Aaron
• Complete Christmas projects in process for next Christmas
• Refloor livingroom
• Refloor hallway
• Refloor office/laundryroom
• Paint porches
• Paint garage doors
• Paint sewing machine cabinet
• Paint eaves
• Clean/repair gutters
• Fix chimney
• Fix Fences

Well...that's all for today. Have a good week, and I'll check in again soon!

Amanda