Easter

Sure Easter was four weeks ago, but Easter is a weird holiday with the timing so dependent on the lunar cycle. So this is really the moon's fault, because if the moon had been more co-operative this post would have been right on time!

Anyway, Saturday morning we headed to the local church for the Easter egg hunt. The day was off and on stormy, but with me stepping into a church it was amazing lightning didn't strike! This particular hunt has many great qualities, namely it is close, it is free, it has donuts, and it has the highest egg density I have ever seen! The church was a little chintzy with the chocolate this year, but times are lean, so I will forgive them.

I tried to find a donation box to slip some money into to assuage my guilt for crashing this Christian shin-dig, but there was none to be found. I even asked someone about it, but he waved me off and suggested I come to the Easter service instead. Fortunately, God knows it is the thought that counts.

The hunt started a little late, so we had been standing out in the bone chilling cold for about 25 minutes before they got moving and Liam was really complaining about the cold. Maybe if the kid had an ounce of body fat instead of hanging out in the 10th percentile for weight, this wouldn't be such an issue.
Anyway, the hunt set off and Megan ambled around, picking up an egg, walking 20 feet, picking up another, and then walking off to another corner for one more egg, when 20 eggs could have been had just by standing in one place and throwing all the eggs within reach into the bag. Liam picked up about six eggs, and then said they were "too chilly to pick up" but I told him to pick up two more and then threw a couple into the bag for him because I didn't want my kid to be the only loser who couldn't get to a double digit accumulation. We warmed up by eating another complimentary donut.

When we got home, we took off all of our wet, soggy clothes and the kids got into their Easter finest for some egg dying.

All decked out for Easter eggs

While in the appropriate garb, we proceeded to make cookies, because the kids would not have gotten enough sugar if we didn't make baked goods. I don't really get the whole cookie cutter thing. I mean, why go to all that trouble for something you know you are going to burn your tongue on because you are going to eat them before you even give them a chance to cool? Fortunately, I have mad MacGyver skills that can one up Martha any day. I smashed the Pilsbury loaf (what you don't think we made cookies from scratch do you?) into an oval shape, and sliced egg cookies for the kids to decorate. Ta-dah!

The oven had the last laugh, because the cookies kind of came out round instead of oval. The kids didn't seem to notice.

Sunday, the bunny left lots of eggs for the kids to find and Easter baskets. The eggs had candy, but the Easter baskets had non-candy treats, including juice boxes, fruit snacks (those are practically candy!), yogurt covered pretzels and dried fruit. My poor kids with their health crazed parents are barely getting an adequate portion of refined sugar and red-dye #5.
And then the last hurrah: The Treasure Hunt! This is what Easter is all about. And now that Megan can read, the Easter Bunny was able to send the kids running all over the house chasing clues, making them "look in the dryer" in "look on the refrigerator" while Mac and I sat in the living room drinking coffee.
But never fear (for my soul), because I did learn Earth shaking religious info this Easter. Did you know that the Immaculate Conception had NOTHING to do with Jesus! Nothing! I was so shocked by this I actually spent some of Easter reading about it and not just the Wikipedia article (although that was the majority of it). Now anytime somebody makes an immaculate conception joke, I will laugh - not at the joke but instead at the joke teller's heathen ignorance!

It was a very good Easter, indeed.