Our First Easter Away From Home

Our kids have been begging FOREVER to go see their cousins in Alabama.  My sister-in-law (Ella senior, as Scott calls her) suggested that we come over Easter since their youngest son was turning one that day.  We headed out last Wednesday afternoon and stopped in Valdosta to stay at a hotel there (thanks to some reward points Scott had, the stay was free).  Our kids absolutely LOVE staying in a hotel and they love even more the free breakfast in the morning.  I could probably count on one hand the number of times they have done it, so that was quite a treat for them...  and for us, since it made the trip a lot more manageable.

We made it into Montgomery in the early afternoon Thursday and the next four days were a blur of cousins doing what cousins do when they get together.  So fun!!  Brian and Ella had a fantastic Easter dinner at their house and then the kids had a scavenger hunt to find their Easter baskets.  Later in the afternoon we did an egg hunt at the Riverfront, which was within walking distance of their house.  After that it was Dreamland for dinner (all the kids ate free) and then cupcakes back at the house to celebrate baby Oliver's birthday.

Mima and Papa were there and stayed home with the kids one night so we could sneak in a date night together with Brian and Ella.  It was kind of a whirlwind trip - I wish we could have stayed longer (the Alabama MacDonalds may disagree - lol!).  We left Monday morning about 9 AM and made it back to Lakeland at about 8:30 PM.  I am still unpacking and catching up on laundry, and my kids have all slept in until at least 7:45 every morning since we got back.  Maybe if I wasn't so lazy in the mornings, I would be more caught up!