Cincinnati Easter - Part 7- Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday morning. 

All the kids were exhausted.  Probably most of them were sick with the flu, but it was hard to tell who really had it at that point, who was over it but still contagious, and who was just plain tired from the busy week of traveling and fun.  That morning Kayla was exhausted again even though she had begun to come out of the illness and was feeling a little better the previous day.  Sophie was exhausted, so we wondered if she was on the verge of getting the dreaded bug.  Elise and Ava were still really out of it and wanted to just lay down for most of the day.  Kolbe was the only one who was chipper as usual.  And poor Aunt Winnie was feeling awful. 

I woke up to the realization that I would probably have to skip Easter Sunday Mass because we couldn't bring all these sick children to any Mass, let alone one of the most crowded of the year! Fortunately , Mom Bissonnette realized our plight too, and called to ask if we'd like her to come over and stay with any sick kids (she'd gone to the Easter Vigil).  We took her up on her offer and readied ourselves and Kolbe for Mass.  

Easter Sunday handsomeness

 

Though we didn't have our usual Mass buddies (all the girls stayed home sleeping), we did have substitutes.  We were joined by 3 of Chris' brothers and his brother's girlfriend.  It was an earli(er than usual for us) Mass time, so Kolbe was not the best behaved.  I spent most of Mass in the back, holding him, but it was a beautiful celebration.  The church was FILLED with beautiful flowers everywhere.  The music was filled with the blares of trumpets and joyous song.  And most of all, Jesus was present in the Holy Eucharist and it was Resurrection Day! 

Eventually the kids got up and half-heartedly found their Easter baskets.  

 

Brunch was heated and prepared and other family members arrived.  The girls were still mostly just laying around and lethargic though.  It was the weirdest Easter ever for us.  Never have the kids been so NOT ecstatic about such a fun and joyous holiday.  

You're welcome, Scott. Thanks for entertaining us with the girls' new hula hoop. 

          

Uncle Scottie with a very dapper Kolbe.   And I'm THAT person.  Running around making people get into pictures.  So there is Scott and his lovely girlfriend, Makayla.  

 

Scott and Mom B.                                              Evan and Chris

 

Later (unfortunately after a good number of Chris' brothers had left) a group shot was organized.  It was definitely one of the smaller Easter brunches and we missed Aunt Winnie's presence dearly.  We also missed our golden opportunity of getting all Chris' siblings (and their families) together because Chris' sister Emily's family caught the bug right when we did so they had to stay home feeling awful on Easter as well.  :(  

The kids all came outside for the egg hunt, but there was no excited running and squealing.  They walked around looking carefully, but it was evident they were fatigued and not feeling even close to 100%.  Still it was sweet and the kids sure came home with a TON of candy (which is being thoroughly enjoyed now that the flu bug is long gone). 

 

The pinata appeared and the kids took turns taking a whack at it.  Kolbe and cousin Emiliana especially loved grabbing the bat and pushing the pinata like a swing at the park.  Aunt Winnie was able to watch some of the pinata fun from her bedroom window which was nice.  

 

          

          

And then there was the confetti eggs.
Half the family members didn't participate which is really their loss because though the eggs are a horrible mess and the confetti is in your hair for days, you can't beat the laughs and fun when you really dive into a goofy family tradition and let yourself be silly.

Speaking of silly, Cally let the kids play with fun filters on her phone which was hilarious.  Just look at that picture of Kolbe and try not to laugh.  

 

Despite all the illness and the lethargic kids, some of whom just laid around or slept in between all the various activities of the day, we had a good Easter.  It wasn't at all what we were hoping for, and we were bummed about that since we traveled a long way and can't make holiday celebrations almost ever.  But we were still blessed to be able to visit family and spend time with everyone during this crazy, fun-filled, busy week.  Thank you all for a lovely time.  We sure hope the next visit to Cincinnati is one that is filled with sunshine and good health though!  

And although it wasn't the Easter I'd imagined, it was still a blessed day and we still celebrated the resurrection of our Savior, who conquered sin and death and broke free of the tomb.  Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

Cincinnati Easter- Part 6- Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday was spent as usual at Aunt Winnie's house prepping everything for the big Easter celebration the following day.  

Elise and Ava both succumbed to the flu and laid in bed most of the day.  Kayla was feeling better and was up for the better part of the day.  Sophie and Kolbe ran around as happy go lucky as usual.  

Sophie was pretty excited to help Uncle Nicholas and awesome Uncle Mark fill the confetti eggs. 

And she was really good at it too!

