Hope the Easter Bunny Wore it's galoshes!

The bunnies were all sloshin through the roaring water and mud this year as it has been raining for days now. We were blessed to have the hard hitting tornadoes roll on through and past our area but some in southern Arkansas weren't so lucky :(

I know 'doing it up big' for kids is IN and trust me I love seeing pictures of how people go to the extremes with decor and glitz and glamour.. yada yada..  its a hoot. but Jon and I are just not flashy people and simple is just how I try to keep things. I learned the life lesson a looooong time ago that I wasn't the type of person that was ever going to 'keep up with the Jones' so rather than waste my time trying, i just dont! Glad I could share that with you.. lol

ANYWAYZ

No surprise that Kellen was the first one up on Easter morning.

We played and carried on for over an hour until Jaxson finally joined us.

Before bed the night before, I had asked Jax if he was excited for the Easter bunny to visit him with a basket and he said yes.. and that he was sure hoping the Easter bunny would bring him a blue basket with race cars and flames on it.. and I said, 'well, I tell ya what, I'll go in the other room and call the Easter bunny and tell him that you requested this and we'll see what he can do.'

So later on when I went to tuck him into bed, he said 'hey jen, do you think you can call him back and ask him to put some hot wheels in the basket too.'   (lol)

Knowing that I hadn't gotten any hotwheels for his basket I said, 'well, I'll try to call him back, but I bet the line will be busy. He's a busy bunny the night before Easter and has to take lots of calls.'    (haha)

He seemed ok with that answer...

Jaxson was pleased with his gifts from the Easter bunny.. It was pretty cool that I had bought the basket prior to him asking for one just like it. (i'm a cool jen like that. )

Blue bat, new blue cup, blue gum, and some fun dip! And Kellen could have cared less what was in his basket so he got 2 new sets of pajamas.

Kellen's big boy Easter dudds his Gramma got him. Complete with patent leather shoes!

(disclaimer: these aren't meant to be or look like studio pictures. Just fun snap shots for scrapbooks as most indoor pictures are.. thanks)

This year we improvised on the egg hunt due to the massive rain... they had just as many eggs, just as much candy and just as much fun with an indoor hunt.

(also another first for Kellen. His first egg hunt on Easter.)

and he found the first egg!

 Reaching high and low to find all the eggs.... and below I think Kellen is overseeing what they're doing.. ha

This picture captures it EGGSACTLY ! Jaxson is EGGstatic that he was able to find a basket full of eggs, Caden's concern is that he loads up his wallet with more money money money, Reece is ALLL about the candy, and Kellen.. well, he is thrilled that the boys have something to occupy their time long enough for him to snatch one of their wii remotes out of the play room!

 Reece sang his entire song for his upcoming preschool graduation ceremony.. lets see, he loves musical instruments and can sing great.. He might just be famous some day, look out!

 and its not a cousin get together without a picture of the FIVE...

 Later Kellen and I went over to my parents while Jon had to take Jaxson back to his moms.. Uncle Bub teasing Kellen about being a little bird while eating his snacks! ha

 Lily loves her Mimi.. sweet sweet

 Kellen was all about Pops. My dad was helping him open an egg to see what was in it.

Happy Easter!

We read over John chapter 20 in Sunday School class this morning also.. Discussed how Mary M. was the first person to see Jesus after the resurrection... I will have to read this again for myself soon so that I am versed in knowing the story so I can teach the true meaning of Easter to my kiddos.

Branson Family Fun

BRANSON

Despite the weather reports we hiked it on the happy trail to Branson this past weekend. Some were on a mission for the rides at Silver Dollar City, others were ready to get their SHOP on at Tanger, and a few were stoked for any excuse to eat at Cantina Laredo at the Landing.

I will admit to all the above.

Kellen and cousin Brody both went on their first RIDE at SDC.

K had his 'serious' expression on the entire time but when we were leaving the ride he was pointing to go back so that means he liked it.

The older the other 3 get the more into rides they are and the more daring they are getting. We are looking forward to taking them all to amusement parks over the next several years.

For the most part Kellen was too little, but he seemed to enjoy watching the others ride.. He would hoop and holler and yell 'whoa' and clap and laugh as he watched. Unfortunately Gramma didn't feel well the entire trip.. she was a good sport though. especially since Kellen decided it was a Gramma kind of day and insisted that she carry him for most of the time.

