Robert and Laurel after our at-home egg hunt. Somehow, her white shoes were left at home so we had to make do with the black ones that were left at Nana’s house.
Easter is such a joyful holiday, and our family celebration reflected that joy. All were gathered here except for our hard working pilot son who was somewhere in the sky. Lots of activities, lots of fun, and lots of sewing projects added more joy to this special week.  Easter Sunday, of course, was the highlight.
Robert was debonair in his first grown-up, store-bought Easter duds while Laurel was radiant in what might be her last smocked Easter dress. The shadow smocked confection was a joy to stitch.
Alastair with his eggs
Alastair was his usual adorable self wearing a shirt he loved. The applique’ featured an engine pulling a train car with a huge Easter egg. I had selected this design because he loves trains. That won his heart.
Examining their loot on the back porch
After church and a front-yard, cousins’ egg hunt, a delicious ham dinner was the reward. Rebecca arranged a beautiful centerpiece with a basket of flowers from the yard and several of my antique tea cups, all loaded with Easter eggs. I wish I had slipped out of the kitchen for a moment to take a picture.
Harvey cooked the ham and Shelly made a divine fruit salad. With my desserts and several fresh vegetable dishes, we ate well. Just off 40 days with no pastry, Granddad the pastry-lover savored every bite of his homemade apple pie as well as a piece of angel food cake with cream cheese frosting.
The day before Easter was the annual Bunny Lunch at church. The boys wore new shorts and embroidered shirts, though I only managed to get a close up of Robert’s shirt.
I have to be careful to select designs that are not too juvenile for 6 year old Robert.
Alastair’s shirt had a yellow gingham bunny.
More than 60 children spent some time on crafts before the egg hunt.
They were then divided into 4 age groups and raced out to scour their assigned area for eggs.  Bob kept track of Robert while Rebecca encouraged Alastair to hunt in the 3 and under territory. He picked up a few eggs and was then content to watch the rest of the action.
I stayed with Laurel on the playground with the 7+ children.
Laurel in her white linen ladybug dress is coming down the steps.
A special lunch was served with tiny sandwiches, fruit, snack food and a huge bakery Happy Easter cake. I made more than 50 cream cheese and jelly sandwiches on raisin bread, decorated with cream cheese carrots.
Don, a member of the congregation, was taking family photos on steps decorated for that purpose.I told the children to head in that direction so we could have their picture taken. Alastair, eager as usual to follow directions, raced through the crowd, climbed the steps and plopped himself down between my friend Mary‘s 3 grandchildren. He grinned at the camera.
At Mary’s urging, Don just snapped away. Mary remarked that it would be fun years from now for her family to speculate as to who that other cousin was. But we did get a picture of Alastair with his real cousins.
On the way home from the Bunny Lunch, we stopped to take a few photos of the children in this spectacular roadside field of wild flowers.
Before Alastair was born, we snapped some shots of Robert and Laurel there, earlier in the season. The purple phlox bloom first, with just a few black eyed Susans. The the phlox die down and the Susans are predominant.
I always assumed that the flowers flourished because conditions at this location were perfect. This year, I noticed the furrows and realized that the flowers are actually cultivated for the pleasure of passers by. How nice is that? It’s like an Easter gift to all who drive by.
It is a glorious sight.
The next post (Wed. morning) will be a how-to on shadow smocking. I hope you will check back.
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