Easter Egg Hunt 2008

Sorry for the absence of new blogs in the past week. We've had some technical difficulties with the computer I usually blog from at work...so hopefully I'm back up and running now.

Sean e-mailed me some pictures this morning from the Easter egg hunt at the Lyon home on Good Friday. Check 'em out...




Check out more of the photos from "Easter Egg Hunt 2008" on Sean's website!

Oh, Brother...

If my muscles could scream, they would have done so this morning.

My brother decided he wanted to go for a "little run" yesterday morning. Like an idiot, I offered to go with him.

He's a Citadel Cadet.

I hate running, but I thought it would be fun for the two of us to run to the Dairy Barn and explore the Anne Springs Close Greenway that begins about a half-mile from my house. Bryn was trying to be nice and run at my pace...but I could tell he was itching to run faster than my short little legs could carry me. The freezing air in my lungs wasn't helping my pace, either. I gave Bryn directions to the Dairy Barn and told him I'd be right behind him.

Yeah, right. Evidently attending the Citadel has turned my brother into a gazelle.

We decided that walking through the Greenway would be much more enjoyable than running, so we walked and talked, enjoying the view along the way. We petted horses (and fed them long, green grass from our side of the fence), witnessed a crazy donkey attempting to kick a pregnant goat, saw a cute baby goat that couldn't have been more than a week old, and hiked through old Catawba Native land. Altogether, we spent two hours hiking about 5 miles.

Bryn and I got into a conversation about life at the Citadel...and I really enjoyed listening to funny stories about what he and his classmates do for fun. More than listening to his stories, I loved hearing him talk about leading by example and being the best Knob he can possibly be. He wants to be someone that everyone can depend on. He's a hard-worker and lives by the Citadel's honor code. He truly understands what it means to be a leader - and I'm so proud of him. Our little outdoor adventure made my day :)

Hey, Bryn - next time I see you, maybe I'll be able to run as fast as a gazelle (or at least as fast as Hobbes when he darts up the stairs). I love you!

Hoppy Easter!

"Happy friggin' Easter! Now leave me alone..."


Happy Easter, everyone!

Easter Egg Hunt

The Easter egg hunt at Sean and Tonia's this morning was lots of fun! Here were some of the highlights:

• When I told Sam we were going to Cooper's for an Easter egg hunt today, he said, "Yay! Cooper has a wonderful back yard for hiding Easter eggs!" Yes, he really does.
• In an effort to get the kids out of the yard long enough to hide the eggs, Tonia gave them some old bread to feed to the geese and catfish in the lake. I looked over to see Sam eating the bread - not throwing it. "Why are you eating the bread, Sam?" Cooper asked. Sam just looked confused. I don't think he understood that he was supposed to throw it into the water.
• Tonia made yummy banana bread and chocolate chip scones for snack! Sean made his famous "Mexican Mocha" coffee for everyone to enjoy. Mmmmm!
• When the Easter egg hunt began, I showed Toby that he was supposed to pick up the eggs and put them into his basket. He totally understood and began waddling around the yard, picked up every bright object he saw, and put it into his basket. After dropping each egg into his basket he would look up at me, grin from ear to ear, clap for himself, and continue on in search of the next egg. When there were no more eggs to be found, Toby took the eggs out of his basket, dropped them on the ground, picked them up, and put them back in his basket. This continued until I put his basket out of reach.
• Sean and Tyler took photos and shot video of the entire day. I can't wait to see them!

Thanks for inviting us over, Lyons. The boys and I had a great time!

"Even When You Don't Wear Makeup"

I took the boys to Target today to get some goodies to make for Cooper's Easter egg hunt tomorrow. We got to the register and put our groceries on the counter. My keys fell out of my purse and I asked Sam to hand them to me. This is the conversation that followed:

Sam: I was lookin' at your keys 'cause they're pretty, Mrs. Allison.
Me: Thank you.
Sam: You're pretty, too, Mrs. Allison.
Me: Awww. Thank you, Sam.
Sam: You're pretty when you wear makeup...and you're pretty even when you don't wear makeup.

Already a charmer at the age of four. I'm not sure if Sam was telling the truth, but it doesn't matter. He made me feel good. I think he's been taking lessons from my husband :)

Family and Friends

This weekend is going to be tons of fun! Not only is Easter the best holiday EVER, but my family is coming to Charlotte to celebrate with us. My parents and brother should arrive at our house on Saturday morning and they'll stay until Tuesday afternoon.

I love that my family will be at Elevation for Easter. They've been to Elevation four times before, but I have a feeling the Easter service on Sunday will blow the socks off of any other service they've attended. I can't wait!

Our college friend, Orte, is also coming (from New York!) to stay with us for a week. He should arrive Friday afternoon and he'll stay until the following Friday. Orte and Aaron are leaving sometime on Sunday to go backpacking in the foothills until Wednesday. It'll be good "guy time" for them :)

Now that Aaron and I have living room and bedroom furniture, our house feels more like a home. Our furniture is gorgeous (I promise to post pictures as soon as we get everything situated for my family to visit this weekend) and it looks better in our house than I could have ever imagined. Our goal for this week (deadline: FRIDAY) is to set up the guest rooms so my parents will have a place to sleep. One room is pretty much done. The other one still needs some work.

I'll post pictures soon.

Hooray for Wonderful Friends!

Even though they would never want the recognition, I just wanted to take a moment to thank 2 of our best friends in the whole world: Tonia Bendickson and Sean Lyon.

Aaron and I met Sean and Tonia at Elevation almost 2 years ago. Sean and I became instant friends because of our common love for photography (I won't lie...I was extremely jealous of his insane skills with a camera). When I fell in love with their brilliant son Cooper, Tonia and I got to know each other better. It wasn't long before I was babysitting Cooper and Aaron was helping Sean put wood floors into their new house. The more time Aaron and I spent with the Lyon family, the deeper our friendships became. Sean helped us paint our new house. Aaron and I were at the hospital visiting Tonia and Asher 12 hours after he was born. Sean and Tonia have given me the "Right of First Refusal" when it comes to watching their children. Sean and I help each other with photo shoots. Aaron and Sean can talk for hours about nothing and everything.

Aaron and I don't have family here in Charlotte, but we feel like Sean and Tonia are our family away from our families. They take care of us. We help each other out. We keep up with what's going on in each other's lives.

This past weekend, Sean and Tonia saved us $1000 by giving us their old washer and dryer. They needed to buy a larger set so Tonia wouldn't be doing 7 loads of laundry a day...and Aaron and I needed a set so we could stop paying to do our laundry. On top of the gift of a washer and dryer, Sean and Tonia brought back a gift certificate for Aaron and me to a Bed and Breakfast in Blowing Rock, NC. I told Tonia she wasn't allowed to pay me for watching Cooper while they were away last week, so she cheated and brought back a gift certificate. Aaron and I don't deserve such wonderful friends...but we're so glad God has blessed us with them.

We love you Tonia, Sean, Ciara, Cooper, and Asher! Aaron and I pray that we'll be able to share a lifetime of friendship with you! Thanks for everything. You're the most generous and genuine people we know.