We got to spend Easter in Tennessee, just like I always did growing up. RitaBa took a couple of days off, and I was on Spring Break, so we got to stay an extra couple of days, which kept us from feeling rushed.
My cousin Jessi made all the kids sweet Easter baskets. In fact, we ran into her in the Easter candy aisle at Wal-Mart! haha
We got to see Dylan and Hailey (who are growing WAY too fast) and "the twins" Dalton and Dawson. (My cousin Eric was killed in a car wreck almost 5 years ago. He wife Liza remarried and had these sweet little boys. Technically, they're not related, we know, but they still feel like they're ours.) Sweet story about Dylan--I'm always amazed at how genuinely kind he is. At dinner, the kids only wanted chicken nuggets, of course--even though we had a huge spread of turkey, green beans, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, all the good stuff--and the kids grabbed the nuggets and headed out to the porch to eat. I needed to get a couple for Kieran and expected a fight...but as soon as I said that I needed a couple, Dylan grabbed two off his own plate and said Kieran could have them. Simple but sweet, isn't it?
I often felt nostalgic while were there. I am just two weeks older than my uncle John, and two months older than my cousin Brian. There are LOTS of pictures floating around of the three of us, like little triplets, in one crib together, in the tub together, in front of the Christmas tree, playing outside...you get the idea. John and I were even in the same 1st grade class, so we have a class photo together, too. I would give anything to have a picture of Momma, Rhonda and Gran while they were pregnant! (Momma says she remembers telling Gran that she thought she was pregnant. Gran stopped cooking and said, "I think I am, too.")
Anyway, that's not the point of my story...the point is that as Kieran and Connery played and bathed and hunted Easter eggs with Brian's daughter Lily, we all said several times that it reminded us of me, John and Brian. Funny how that happens in families.
We were glad everyone was healthy enough to hunt Easter eggs at Rhonda's on Saturday. (Momma was recuperating from surgery on Kieran's first Easter, and Connery was battling ear infections on his first.) The little ones got a head start, which helped because we did a lot of explaining for the first few minutes--"The eggs. See the eggs. Get that one and put it in your basket. Very good! Oooh, there's another one. You can get it, too..." When the big kids came out, it was every man for himself. But the little ones didn't care by then. In fact, Connery was satisfied with his first egg. He held it up and started calling "Thih-Thih," looking for Kieran. Proud to show his brother...
My Granny Pugh had knee replacement surgery a week before, and we were glad she got to go home on Good Friday. The boys showed off all their new tricks...and worried us when they got too close to her leg. My Aunt Helen was there, and Kaitlynn and Joshua came over. It's always fun to watch the great-grandkids play together. And Connery was hysterical teasing Helen. He would act like he'd give her something, then jerk it away when she reached for it...and CRACK up!!
On Easter Sunday, the boys wore beautiful matching vests and ties. Amy told Kieran, “You’re going to look so handsome.” To which he replied, “I don’t want to look handsome. I just want to look cute.” Well, they certainly did look cute. We didn't get any good pictures of both of them together, but this one of Kieran turned out. For a kid who usually doesn't look at the camera, he doesn't seem to mind posing. He came up with this pose entirely on his own. Here are more pictures from Easter and the entire month of March. http://picasaweb.google.com/amysandy/March08 It feels good to back in TN for Easter, where I spent my very first Easter. I was born on Easter of 1974 in Cumberland Medical Center. Easter won't fall on my birthday again until 2047, but until then, Easter in the mountains feels right.
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