Time to Catch Up

What a weekend. Jam-packed from sunup to sundown every day. Here are some highlights:

Easter Munny
The fun started Friday afternoon when our neighbor brought her kids over and asked if we could watch them for her. I couldn't turn her down; her basement had flooded and her jeans were water-soaked almost to her knees. She said Boy, who is five (maybe six), was trying to swim in the basement and was throwing pennies into the water and making wishes. Girl, who is three (maybe four) was freaking out and screaming, but also trying to splash around (she's a complicated child)... So I took them off her hands.

Boy wasn't very happy about the arrangement. Obviously our house is boring in comparison to a house with a flooded basement. He played here for a little while, then sneaked back home, only to be sent back over to our house. We tried to lock him in, but he just stood at the door kicking and hitting David and whining to be let go. So finally we called his dad who relented and said Boy could go home if he'd clean his room.

We decided we'd like to go to the mall to see the Easter Bunny. Girl said she wanted to go with us, so we got permission from her parents. Boy was denied permission to go with us due to his previous refusal to hang out with us. Again, he was not very happy about the arrangement.

Drew and Owen were so excited to see the Easter Bunny (even though they had no clue who he is). Drew yelled, Easter Munny! over and over and over all the way to the mall. When we got there and met the real deal, he wouldn't go near. Owen was the first to go, because we told him he'd get a hat if he went to say hi. He did was a little shy, but said please and thank you when offered the hat. It was over when we tried to get him to sit next to the Bunny. He jumped off that bench and ran for his life. Girl was next in line, and did okay, but wouldn't get very close. Drew had to be carried by David. He wouldn't be put down, but he was polite and chatty.

After we saw the Bunny, we went to the mall playground to let the kids wind down for a bit. Then we took Girl home, and that was the boys' first experience with the Easter Bunny.

DNCFR

That's Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo, for those of you who don't know... David's dad took us (us being Drew, Owen, Cousin 1, Cousin 2, and me) to the Rodeo on Saturday. We had to get there extra early, even though we had reserved seating, to get a free stick horse from Channel 3 News. It was worth it. The boys love the horses, even though they don't exactly know what to do with them.

I enjoy the rodeo. I'm not sure how I feel about it as far as the whole cruelty to animals thing goes because I don't know all the facts, like, just how bad does it hurt when running at full speed to be yanked back by a lasso? If you're a cow, maybe not so much because your neck is real thick and strong. I know what methods they use to get the "bronckin bronckins" (as Cousin 2 calls them) to buck, but it's applied for a short time, and does it harm them or is it just (very) uncomfortable? It sure is fun to watch, though.
And I love Mutton Bustin'. Two more years and I can get Drew and Owen into that. We're going to start going to my dad's house more often so they can practice riding his sheep, then they'll win at every rodeo. The trophy the winning kids got was bigger than the kids themselves. It was awesome.

Easter Sunday

Our church starts way too early. I can see some early church times, like, Christmas Mass so people can go be with their family afterward, but our church starts at 8:30 every Sunday morning. We're almost always late. I got Samantha dressed up in a pretty lavender number Aunt Ace gave her, but she promptly spit on it and I had to squeeze her into this little flowery dress (which I love, and am glad it still sort of fits so I could get some pictures). I'll have to try the lavender dress some other time. I didn't get the boys ready, though, because my sister was in town and she offered (well, we kind of begged) to let the boys stay home with her.

We did little Easter Baskets for the boys and one for Roz, too. We didn't get much candy because the boys don't really need it, and also we don't like to pay full price for Easter candy (more on that later).

After church I made an Easter-y meal of fish (I was thinking of Galilee), rolls and twice baked potatoes (nothing to do with Easter, I've just been craving them). I made a "candy cake" as Drew and Owen call it. I had planned on coloring some eggs, but that never happened.

Day-After-Easter Candy

David's favorite candy ever is Cadbury Creme Eggs. He gets all excited the day after Valentine's Day when they start showing up in stores, and he'll buy a few, but the fun really begins the day after Easter, when they all go on sale: 50% off! Last year we bought $70 worth of Easter candy. I couldn't believe it*. It lasted into June. This year we've only spent about $40, so far. I think David has a few more stores he'd like to check out. Here's what that much candy looks like (the baseball isn't made of chocolate; I only wish it was, but it's just for scale):

One of those Easter Baskets is completely full of Cadbury Eggs. And some candy is buried under other candy, so you can't actually see it all in these pictures. But isn't it pretty? So sparkly...
*David is kind of, um, thrifty, I guess with his money. He actually asked me the other day if I think he's a tight-wad. I don't think he is, he's just careful with what he spends so that there's always enough for emergencies. And Easter candy, apparently. Even though I know this is his long-standing tradition, it still kind of shocks me every year when he comes home with all these bags of candy. But it doesn't shock me so much that I can't eat any!