Easter Sunday included a visit to church, singing the old hymns, and not one, not two but three egg hunts!
We traveled to Raleigh the week before Easter to celebrate Andrew's birthday with his family. Realizing it was spring break for the cousins and other cousins were coming in from Virginia, we were talked into staying another week. We hadn't planned on Easter in Raleigh but fortunately, the kids have cousins that wear the same size clothes (well, except Jill but she managed).
Before heading to church, the kids went on their first egg hunt in the
Burns' backyard in their pajamas. Jill got her first taste of jellybeans and became an instant egg hunter!
There were also Easter baskets full of goodies waiting on the trampoline.
Jill got butterfly wings.
Beth loved her gold egg (her favorite color). It had play-
doh inside.
Thankfully the Easter bunny gave everybody toothbrushes to get rid of all the sugar bugs!
An Easter kiss to send daddy off to church from Lincoln.
After church we headed to Papa &
Anja's for our second egg hunt. Note the Christmas bag - remember we hadn't planned to spend Easter in Raleigh. Easter baskets are in a closet in Georgia :)
Easter dresses were also in closets in Georgia but Beth looked beautiful in one of Ella's dresses...and in Ella's shoes.
Adam proudly posing after finding eggs on Papa's porch.
Jill really enjoyed finding eggs (and eating their contents.)
Jill even ended up the big winner finding the $10 egg! Woo
hoo!
After a lovely lunch (and lots of candy) we headed to our 3rd egg hunt at the Longs. It was the perfect ending to a great day! Although next year maybe we can coordinate more so we end up taking home a bit less candy?
Before Easter we colored eggs - 7 dozen hard boiled eggs! It was a scary undertaking with 9 kids but turned out to be a fun, creative time with very little stress (but then again, it wasn't my kitchen I had to worry about :)
Notice their special Star Wars eggs. Jason made R2-D2 and Beth C3PO. The wrap-
arounds that shrink wrap onto the egg in boiling water were a big hit. I will always try to include them in our egg coloring adventures.
We had a great Easter. I hope you were all able to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior in your own special way, too!
There's a small museum with information on Kennesaw Mountain's involvement in the Civil War. Much of this area hosted critical battles toward the end of the war. The museum also had dress-up for the kids (daddys included).
After visiting the museum, we headed up the mountain. We were told it was an easy one mile hike uphill. We opted for the paved road rather than the trail since we had two strollers (Jill and our friend Zeke). The hike was very easy BUT it was uphill the entire way. Just enough of a constant incline to be a trek!
The kids were all great! I really didn't expect Adam to make it the whole way but he impressed us all. This is the only time he lagged behind and that's because he was distracted by stick collecting.
Some kids had it easier than others. Malachi, being carried, was able to sleep most of the way. And Jill and Zeke rode in their strollers enjoying the scenery and snacks.
About halfway up there was a perfect view of downtown Atlanta. This was really exciting for the kids. We were so high up!
We made it to the top! Everyone was so proud of their accomplishment. 
And what's at the top, you ask? Lots of cannons. Men fighting brothers dragged these cannons up a mountain 150 years ago...
Adam called this his "log cannon." He really liked it :)
Proud parents, we were glad we attempted something that may have seemed so crazy. And since we barely made it to the top (we considered giving up multiple times as it really seemed there was no end in sight, and we knew once on top we had to walk all the way back down) it was a relief to have Andrew catch a ride with a kind family so he could bring our van, our lunch, and a ride down the mountain. He also clocked the mileage - we climbed 1.6 miles up a mountain!
Maybe next time we'll not only climb a mountain...we'll climb down one, too. 
After our baseball toys were completed we headed to a nearby farm to watch their spring sheep shearing. 
We paused under a tree for a picnic lunch. It was such a relaxing day!
It was interesting to not only watch the sheep get sheared but to touch the wool coats (they were soft and thick and coated in good-for-your-skin lanolin). 
They also had people spinning the wool into yarn. 
And here's our buddy Zeke getting a lesson on combing the wool before you spin it. 
Check out this hat made from the yarn. 
And my favorite part of the day - watching this lady spin angora directly from the rabbit! 
I should have taken video so you could see how she just grabs tufts of fur and spins it into yarn. Now isn't that an interesting and useful pet! All in all, a very fun (and even educational) family outing. 
Now what to do this Saturday?
For the first day of spring, we spent the day with our Georgia cousins. 
What makes this day even better is that it's my sister, Tara's birthday (we also celebrated Isaac whose birthday was the week before.)
Georgia did not disappoint with a beautiful, warm and sunny day.
A perfect day for playing outside...all day! (Nice catch, Andrew!)