Easter: In all of it's glory

Let me just begin by saying that this Easter weekend was fun, exciting, happy, full, busy and great. In a nutshell, perfect.

For the past few years, Eric and I have decided that hosting Easter for our family (anyone who is able) is something we enjoy doing and hope to make a tradition. Part of having a big house is wanting to have the people you love the most come to fill it up. And this weekend was proof that we did just that. My parents, Eric's parents and Greg, Kate and Colin came to town for the weekend to celebrate Easter together and also a belated celebration of "Kate's" birthday.

When our weekend was all said and done and our guests parted ways, we were left with a fridge full of delicious leftovers, a floor full of Easter grass and a camera loaded with happy memories. So many great pictures in fact, I've taken it upon myself to dole them out here for you with prestigious award captions attached to each. Without further ado, here is our weekend in pictures:

Prettiest Birthday Girl: "Kate"Best Use of Air Quotes: Kate (just read the writing on her "cake") Most Apt to Initiate a Cavity from Abundant Sweetness: Lincoln wins over a double helping of spice cake and ice cream

Perseverance Award: Kate in her most notable performance as a willing artist, held hostage in my bathroom with constant interruptions and people of all sizes looking over her shoulder. We have all learned that the kids' bathroom maximum people capacity is approximately 8, provided they are all standing. The great reveal of this room will be noted in a future post once all accessories have been put in place.

Most Notable Quote of the Weekend: Kate with: "Colin, I never knew who would teach you about guns, but I never would have thought it would be your cousin, Elaina with her pink gun."

Endurance Award: Lincoln; this veteran driver of almost 2 seasons withstands driving conditions in almost any climate. It looks the driver in the other lane has completely lost sight of her car, but Lincoln is going strong and continued his race long after his captive audience left the stands. Only his dedicated race team of Grandma and Grandpa W. stayed with him to help avoid racer's rage leaving the track. Most Team Unity: Greg and Colin; they worked together collecting the great loot that the Easter Bunny left out for them, while carefully avoiding the land mines in the grass left by the Easter dogs. Best Disguise: I don't even know who that is but she deserves an award for looking cute and producing three of her secret agents to conspire with her.

Child in Most Need of a Shopping Cart: Elaina; this Lightweight Champion enjoyed collecting her treasures so much that she didn't want to put them down for even a second. You never know when that sneaky Easter Bunny could come back and snatch all of her great finds. (I'm such a proud mom!) Most Daring Attempt: Colin; take note of this adolescent Brown's fan (by default of his parents) touching the holy grail of Steelers collectibles and not growing athletic talent on the spot.

Best Pose: Elaina; as I asked her to turn and show me her Easter basket, she pivoted, popped her elbow back and showed me her stuff! Oh how this girl makes me laugh!

Most Likely to Melt his Mother's Heart: Lincoln; after our family left and Elaina, Lincoln and I shared some quality nap time, Lincoln pulled out his new Car book and began to read to himself.

And with that, our awards ceremony must come to a close. An honorable mention should also go to Kate for posting a great recap of our weekend on over at her blog as she shares more details on how our Easter egg hunt almost didn't happen and how "Kate" came to be. Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend while remembering the reason for the season.