Easter for My Keister

Happy Post-Easter Weekend! I want you to know I refrained multiple times from posting weather related status updates on Facebook these past three days that contained an annoying number of exclamation points and poetry (because I hate status updates involving weather even if they don't contain exclamation points and poetry because WHO CARES)!!! I will leave my blog for such shouting from the rooftops. Ready? There has been WARM SUNSHINE here in Seattle for three - count them, THREE - straight days, and it has unleashed an unadulterated joy from my inward bowels and bosom that was very hard to contain. PURE JOY, I tell you. JOY. We sing Joy to the World at Christmas? Well, now we sing it at Easter, too.

So, Saturday was an Easter egg hunt with friends at a park. It was very low-key, meaning no lines, no boundaries, not really any rules, and plenty of candy for both kids and adults. And it was over in a matter of minutes. Cool.

Here are our pint-sized contenders. Sienna, ready to beat the egg-glare with her sunglasses. Noah, ready to chill on the blanket, forgotten, while the parents cheered and photographed the contestants.

Here's dad, prepping Sienna.

And, they're off! There's Wally and Matthew as well. (Sidenote: apparently Matthew's younger brother, Seth, has a li'l crush on Sienna. Adam taught Sienna the word "boyfriend" when referring to Seth, much to my chagrin! No worries, though, Sienna, our little beauty who will not be allowed to date for many decades to come, remains clueless.)

There's an egg! Nice hiding. NOT.

OH NO. This one came open! Sienna is OCD, so things like this are huge disruptions in our everyday life. I had to hurry and put down the camera and run over and close it up so she could continue on the hunt!

Noah, chillin' in his Union colors. (Thanks, Grandma!)

Post-race, Sienna's mouth filled with candy.

A proud mom looks on.

Did I tell you Noah is my man? Yes? You want me to shut it already?

After the egg hunt, we did some spring cleaning in the garage. Fun Seattle Fact: daffodils grow WILD and in abundance around here. I have stopped the car to snatch some off of roundabouts around my neighborhood, assuming that's okay.... There's now a nice bunch of them on my kitchen table. They might be my favorite flower ever - bright yellow (the color of happiness), intriguing petal pattern, and they smell amazing. Noah is holding one that my neighbor had just given to Sienna. (Did I mention Sienna is getting so much better at sharing? It's a nice change.)

And, now, the only photo of Easter attire.

Not that we bought anything new or went all out or anything special. But Noah and Sienna did look adorable. (She wore a brown and white polka-dotted hand-me-down from the neighbor girl.)

Easter dinner was delectable, if I do say so myself (which is why this post is called Easter for my Keister ... turns out I don't need bad weather to eat loads of comfort food). Ham, cheesy potatoes, broccoli, and banana cream pie. We fed the missionaries, plus my neighbor, Pat. I've been wanting to unite the elders with Pat for a long time and finally decided to just go for it without telling either party. Risky? Yes. I was nervous about it all day. But, I didn't want any preconceived anything. It did turn out pretty well, even though the dinner started with one elder "complimenting" 70-something Pat on her "nice purple hair." Yikes. She took it good-naturedly, thank heavens. Further proof of my theory that missions are 90% for the young men to grow up and 10% for the people they actually help.

Anyway, our Easter was lovely. And we have the leftover ham to prove it.