Days with the Dorans

  What can I say? I'm AWFUL lately at documenting and picture taking! I need to get better! The kids loved their hats (with graduating year) and custom made Doran bags. I guess that's not bad...

  Happy Easter!!! It was a bit different (obviously). We did church on the computer and got to see Mike! The kids opened their Easter Baskets (and had a hunt- see video below). Marty got to see his cousin on facetime! AND WE SAW THE DRAPALS IN PERSON!!!  (outside in their garage)

Well, it looks like Easter is going to look different this year. And... We aren't going to be able to go on our trip to Myrtle Beach (now Covid is making me mad... I was OK to take off a couple weeks but.... grrrr) To lighten up the mood and get in the spirit, we decided to paint the window to make it look like stained glass- and BOOM instant church window, right? Time to set the fab four to work! Sean was the first to bail, and then Z but the Bigs did finish and then randomly they all decided to hang out on the stairs. I guess it is the best place to view their masterpiece!  

After church, breakfast, and the Drapals~ we got in the car and headed north to celebrate Easter with the Dorans! We started at Grandma's house! At Grandma's, it's game on and you don't just get your color egg, but any eggs you can find. It was kind of funny watching them go nuts trying to get those eggs! Once they got the eggs, they were back in Grandma's and checking out all the cool stuff they got! Later, we headed to Uncle Jim and Tia's for more celebration! We got to see Baby Zeke (who isn't such a baby though I feel like we'll always call him that since he has the same name as his dad). We also got to see his new brother, Maverick and of course the Doran cousins. Grandma always comes up with fun games and treats! She made a big cellophane ball full of even more treats and the kids had to play a dice game to get the loot.  Sean finally figured out how to roll dice! Z got some fun girly stuff! Thankfully his sis was cool wit...

 Happy Easter!!! This old picture of the six of us popped up in my "memories" from when we took a trip to Orlando for Easter. Crazy how things have changed!! I can hardly remember these cute little people! One thing that didn't change was that the bunny came! The kids got some candy and a few fun toys to play with.  They went on a search for eggs, played a bit, and then we went to church. It was nice to be back at St. Matt's but there was a guest pastor and... well... I missed our pastor. After church, we went back to the Drapals for breakfast and an egg hunt. At Nana and Papa's, the kids have to get eggs that are ONLY their color. It's so fun to watch them search and help each other along the day. It was a wonderful morning. Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!!!

Before we left, we saw a bunny in our yard and Sean opened up the door and let him know we wouldn't be home for Easter. Thankfully he found us in the mountains. The Littles were up early and they followed Easter grass up to our room and out onto the balcony. The thing was~ when they got out to the balcony, there were only two baskets and they were purple and orange (Maddy and TZ's colors). They looked across the way and Maddy was on the balcony with four baskets! It looked like the bunny mixed up where we were staying. The kids didn't mind though- they went to the different places to retrieve the baskets and were eager to see what they got. They all got the same things- color coded of course! The Bigs weren't as eager as the younger kids. They were out cold but we did manage to wake them up... these pictures show their reactions to being up so early. Eventually everyone got their stuff and we all gathered in Nana and Papa's room to see. Th...

 Easter was a bit different than our usual. Our tradition has been that (unless we're out of state in Myrtle Beach) we go to church and then head north to Saginaw. Our morning was similar... the Easter bunny came, Jeff was off to play at church and the kids had fun looking for eggs and finding their "baskets." The afternoon was a bit different... No going north for us because it was Z's BIG! DECADE! BIRTHDAY!! It was a bit weird for me to have the other kiddos get things on Z's special day but I suppose if anyone knows what that's like it's this Christmas Eve babe! The kids baskets weren't really baskets at all but umbrella hats which turned out to be quite cool.  They knew which hat was theirs based on the color grass. The rest of the treats in their hats were the same. They got puzzles, candy and small notebooks to draw in. I'd say it was a good morning. We went to church later to remember the REAL reason for the celebration ...