The Colorado Aults: Early Easter

Hi All! I am so sorry it has been so long since my last post. I know how much of a bummer it is when you check a blog over and over waiting for new info, only to be disappointed to learn that your loved one is falling down on their job.

We have had a very hectic (but fun) couple of weeks. We took the kiddos to the Bahamas for Spring Break and the week before I spent in overdrive trying to get everything ready for the trip. It is AMAZING how much stuff you have to pack for a baby! The wonderful thing about it though was that I got off the hook for having the most luggage :)

I will post pics of the trip as soon as I get them all organized. We have them off of the camera(s) but I haven't yet sorted them, so stay tuned!

You are probably wondering why I haven't talked about "Early Easter" yet, since I titled this posting as such - know that you aren't confused I just ramble and talk WAY TOO much most of the time. So here goes. We did an abbreviated Easter (nice dress clothes for church and opened Easter baskets) the Sunday before Easter since we were going to be on a plane to the Bahamas on Easter Sunday. This was a tough thing for me. I am the type of person that buys into the "whole holiday package". I enjoy spending holidays surrounded by family and friends trying to pay homage to the spirit of that given holiday. I actually have no recollection of ever spending a holiday doing something other than celebrating the holiday. This being Annalise's first Easter added another layer of mixed feeling for me as I wanted to dress her up in an Easter bonnet and white gloves, watch her first Easter egg hunt, eat ham, dye Easter eggs...you get the picture. So when we discovered that the boys Spring Break began on Easter weekend and we would be traveling (we promised them a Spring Break trip last summer when we skipped summer vacation due to travel restrictions with Annalise's heart condition, so there was no turning back on the promise), a large lump developed in my throat. An Easter without church, no Resurrection sermon, no family gathered around the Easter brunch table - instead I'm going to be in sweat pants riding on an airplane and munching on the world's smallest bag of pretzels! EEEK!

I fully realize that there are gobs of people in this world that love the idea of Christmas on a cruise ship or a ski slope, eating Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant or a condo somewhere far from home, that’s just not me. I am however, married to a wonderful man that enjoys the adventure-filled holidays and Zach and Trev are right there with him. They have all indulged my traditions and spent the holidays since I’ve been around in true Kristen fashion. It was definitely my turn to make a contribution to the melting pot of marriage and open up to different traditions. It did end up being a great trip, we had tons of fun, and created many terrific family memories. At the end of the day, varying my traditions to include the wishes of my family involved taking a vacation to the Bahamas – NOT too tough if you really think about it :)

Happy belated Easter everyone!

Annalise, Zach and Trev on Easter day, 2008. Aren't they precious?

Annalise with some treasures from her 1st Easter basket. Thank you Nana and Papa for the goodies, I love them!