Easter

For the first time since Eric and I have been together, we did NOT host Easter. It felt kind of odd to wake up this morning and not stumble to the kitchen to start preparing things. Instead, I stumbled down and just made mashed potatoes. Very odd.

After some confusion on Nolan's arrival, Eric, his parents, Nolan, and I ventured on our way down to Elizabethtown, KY to celebrate Easter at Eric's sister's house. Since we didn't leave until around 1pm, we all managed to have a relatively peaceful morning, but we more than ready to get down there where we could actually relax a bit. But first we had to get there, and we were doing this roadtrip in Tuscany - her first roadtrip! Not only would we get to test out her long haul capability, but also the DVD player that she came with. An easy way to entertain Nolan on the way down, complete with headphones so we could still listen to music and chat, ourselves.

Needless to say, Tuscany delivered well. A very comfortable ride for all, and we didn't even venture into the 3rd row of seating. We'll save that for another day. The only downside is the gas mileage, but we knew that going into it and long before we settled on buying her. No regrets. Just verification that she does, in fact, get only slightly better gas mileage than a 1972 Ford Truck (or a 1968 Buick Special Deluxe, for that matter).

We arrived just before 4pm, and everyone was ready to eat. So with some final prep work, the masses were fed. We kept it simple - ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, and a salad. For dessert, we had so delayed birthday cakes for Payton and Paige, and I did some quick cookies and strawberry banana bread to add some variety (and because it was easy and I had bananas that needed to be used). But even with the simple meal, we all seem to stuff ourselves. Why do we do that on holidays??

After letting the food settle for awhile, the kids were ready to hunt some eggs. Of course, Kimber had to clean up after the dogs in the yard, first. Two dogs make a lot of messes, we learned. But then the kids were free to run and find all the eggs. It's so much fun to watch (and help, on occasion). The egg hunt then led to some trampoline time for the kids, as they showed off their flips. Can't help but cringe the way some of them land.

But just like that, we had to get back on the road. We were taking AJ back to Indy with us to be later transferred up to his dad's house - so one kid down, another one back. Being a little older, he entertained himself with some music and games on his iPad. And then fell asleep. We were all ready to do that by the time we got home. Even though it was only about 10pm. But that was plenty late enough.

Hope everyone else had a great Easter!