Easter in Kansas

This may be my most photo-laden post ever...just a heads-up!

The Greenies took a little road trip to Kansas to see the family for Easter. While sitting in the car for ~13 hours (each way!) isn't necessarily my most ideal vacation, it was nice to just hang with the boys and listen to some tunes. Carter did WONDERFULLY in the car (except he only napped for about 30 minutes each way) and we got a kick out of his love of seeing semi trucks, trains, and
A LOT (you have to scream it!) cows along the way to Kansas.

Even better was being able to spend a little time with my folks ("Grandma and Grandpa C" in this blog) and my brother (Jason), his wife (Katrina), and my nephew (Daniel). We took a ton of photos and I wanted to put them up here for posterity.

[Not sure if I've mentioned, but I had our blog published in two volumes - 2009 and 2010 - and gifted a copy to Grandma and Grandpa C for Mother's and Father's Day gifts. I had a second set made for me and I consider it my own little way of scrap-booking...minus the glue, stickers, and tape...]

So let me move on to the photo show... Up first, is a shot of the fam playing in the backyard - some badminton, some soccer, some stick hauling, etc. Remember you can click on any of these to make them bigger.
Some short soccer videos - playing with Grandpa C:





Carter's "big kick" (or something like that):




The net we brought for badminton was a total piece of poo, so we pretty much played without it...

Grandpa C showing off his badminton skills:
Not quite as awesome as me:
Carter tried to fix up the net:
"Sorry, Mommy, broken..."
Daniel played very well with Carter, too. This next pic cracks me up - sort of a "nu uh" look :)
My brother, Jason, and Daniel:
The boys had a fantastic time hunting for plastic Easter eggs (which Carter talked about afterward for about two weeks straight...):
Daniel received a sweet monster truck setup from his cousin, Carter:
Daniel even "shared" the egg finding with Carter (which was adorable - "Look, Carter, what's that?"):
Daniel found the "special golden egg" and was QUITE proud of his find:
Daniel gave Carter a fun basket of loot, including a fun football-shaped egg:
...and yes, there was A LOT of candy (chocolate-covered Peeps, blech):
The boys then had a second egg hunt outside:
Katrina and Carter (LOVE this pic!):
[complete with soccer balls and sticks...]
Some more badminton - family style:

Whoops, net down...again:

Not only was the net a hunk of junk, the rackets were also crappy. We broke about 3 of them, but Grandpa C was able to "fix" them with some sticks and duct tape:
We then moved inside to eat a tasty, tasty Easter meal. My mom sets the prettiest table for EVERY holiday, so I wanted to snap a couple photos to prove it:
...and every relish plate needs a goofy, tiny silver fork, right Jason?
Ellie (the Basset Hound) enjoyed feeding off of Carter's fingers, spills, etc. (Carter also talked ALL about Ellie all of the way home...maybe it's time for the Greenies to get a doggy?!):
The boys played a little piano (my old piano. *sigh Someday it will end up in MY house and I'll have to learn to play it all over again...):
We then took some family photos. Every time I look at these, they crack me up! Trying to get the entire gang to A) look at the camera, B) sit still, and C) smile at the same time was nearly impossible. And to prove it, I decided to put ALL of the shots here so you can have a chuckle too.

So let's start with Katrina and Jason:
Grandpa C:
The boys:
The girls and the boys (Carter is CLEARLY enjoying photo time, eh?):
Katrina gnawing on Daniel's toes...
And Carter's done...
...cuz, you know, he's got a string to play with...
The siblings:
And just a few more random shots:
And that's all folks! I hope you made it through this crazy long post! We had a great, great time in Kansas and when I look back at these, it makes me smile and be sad all at the same time. Sure wish we had more family nearby, but by having them so far away, it just makes it all the sweeter when we get to see them, eh?

Hope you had a fantastic Easter, too, and I hope you are finally off of your Easter candy high!
~kerrie