Easter

This year we were supposed to celebrate Easter with my in-laws, but they were sick so we went to my side of the family to hang out. We missed them, but I was glad to be able to see my family and make sure my dad got there safely.

But first we did an egg hunt in the morning as per our usual tradition. Jesse, I mean the Easter Bunny, got up early and hid the eggs in the yard. I bought some extra time by getting Riley to watch some TV in bed with me, but like usual, that didn't last long. I want her to snuggle in bed with me, but she wants to go downstairs. Once downstairs she understood that we needed to eat breakfast and let it warm up a bit, but she still ran to every window and tried to map out all the eggs she saw. Eventually, we headed outside for the egg hunt.

It was quite appropriate that a bunny was in the back yard, but not surprising since multiple bunnies seem to live there.

Haha. Giving me the "don't take my picture' glare. 

In past years we've put Riley's letter magnets and Triscuit crackers in the eggs - I know that sounds lame, but it was our attempt to avoid candy and she liked it. This year we had mini oreos, the cookies she holding above, and grapes... and Jesse put some treasure hunt maps in a couple of them. The neighbor dogs (you can see one above) were riveted by the action in our backyard. 

When she found her first map she didn't quite know what to do so we explained that she needed to go to the garage. She initially refused and just wanted to find more eggs. I guess I don't blame her - when she finally agreed she was so excited by the chocolate treat she found.

We went to the front of the house and discovered that the squirrels broke into two of the eggs we hid (and perhaps ran off with more - not sure). This doesn't surprise me as the squirrels in our neighborhood seem to love plastic and have destroyed Riley's water table and damaged one of her chairs. We are currently looking for durable furniture for our deck and keep having to remind ourselves not to select anything plastic. Although the squirrels haven't touched the Little Tikes slide she has - I wonder if they make lawn furniture too?

She recently discovered Katy Perry so I got her the CD where Katy Perry is wearing the most clothes (which was still a little lacking - apparently I am getting old and prudish, but this was for my 5 year old so I think my concerns about clothing are probably valid). I know a couple of her songs, but now that I've had a chance to listen to most of the CD I have to say I am not that impressed. However, this isn't about me and Riley seemed to like it - I just hope she doesn't want to listen to it all the time (tonight she selected Bjork as her getting ready for bed music - that's my girl).

Riley loved her Easter basket and asked to read the book first (that's my girl). However, her favorite thing in this basket has to be the slippers which she wants to wear all the time.

"Mom, take some pictures of me for grandma". Ok, kiddo.

Once my dad showed up we headed over to my brother, John's house. It was a little light on guests this year as a couple of my siblings were holding their own Easter dinners with their spouses family. Plus, my one sister has been spending her winters in Florida. What started as a month or so a few years ago has turned into 6 months. I missed them all, but we still had a lot of fun.

My brother, Chuck, aka "uncle fun" plans out games for the kids each year. Above he preps for the games while Riley and Jesse play a matching game below.

And then the games began... but it true Riley fashion that she wanted nothing to do with it. That girl is so like I was as a kid.

Riley was into the egg coloring, but didn't quite connect with her cousins. She's just a mellow kid and they were all a little too 'exciting' for her, I think. Later in the day they all played in the back yard, but while the other kids were running around and using sticks to dig into piles of dirt, Riley was doing her own thing.

My sister in law Connie (above) and I had a bonding moment when we talked about going to Good Will to purchase books. Turns out we both just watched The White Queen, a mini-series based on a Philippa Gregory book and then found one of her books at Good Will and were super excited about it. Ok, now it doesn't sound so exciting, but at the moment it was.

Like last year, Riley at some point wanted to take a 'rest'. She usually has one at home, but there are plenty of times we skip it when we have plans in the afternoon. So while we were socializing she decided to go chill out on the couch.

Eventually, she perked up, ate dinner and played again. We were about to leave when my brother (Chuck, of course) gathered us all to play a trivia game that involved winning money. It was a little like Jeopardy with categories and dollar amounts. I let Riley pick one round and she picked Sports for $5. Lololololol. Yeah, we didn't get that one right, but in the end we won $8 so she was delighted with that.

And that was Easter. We missed grandma and grandpa, but still got to celebrate with family so all in all it was a fun day.