Waiting for Spring and Easter Weekend

My friend Callie took a trip from Utah to visit the East Coast last week.  We got to spend a few days with her while she was here, which we mostly spent eating tons of greasy Southern food at various restaurants and fast food establishments (so nice to have an excuse to indulge in a calorie fest!).  

This is Kaden and me with her at Pullen Park on the ONLY day we had sunshine.  This Spring has been CRAZY here in North Carolina.  We usually have such beautiful weather in March, and it just hasn't happened this year.  It's been pretty cold and rainy, which means we've been going stir crazy.  Kaden was SO brave and decided he wanted to ride the train AND the boats while we were there (last time we tried it was a no-go).  I was so proud of him!  He LOVED the train ride.

Since Callie left, he has walked around the house saying, "I want my friend," which is how he referred to her the entire time she was here, even though I kept reminding him her name was Miss Callie.  

We headed to Kinston for Easter weekend.  We had shot a wedding in Kinston the weekend before Easter, so we almost decided to stay in Raleigh, rather than making a return visit.  Thinking about missing out on an Easter Sunday feast with the Reese clan was too traumatic, however, and I convinced Chad we should wear out our welcome by going two weekends in a row.  Because seriously, let's face it.  If left to our own devices, we would have eaten something lame like microwavable chimichangas instead of ham and deviled eggs.  

On Saturday, Kaden went to an Easter egg hunt at Cutter Creek.  I was a little worried about taking him, since it started right when he should have been going down for a nap.  He was super cranky, but he made it through.  We opted to skip the games and rush him home for a rest afterwards.  There weren't very many kids there, so he ended up with quite the haul!

On Saturday night, Gigi and Poppy kept Kade, and Chad and I went out to dinner at Chef and the Farmer, which was incredibly yummy.  We've been wanting to eat there forever and finally decided to splurge.  It did not disappoint. 

Funny side story:  I have long said that we Reeses should have a reality TV show.  I'm telling you, Duck Dynasty has nothing on us.  As we were leaving for dinner, Kaden was on the porch with his uncle and Poppy saying, "I wanna HEYYYLLLLPPP you!" Meaning he wanted to help shoot a BB gun at a target in the yard.  Yes, my two year old has a Southern accent and pronounces the word help with at least three syllables, despite having moved to Raleigh where no one else has one. We're not sure how that happened.  Maybe you can take the boy out of Kinston, but will never get the Kinston out of the boy?  It's pretty hilarious.  

On Sunday morning, Kaden was thrilled to discover the goods the Easter Bunny had brought him.

He absolutely LOVED the airplane that was tucked inside his basket.  Later he fell in love with the bubble gun, too.  The Bunny went a little easy on the candy, because he'd already received an Easter box from his Grandma and Grandpa, gone on two egg hunts, and there was another Gigi hunt on the horizon.  Some serious sugar rationing was already going to need to happen without additional contributions.

I wanted to get some family photos before we headed to church, but Kaden refused to let me sit by him on the swing.  Then he promptly burst into tears after we put the camera away, because he wanted his picture taken.  Life is hard when you're two and a half.  At least we got a couple of cute shots of Chad and Kade together.

Sunday dinner did not disappoint.  There was homemade German chocolate cake for dessert.  I think I made the right call.

Then, Kaden went on ANOTHER egg hunt, dressed as a ragamuffin, because I was too lazy to change him out of his chocolate-stained, nap time PJs.

  And had a sugar-crash induced meltdown when it was time to get in the car to go home . . .

And our car battery was dead, so he got to continue his temper tantrum while Brucious jumped our car to get the battery going.

 Oh, my, it was highly entertaining.  

It was a great weekend filled with all the things I adore:  beautiful weather, fabulous food, and family we love.  It doesn't get much better than that.