I am just so happy and excited for Shannon and Kole - I met Shannon in Kindergarten when we were 5 years old and we have been friends ever since, so seeing her holding her first baby was so special for me! I can't wait for all the fun times ahead of us raising our kids together and making memories with our families - it's still hard to believe that we are old enough to be doing all this - I remember when cabbage patch kids were our lives! I am even more excited she had a girl and she was born the day before Ashtyn's birthday - that makes for some GREAT birthday, "girl only" trips! Shannon and Kole are going to make awesome parents, and I am just so happy Shannon is finally a mom - something she was born to do! Congratulations Shannon and Kole - we love you so much - and Miss Payton, I can't wait to watch you grow up and maybe just maybe you will marry my little boy so Shannon and I can finally be "somewhat" related - Welcome to the world baby girl!
With the snow coming on Wednesday which was Ashtyn's actually Birthday we decided to reveal her birthday present on Tuesday night, so Matt could be there and she could enjoy her new present before the snow started flying! Of course Grandma, Butch and Emily had to join us for the "Big Reveal"! Ashtyn LOVED her present to say the very least - the look on her face was priceless - She was smiling so big, clapped her hands and ran over to the slide right away! It was so cold so we could only play for a bit, but she enjoyed every minute of her new present. She loves the slide because it is a "bumpy" slide and loves to climb up the ladder! I am so happy that we were able to give her a "park" for her birthday - ENJOY my baby girl, We LOVE you!
After getting all dressed we went over to Mimi's house for breakfast and our Traditional Easter Egg hunt with all the cousins. Breakfast was wonderful as usual, Ashtyn especially enjoyed the powder sugar donuts. After breakfast we hunted for eggs - this year Mimi hid them in the house since it was still a bit chilly outside which makes for another chaotic event - but Ashtyn definitely had an advantage because being the oldest Grandchild I know where most of the indoor hiding spots are - Although, Allie, who actually hid them for Mimi, found some new, tough spots this year! Ashtyn really got into it and was running around like crazy, but when she would find one that made noise she would have to sit down and open it to see what was inside, so we would loose a little bit of momentum!
Next, we were off to Miner's Field for another Easter Egg hunt - wasn't sure how well this was going to go since it was already 12:30, way past Ashtyn's nap time! Well, I was right Ashtyn wanted nothing to do with this event, so it was really just Matt and I racing around with a bunch of two year old picking up as many chocolate filled eggs as we could - I think we definitely got more then the others given our situation, but Matt has enjoyed the treats... 
We finally got Ashtyn to her bed for nap after that event and she was able to catch up on her sleep at home! After she woke up we went to have dinner at Pam's house with the family. Uncle Steve had another Easter egg hunt ready to go in their backyard when we got there. Well at this point Ashtyn was over "hunting" for eggs and instead just ran around the backyard, played with the rock piles, and then when she found a big pile of sand, she was in heaven, and there she stayed and played!
The food was GREAT as usual and I of course ate too much - but how can you possibly not scarf down homemade Raviolis and Ham! Our Easter Sunday was very busy, but it wouldn't feel like Easter if it was any different. I wouldn't trade the family and traditions I have with them for anything and I am so thankful Ashtyn gets to experience this all just like I did - Happy Easter!
Sandy made ham along with all the fixin's and also made Cherry dessert as a special request for me - I just have to tell her Eli wants something and she will make it for me, she will do anything for her grandbabies - So the food was all good! We all got to hold Baby Robbie and love on him - I LOVE to hold him because he is so snugly, which is something I miss so much about Ashtyn - once they turn one I guess that goes out the door! 
After dinner and dessert we watched The Blind Side, which was the best movie ever -so moving and inspirational, makes you want to get up and do something! I definitely enjoyed our Easter evening with the Trujillos - it was very relaxing!
Dying Easter eggs has been a tradition I have know, since I was a little girl. Every year all the Aunts and Cousins meet over at Mimi's house to dye eggs, and the tradition continues... It is definitely a lot more chaotic this year then I remember when there was just the 4 of us kids - Kevin, Mari, Allie and I - I guess when you add 5 more little ones into the picture that is bound to happen - let's just say there were ALOT of cracked eggs this year! This year Ashtyn was old enough to finally understand what was going on and was able to participate. She would drop the egg in the dye and then would have to stir it - and then when it was done, she LOVED putting stickers on them. Ashtyn and Nana did a great job of decorating her eggs -
Even Uncle Kevin got back into the spirit and decorated some eggs himself...
I think everyone had a great time and it's always fun to be around the family - Mimi just needs to get a bigger kitchen to hold all of us! 
On Saturday night at 5pm the play set was FINALLY completed - Whoo! After several long evenings throughout the week tackling a couple steps at a time tring to get this playset together, Butch luckily came over Saturday afternoon to help finish as the wife-husband team was a bit tense with each other. It was definitily a LONG process, but I think well worth it. It makes our backyard seem a bit more homey and I am sure my children and their friends will enjoy it for years to come - I know I will! Matt doesn't want Ashtyn to see it all finished until her birthday - so hopefully we can keep her occupied enough until the "Final Reveal" on Wednesday night! A BIG thanks to my father-n-law and of course my husband for getting this project done just in time for the Birthday madness - Ashtyn and I appriecate it so very much. 
Now my plan was to have this swing set put together before Ashtyn's birthday next week - you can imagine my husband's excitement. But, Matt being the great dad that he is spent about 2 hours organizing all the parts and then for the next 4 hours we started the assembly process. Needless, to say we got to step 6 out of 24 in our first 4 hours!
Thankfully, the weather is supposed to be nice this week, so if we can spend a little time every evening we may get it done by next Wednesday for Ashtyn to enjoy on her birthday! I am very excited to see it completed - just wish I had a magic finger to snap and it would be done...