Good Friday and Holy Saturday

Kate's lil chalkboard cross:)

On Good Friday a friend of mine told us about a Passion Experience at a Baptist church in town.  It was amazing!!  They had interactive stations to represent various parts of the Passion of our Lord.   For example, one station had a crown of thorns, actual nails/stakes like the ones used to crucify Jesus and a heavy hammer. Another station had all of the oils and perfumes used in the burials of Jesus' time.  One station had unleavened bread to taste like that shared at the Last Supper.  There was a station with the torn curtain and an inner sanctuary.  Finally, there was a station where we could write our sin on black paper and nail it to the cross.  At each station, there was a prayer and meditation. We were also invited to taste, touch and smell at the various stations. The whole experience was very solemn and moving.  People were crying.  My three kiddos did great.  It was not designed especially for children and there were few children there.  But honestly, my children were very touched and I am so glad we went.

Kate as asked if they could paint a cross at home.  I bought these last week at Hobby Lobby and they painted them.

{Harry painted his later}

We were kind of sick of cooking fish and shrimp at home for Lent so we went out to an early dinner at Carrabbas.  They make Harry some special gluten free/dairy free pasta and mussels.  Yummy!  I had them too!

On Saturday, we packed a cooler and took a completely spontaneous trip to the beach...

Unfortunately, we found the beach's shoreline completely covered in seaweed!  It had just rolled in.
The danger of the seaweed is all the stuff hiding in it like these dangerous man of war jellyfish




It was also VERY windy and the water was rough!
Kate didn't care though.  She loves playing in the sand...








{Kate's bathing suit is from here. Got it on sale. Wish it cane in my size!}

It was SO bright and SO windy that I really struggled taking photos (even on the lowest ISO).  Next time, I won't even bother because I got LOTS of sand on my cameras and lenses. I spent a long time brushing and blowing sand out at home.

Will found some awesome shells and did some sun bathing.  We all tried to soak up some healthy vitamin D actually.


{those are Dave's old Oakley's--pretty retro, huh?}

Harry braved the water for some boogie boarding...





I could not get too close for good photos due to the seaweed.



Dave carried Kate over the seaweed for a little ocean time too:+)

On the way home, we stopped at Rita's water ice.  We do not have one here in town so the one at the beach is the closest one for us. Rita's originated right near my hometown in Pennsylvania so it is very nostalgic for me (plus my grandma's name was Rita). I love Rita's frozen custard...sigh.
It was a very nice day.

Be back tomorrow with an Easter post.  We are having a lovely day!