On Easter we had Jay, Russ, Thomas and the grandkids over for brunch and an egg hunt.  The Easter Bunny had laid its eggs in our orchard this year.

There was quite a haul.

Then William got to check out the Mean Green Machine.  Tom has been fixing this bike so William can learn to use a clutch.

Piper looked quite cute in her Easter dress.

The grandkids then stayed with us as it is William’s spring break.  We set up their beds in the dining room again as they still do not want to stay in our bedroom upstairs.  Ryeleigh thought this was great.

We played some Sonic on my old Sega machine.

I had help putting the animals in the barn at sunset.  The donkeys were a big hit.

On Monday, the kids helped with the morning animal chores.

Piper also enjoyed picking dandelions.

She arranged her stuffed animals on our chair with her blanket.

William rode the MGM a lot.  Tom joined him some as well.  He is now quite good at shifting with a clutch.

Our house is transformed after slightly more than one day with the kids.

Piper enjoyed doing her art.

 

On Tuesday, a jigsaw puzzle from my toy chest was quite a hit.  Piper did it many times.

They helped with the chores again.

We checked out the chicks (we have a total of 9 now).

And the other birds.  Piper named this peafowl “Elsa” and another “Furry”.

I did manage to get some spring sheep and goat maintenance in while grampa watched the kids.  I haven’t done it by myself in many years but got smart and caught the sheep in a pen with the stand and made it much easier on myself.

Then Tom rototilled the garden.

 

Ryeleigh really enjoyed the loose soil.

Some of my meal planning was a hit, and other meals were a miss.  The rainbow waffles were a hit as were the pigs in blankets and the grilled cheese sandwiches.

We found a bubble gun in the toy box and resurrected it.  William got really good at making bubbles with it.

In the afternoon we went to the pet store and bought 2 goldfish to replace the one I had recently lost.  They each got to pick one.  Then we went to my favorite toy store, Kids Stuff, and they each picked out a toy.

We then drove around to look at the daffodils and tulips.  I thought they were gorgeous, but the kids were unimpressed.

Piper even fell asleep with her new Pez toy.

We got the goldfish home and installed in their new aquarium.  They are now named Calvstena (the one on the upper right which William picked out) and Gold Medal (the one on the lower right picked out by Piper).

Piper thought Ryeleigh needed a blanket.  Ryeleigh was very patient with the kids.

In the evening there were screens and ice cream while Tom and I watched a baseball game.

On Wednesday, I made a Snakewich for lunch.  Piper is not too sure.

We each got to pick our own fillings.  William picked mayonnaise, sliced cheese and ham.  I picked egg salad.  Tom picked garlic aioli, ham and grated cheese.  Piper picked peanut butter and sliced apples.

It was fun.  Then the kids helped me plant some seeds in the garden.

We had to go to the motorcycle store for some parts.  Piper enjoyed sitting on some of the motorcycles and quads.

In the evening, there was a rousing game of Monopoly.  Piper wasn’t able to finish the game, and I won (which is highly unusual.  William usually wins).

On Thursday, there were more animal chores.

In the evening (after baths), it was movie night.  First we watched Shrek.  Apparently Jay enjoyed this movie as a kid, and we loved it too.  I somehow had not seen it before.

Then this happened.

Then there were banana splits and one of my favorite movies, Babe.

We ended with some Shaun the Sheep.

On Friday, after chores, we played more Connect Four (we had started the day before).  Both Piper and William are surprisingly good at it.

The Piper wanted to watch more Shaun from under the coffee table for some reason.

There has been some Easter candy consumption throughout the stay but really not that much.  We decided to peel the actually real egg shell off of this chocolate and eat it.

Then it was packing up time and saying goodbye to the animals.

It has been a great (although tiring) week.  It is so much fun having the grandkids visit.