Awesome Uncle Mark and Aunt Colleen were able to stop by and chat and hang out which was such a fun time.  I felt bad that we were exposing everyone to a plague, but I was genuinely amazing and grateful that family was so willing to come and visit and take the chance simply because they wanted to see us and we had come so far.  Thank you, all.  

Ava got up from her sleep briefly to participate in a picture and flower headband making (below). 

During the day, Chris, his dad, and many of his brothers visited a couple local breweries together.  While they were having some guy time, we continued to finish up prepping for the Easter brunch. 

 Chris' brother, Patrick's wife, Laura , came over with their daughter.  Aunt 'Tambourine', as my kids have (for no apparent reason) dubbed her, brought along supplies to help the girls make their own sweet little flower headbands.  One of Winnie's sons, Don, came over and joined the estrogen fest.  He is just great with kids and jumped right in helping Kayla dye hard boiled eggs.  

Aunt Winnie began feeling poorly and went to rest in her room, but she shooed us off to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  (The other) Laura and I and Don took several kiddos over (the ones who were feeling well).  They enjoyed coloring bags to collect the eggs, playing little games, and hunting.  

 

These are a few pictures Don took when we rode over to the other side of the neighborhood for the hunt with him in his new truck.  

 

Kayla spent a good deal of time when Michael was around listening to him play and asking him to teach her some simple songs.  He obliged and she came home with a few tunes that she bangs out on our very tiny, very off key, somewhat broken toy piano.  It's pretty cute.  

For dinner we all enjoyed a Cincinnati favorite, Skyline Chili (Thanks Don and Aunt Winnie!)

After kids were put to bed and most people left for the day, we had some time with Scott and his girlfriend, Makayla.  Our job was to fill the eggs for the big Easter egg hunt at Aunt Winnie's.  We also filled the pinata and had a lot of good laughs together.  

And thus, we were prepared for the big party-- Easter at Aunt Winnie's 2018

Cincinnati Easter- Part 5- Holy Thursday and Good Friday (Elise's Birthday)

Unfortunately this is where our Cincinnati tale starts to unravel just a bit....

Kayla wasn't feeling well on Holy Thursday.  Just completely tired.  She's a big sleeper at home, so we thought (or rather hoped) that the tiredness was just exhaustion from the long, full week.  Eventually we realized that no, she was sick.  Tired, fever, aches--the flu.

While she lain on the couch sleeping, the rest of us played games with Grammy.  

 

 

This was a neat I-spy game she had.  

This game had a bunch of science questions.  We all learned a bit in that game!

 

Sophie really enjoyed the Hi-Ho-Cherrio game.  Kolbe, on the other hand, just really liked to put on other people's shoes and walk around the house.  

That afternoon, we headed back to Aunt Winnie's (where we stay).  She had graciously offered to watch our kids at some point during the week so we might have a little date.  We tried to refuse saying we could get one another time, but she insisted, so we did.  We found a sweet little place in downtown Loveland and had a nice little dinner, just the two of us. 

Afterwards, I headed to Holy Thursday Mass with Aunt Winnie and Elise, and Chris put the rest of our brood to bed for the night.  The Mass was beautiful.  That parish has everybody wash each other's feet.  Not exactly my cup of tea, but I'm glad we did it as Elise thought it was really neat and I'm sure it made the washing of the feet story seem more real to her, seeing it and experiencing it up close. 

This year Good Friday fell on Elise's birthday.  That made the day quite an interesting one.
 Uncle Nicholas was able to stop by for lunch which the girls loved (Kolbe too!).  

 

Grammy (Chris' mom), Andrew and Kevin (Chris' brothers), Chris, Elise, and Ava went to the Good Friday service in the early afternoon.  The girls did a good job sitting and listening and they seemed to really get it in some childlike way.  

I stayed at Chris' parents' house with Sophie and Kolbe who briefly napped.  While I did so, I cooked up the remaining crepe batter into delicious crepes for the Easter Sunday brunch.  I also got a little quiet reflection time while the littles napped which was nice since we couldn't all make it to the service.  

We had a simple (but yummy) dinner together and then we celebrated Elise's birthday a bit.  

She wanted a princess-y theme, so Grammy had a crown and a sweet pink flowered cake.  There was an egg hunt.  The eggs had puzzle pieces inside and the girls put together the puzzle after finding all the eggs (puzzle pieces).  

 

It was somehow both a solemn and reflective day as well as a fun one filled with cute memories for Elise's birthday.  Thanks, Grammy, for finding a way to make it both.