Dealing with Dah-Dee-Doh Deprivation

My parents (Grandma and Dah-Dee-Doh to the girls) came to spend the week and celebrate Easter with us.  They left this morning and I think we’re now all suffering withdrawal. 

So what to do?  Maybe intense picture-posting therapy will help…right??  It’s not exactly an FDA-approved treatment, but on the off-chance that it works I think we’ll play it safe and post lots and lots and lots of pictures…

To start, since my parents were driving from Minnesota, we met them in Palmyra, NY and spent the first afternoon visiting the church history sites in the area.  This of course meant lots of chances to take pictures of the girls all together.

In case anyone is still on the fence about the level of craziness one family can contain...

Talking about the "Eight Witnesses" of the Book of Mormon.  (And showing off Mommy's big old baby bump.)

A footbridge in the Sacred Grove.  (Where Joseph Smith had his remarkable first vision of the Father and the Son.)

Robyn stepping out on a limb.

Ah, yes.  Time to play with this season's hot item again: sticks!

Family photo in front of the Whitmer Farm where the Church was formally organized on April 6, 1830. 

The rest of the week involved a lot of playing at home.

The girls especially liked monopolizing Dah-Dee-Doh who they alternated between calling "The Gamish Boy" (because he was willing to play board games with them almost nonstop) and "The Nail Polish Guy" (because he somehow got talked into letting them paint his nails).
 

Another Grandma and Dah-Dee-Doh tradition the girls love: knowing they can come snuggle with them in bed as early as they want.  This led to lots of early morning hang-out sessions in Grandma's room.

Wait!  Don't adjust your time machine settings: you haven't actually been sent back to the 1980's!  Mom found the dresses Karin and I got when we turned 4 and 5 and brought them out for our girls.  And while I was always jealous that Karin got the bright pink one, Robyn loved the blue one.  She wore it as a dress-up several days in a row, along with Sunday shoes and a parasol, and insisted upon being called Mary Poppins.

Another big project for the week was Dah-Dee-Doh and Bryan putting together a wooden playground in the backyard. 

Hard at work "building a park" as the girls described the venture.

Friday was the big day for construction on this project and the girls set up their blankets and pillows in the backyard, eagerly watching for hours.  This was a great picture Robyn snapped on the camera: Look!  They're all in the wagon!

Everyone enjoying the finished results, regardless of the chilly weather.  The girls love it: we've literally had to drag Katie away kicking and crying each time we go inside.

And then on Saturday it was time for the Easter festivities to begin.

Katie at the Easter egg hunt Saturday morning.

Robyn busy looking for eggs.

Amber conceding that her basket is probably as full as it's going to get.

With the hunt out of the way, it was time to move on to decorating Easter eggs.  Here is Amber carefully inspecting her handiwork before proceeding to the dye cups.

My parents also brought out a funny egg-holding contraption that the girls used to further decorate their eggs with tiny paint brushes.

Faberge, watch out!

Daddy's eggs were low in number, but high in innovation.

A close-up of Bryan's fancy rainbow egg.

I think Katie and the boys had the right idea: by the end of the week we all felt about ready to drop.

In fact, maybe that should be added as a secondary treatment to help with the withdrawal: doctor's orders for EVERYONE to take nice long naps this afternoon... :)