We started off the celebration Saturday afternoon, by dyeing our Easter eggs.
I think the kids got more dye on their hands than on the eggs...
My younger nephews, Grant, 6, and Johnny, 4, were more about speed than accuracy. Before Mark finished dyeing his first egg, Johnny had already colored five.
"I'm done!" he announced, as he plunked a dripping egg into the carton. "Now can we have candy?"
The older kids reminded him that the Easter Bunny hadn't even come by yet, so there was no candy. He did not like that answer.
"Then can I color more eggs?" he asked. The kids around him immediately moved their eggs before Johnny swiped them.
My mom spent the afternoon cooking, and we enjoyed a fantastic holiday meal. It was the wrong holiday (we had turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes), but it was tasty none the less.
As bedtime neared, the excitement level ratcheted up. The bigger kids wanted to hide and see the Easter Bunny, and Johnny just wanted to talk. He could care less about the Easter Bunny, he just didn't want to go to sleep.
When I checked on them an hour later, the kids were still awake and giggly. Mark feigned sleep until my niece Gabi exclaimed, "Mark lost his tooth!" And sure enough, when I grabbed his blood sugar test kit, a tiny tooth rolled out instead of his meter.
Mark jumped up to show me the bloody gap. I sent him off to rinse it out, and he peeked at the Easter baskets in the adjoining room.
"Did the Easter Bunny come yet?" he asked.
"Go to bed!" I reprimanded. "It's 10:30! He's never gonna come if you guys don't go to sleep."
And so, finally, late in the night, they slept. Soundly. Until...
...I heard giggles at 6 o'clock the next morning. I heard the little boys cheering and ripping in to their baskets. They were wide awake, and there was no way they'd go back to sleep, especially after consuming half their candy.
I met my sister-in-law Mary in the hallway. She confiscated their baskets and sent them back to their room.
Finally, to the relief of the little boys, the rest of the family woke up. The kids were very excited about their Easter baskets...
...and even more excited about the contents.
We ate breakfast, and sent the children off to dress in their Sunday best. Once they were dressed, I herded them outdoors for the disaster I like to call the family portrait.
Here was the first picture I took:
I then took 72 similar pictures, none of which met the minimum requirements of all kids smiling, all kids facing the right way, and no kids squinting. Johnny was determined to sabotage every picture.
Johnny lost interest in being in any picture, until I started photographing Mary and her kids. Then he wanted to be in the picture.
Unfortunately, he couldn't keep his hands off the feathers in Gabi's hair, so he got booted from the photo shoot.
I found more willing (and less hyper) models in my parents. They didn't squint or give me cheesy smiles--they looked great!
I was riding high after such cooperative models. I felt so confident, I tried shooting portraits of the children again. You can see how well that worked.
By the end, the children were so sick of photos, they actually begged to go to church. We obliged them.
When we returned, Mary and I readied the yard for the annual Easter egg hunt. I tossed my eggs all over the yard, but found Mary being much more creative. She even sent a raft of eggs floating into the pool.
The kids found all the eggs and were eating themselves into their next dental appointment when we sat down to lunch. My mom and brother Scott outdid themselves cooking again. It was an awesome lunch!
I know the candy was the highlight for the kids, but I most enjoyed the company. I spent all my childhood Easters hunting eggs in the backyard, and sharing big celebratory meals with my family. And now, as an adult, I'm grateful to pass that same opportunity on to my son.
Right now, it may just be about the candy. But someday, I hope Mark will treasure these times with our family, and the holiday memories, even more than he does all that chocolate.
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