I think Brody hopped in hoping Kellen was driving the get away car. ha

(serious face)  

Jaxson had a blast with his cousins as always. The Powder keg was closed but we road the others. He loved The Flooded Mine and kept asking what it was called again.. that means he was trying hard to remember , which in Jaxsonville means he was impressed :)

After dinner it was off to The Track for some go-cart racing. The weather held out all day but was starting to brew that evening, but we finally tracked down one that was still open.. I opted to stay with the 2 squirts so the others could have fun on the go-carts. I got some not so cool pics from the nikon 'coolpix' of everyone racing.. just not the day to bring along the big camera.. They all had a BLAST. Uncle Chris and Reece tried to pass Aunt Dana and Caden and she wasn't having it, so she crashed em. ha

Meanwhile Brody, Kellen and I were having a little stroller party of our own!

:)

The next day it rained, we shopped and it rained some more.

Lunch was at the HardLuck Cafe, which was a hoot. Our waitress sang like

Tay Tay Swift and the best was when the 70 year old fry cook came out, dawning his black apron and black jeans and tee and sang Cash..

awesome

On the way home, Jon and I stopped to fill up and in traditional fashion I went in and got us some scratch offs. Jax scratched off 2 winning tickets (to anyone wondering, YES the color of the tickets were BLUE).

Branson family fun!

Egg hunting at the Flynts

Foundations Easter Egg Hunt at the Flynts

Our Sunday school class had our Easter egg hunt this year at the Flynts house. A great home with an awesome play area outside for kids and huge back yard to play hide and seek with tons of eggs!

and it just so happens that this was Kellen's FIRST easter egg hunt.

Jon showed him to pick the eggs up and place them in the basket.. so he did, and then he'd take them back out and put them on the ground or in other kids baskets.. ha. I think he enjoyed himself :)

Lots of kids, lots of eggs and LOTS of candy!

...She said YES!

Ziplining the Cierra Madre Mountains...1,000 feet in the air. wind in my face,rush rush. I was loving it!.. but let me back track a little and explain how I got to this point.

It was 2008 and Jon and I had just gotten home from a white water rafting trip to the Ocoee River. So cold yet so fun. We stayed at this secluded 3 level log cabin in the hills of Blue Ridge, GA.

Managed to see some sights in Nashville as well and took a ride on the General Jackson while there.

We had talked for several months about going to Mexico and had checked out almost all destinations and read review after review. Jon had talked to our friend Randall about his trip there and gotten all the tips for Puerto Vallarta.

So a couple days home from our trip to GA he is setting at the computer and says something along the lines of 'hey, you want to go to PV this next weekend?'   and being the fly by the seat of my pants type I of course replied with 'sure'.

Nuevo Vallarta and Puerto Vallarta here we come!!

Marriage talk and talk of 'the proposal' had come up previous to going on this trip, yes..

We had been 'ring looking' together a few times and knowing Jon I knew he would

do something grand when he popped the question, so in the very back corner of my mind I wondered if this could be the trip.. but in conversation on the plane ride there he convincingly told me he wished he was proposing on this trip but that it just didnt work out that way and he was sorry.

So that was that and we were headed to mexico for the first time with nothing but some advice on where to go and what to eat and a great time awaiting us.

 We taxi'd to down town Puerta Vallarta and walked through the city taking in the sites. A top a pretty steep hill tucked away behind some city streets and homes was a really elegant little restaurant , Barcelona Tapas. Our dining experience was phenomenal. The food was great and the pitcher of sangria was even better. Setting on the balcony overlooking this city was awesome.

We left dinner laughing and walked through the city some more. Went through a jewelry store where I purposely went past the engagement ring section.. ha

Jon looked across the street and was like lets go check out that church.

It was a pretty prestigous looking church with steps leading up to it. As we walked up the steps to the church my shoe fell off and I had to go back down and get it. Jon kept on walking up. What I didn't know was a few days prior to our leaving for this trip Jon had gone to my parents house and sat them both down and asked for their blessing to marry me...He had also bought a beautiful ring at Blakeman's and had kept it hidden in the one place he knew I wouldnt find it. (in a cooking bowl in the top shelf of the kitchen, lol) When I finally wrestled my shoe on and made it up the stairs, turned the corner and there he was, down on one knee with a ring box in hand.  

My heart was beating so loud that I never even really heard all that he said, and his was beating so loud that he doesn't remember.. Regardless, it was an unforgettable moment in both our lives that wont ever be topped.

WE'RE ENGAGED!

The place...

The ring...

The fiance...

We took a Catarman to the island of A Las Caletas the next night for dinner and a live show, both of which were incredible.

The play was a portrayal of hunters and their kill. It was beautiful at times and morbid at others. strange mix but great performance.

The dinner was ocean side and romantic.

... and the next day leads me back to the tequila tour, Jon's taming the enormous snakes, and ziplining. 

Ziplining was awesome. Not only was it a rush to be up that high in the mountains but also a rush to realize I was engaged and about to open a new chapter in my life filled with new experiences and great memories... and fast forward to now, 2011.. married 2 years now and have a precious son that captivates my heart.
Life is good.