Easter weekend 2014

Dave and I took the opportunity to see the LaMarche/Butler family over Easter weekend.  Dave's cousin Kala and her new husband Adam were also in town to see a baseball game at Wrigley Field.  I'm blogging this a few weeks past so I won't remember every detail, but I can recall it was a delightful trip!!  Traveling with our crew is becoming easier as the kids get older (well, Eli is still a pill, ha! but he's only 1/4 of the kid equation now so it seems less).  We drove straight to Harvest Bible Chapel in Rolling Meadows (the original HBC location) - to attend a Good Friday service with Josh and Carrie.  We aimed to meet them at 1:30 and pulled into the parking lot at 1:29!  From Iowa!  Was amazed by our impeccable timing.  

We had a rare opportunity by being invited to go out to dinner by Adam and Kala on Friday night of the weekend.  We chose a well rated steak house downtown Chicago called Bavette's - and Martha was gracious to babysit and put our kids to bed (at her house) so we could get out alone.

We decided Dave and Adam look like twins in this pic.

Saturday was another gorgeous day!  Dave helped out his mom with some house projects around her house in the morning.  After lunch, we met up with Josh, Carrie, their kids, Tim and Deb Butler, Roger and Mary Butler, and Martha at the Brookfield Zoo.  The kids had a blast running around with their cousins.  There was more running happening than oohing and aahing over the animals.  The weather was beautiful too.  We ended the day by getting pizza at Giordano's Pizza as a group.  Got some great pics.

We only stayed at Martha's Friday night and stayed with Josh and Carrie Saturday and Sunday.  Sunday morning at 11 am we went to HBC again - Elgin campus.  I remember Calvin hitting his lip on something hard right before we dropped them off for chilcare and he was so upset he didn't want to go to child care - so we let him come with us.  Later he said he loved the music!  James McDonald gave a message and emphasized the risen Savior - comparing Him to all the dead ones people worship (buddah, etc).  He is risen!

We had spent most the morning preparing the lunch meal, putting together a sweet potato casserole, baking the ham, etc.  Coming home to the smell in the house was pretty yummy!  I made a cheesy sauce to go on broccoli, Carrie baked some herbed rolls, and we ate strawberry shortcake for dessert.  So delicious!  Josh and Dave set a bunch of eggs out on the lawn (and some smashed in bushes and on top of our vans) for an "egg hunt" - which was kind of an "egg pick up" - ha!  There weren't many places for the eggs to be hidden.  The kids loved it anyway.

Later in the evening J&C lit a fire in a fire pit and we sat and talked to them about their upcoming missions trip (June 2014) in the Turks and Caicos islands where they'll be helping out with a church plant and marriage counseling for a week.

Overall a nice trip.  Easy drive home Monday afternoon.

Vanessa, in her usual fashion, not willing for me to take her picture

these two are well trained however

Josh and Carrie

Carrie and daugher Renee

Dave is 6'

Aqua blue was the color of the day - Eli and Uncle Tim sporting the color

to match the dolphins of course

cousins!!  L --> R: "Wesley, Austin, Eli, Violet, Calvin, Renee, Vanessa"