We traveled down to my parents' house for the holiday weekend. We arrived Friday night, which was awesome, because I got to hang out with Keri and Gen, some of my favorite friends from high school. It's been years since we've all been together, but you wouldn't know it based on our raucous laughter. I love friendships that pick up right where you left off...
Mark was stoked to arrive a full day earlier than his cousins--he claimed the middle bedroom for us, whooping and hollering that he finally got to sleep in a bed at Grandma's! (He's been relegated to couches--and sometimes floors--the past few years.) My mom was not thrilled with this plan, sighing, "But then I have to change the sheets again for the girls tomorrow."
"No, you don't," I said (I have also been relegated to the couches). "We'll sleep there all weekend. The girls don't live here anymore."
"First come, first served!" Mark cried. "They can sleep on the couches. Boo-ya!"
My mom raised here eyebrows, realized we were right, and said, "I guess you're right." And Mark was a happy, happy boy. (I reminded him not to gloat over this too much, or Gabi might sock him.)
By Saturday, Scott and his family arrived, making it a full house. We don't like small celebrations (only 9 people!), so we also invited over the neighbors and their kids for dinner on Saturday night. We had a blast! Lots of kids, wine, and laughter, which makes a pretty great Saturday night in my book.
My nephew Grant was so excited to Elijah at dinner. But even that wasn't enough time, so he packed his bag up and next door for a sleepover at Elijah's. I use the term "sleep over" loosely, because Grant bragged to us that he woke up at 3:30 that morning.
"To see the Easter Bunny?" I asked (hey, the kids woke up at 2 a.m. before, searching for Santa).
"To play video games," Mark corrected. "Right?"
Grant smiled, and said, "Yup!" Then he frowned and said, "I hope I don't fall asleep in church."
"I hope you don't either," I said. "Especially if you're sitting by Grandma!"
All the kids shuddered. They love their Grandma dearly, but they also have a healthy fear of her--especially in church!
Grant is the youngest kid, which means all the other kids (and parents) slept in much later than him. Luckily, the grandparents did not. Also luckily, the Easter Bunny left all the kids' Easter baskets in the grandparents room, so they put them out before Grant came home early that morning. Thank God for good grandparents who wake up with the sun!
Because we are good two-time-a-year Catholics, we made our half-yearly pilgrimage to church. We aimed for the 10 o'clock mass, but no one in our family moves all that quick, so we actually made it to the more realistic 11:30 mass instead.
Turns out the family cleans up pretty nicely.
And we have a good-lookin' bunch of kids!
We arrived home from mass hungry. But have no fear, my mother the amazing chef had a fabulous Easter lunch planned for us. She carved up the ham, poured the sparkling cider and champagne, and passed more dishes than I could actually count.
Unfortunately, certain younger guests were more impressed with the chocolate bunnies table decorations.
Did I mention the food??? Mom puts on a great spread...holiday decorations included!
I was very excited to find out that our friend Sasha was in town visiting our other "family," the Fera-Schanes'. (They are so integrated into our lives now, the description "family friends" does not do them justice.)
I was already excited to see Ann, Steve, and Sasha--and was just as thrilled to see Seth was home from New York, too! Made my holiday even more perfect!
Gabi, Nathalie and Mark tagged along with me. They love the Fera-Schanes' too (Sasha's always got some fun project for them), but they were most excited to see their new baby, Atticus. Atticus, a golden retriever pup, had grown huge since we last saw him at Christmas. I think Atticus was even more excited to see the kids, because he leaped all over them, ran from them, chased them, and even gave Mark a bath.
Seriously, he licked Mark for like a half hour. He licked Mark so much, Mark's hair was sopping wet. I think Atticus liked his spiky hair, or maybe just the way Mark tasted, because he did take a few tentative bites. Lucky for Mark, Atticus couldn't get his jaws around Mark's big head.
We stayed a couple hours, laughed a lot, and finally, when the kids had worn Atticus out, said our goodbyes. It was so great to see the Fera-Schanes' and I left in a great mood.
So that was how we spent our Easter--laughing, eating, visiting with friends. We packed a whole lot into two days, but it was amazing. When we finally packed up the car and headed home, it was with full hearts and full stomachs, and with big smiles on our faces.
It was the perfect way to spend the holiday--or any day, for that matter!
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