Apr 18, 2012

Day 2: April 7 :: Go, Go, Go! ::

I had no idea when I woke up the morning of the 7th that this day would turn out to be so crazy, busy. It was all good, but crazy!

HATS OFF TO YOU
I guess every year Lava has this Easter celebration that they do. It starts with a breakfast, followed by a few fun activities.

We went to the breakfast because it was free and we didn't pack anything for breakfast and we hadn't had a chance to get to the store. We met up with my Dad at the breakfast and were somewhat disappointed that the breakfast wasn't as good as it had been in years past. After the kids finished eating they were off to the playground.

When I was done I decided I'd better get in line to decorate hats for the kids. A few years ago they ran out of hats, so Shaylyn was the only one that got one. This year we got one for each of the kids. We tried to decipher what kind/color of hat Nathaniel wanted and we kept getting the wrong thing. I finally saw what he saw. An orange birthday hat that was tucked away in a clear bin. I asked the guy if Nathaniel could have that one and he graciously and pleasantly gave it to us.

The line was forever long and it took FOREVER to get to a glue gun. But when we did I hurried and put stuff on the 3 youngest hats. Tanis did his own, but stayed right by my side. Shaylyn did her own as well and took her time. After I was done I took the hats over to get some glitter on them. Shaylyn showed up a few minutes later and got glitter on hers. I then had the kids (and Eric) model the hats:

-- Eric Models Nate's Hat, Cause You Know Nate Won't Do It --

-- Yes the boy chose soldiers... Soldiers for Easter, go fig. --

-- Eric Liked Lex's Hat So Much, He Had To Take It --

Now the day was colder than it appeared. It was one of those days where it felt pretty nice without the wind, but when the wind blew, man was it cold. And well the wind rarely let up. This town also takes FOREVER in between each event, so we were getting bored (and cold) just waiting around.
Eric was really quite cold and wanted to go back, but Lex and Shaylyn really wanted to do the 'Easter Bonnet' parade. I had Eric take Ailey, Nate and Tanis back and I stayed with Lex and Shaylyn and froze my butt off! Lex and Shaylyn apparently stayed warm playing on the Merry-Go-Round...They played on that stupid thing for probably an hour! I don't know how they didn't get sick. I was getting woozy just watching them.

Next came the parade. I was so ready to be done with all the fun at this point, but I let the kids have their thrills...

There was an Easter Egg Hunt planned for after the parade, but we opted not to do it. Half the kids were back at 'home' and my mom had one planned for when we got back to Utah with the other cousins. So I really didn't stress it.

STRIKE

After we finished our Easter activities, it was decided that we'd go meet up with my older sister and her roommate who were heading back to Utah from Canada and so they had found a place in Pocatello to stay.
I thought we were going to have lunch first and then do our traditional bowling, but apparently my sister was already at the bowling alley, so we bowled first and ate after.

Because my sister and her roommate had already bowled a few games they decided to take a lane with the kids so that the other 6 of us 'adults' could play a couple real games. We won't talk about the 1st game - although I was surprised that my brother, Donovan, is a worse bowler than I am.

The second game I had warmed up and bowled a MUCH BETTER game, I even beat Eric! Coming in 3rd is like coming in 1st because against my parents there really isn't much of a game. (They bowled in a league for a couple years when I was young)

-- Dang! Little Brother's Got Some Skill --

-- Yup, he was totally thrilled to be there --

-- LOVE this picture. Ailey usually shy's away from Grandma. But she was so cute showing off her pretty blinky necklace that Daddy got for her --

-- Two Peas In A Pod, Shying Away From The Camera --

-- Proof that for once in my life, I beat Eric. I'm framing this! --

EAT LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW

During the course of bowling we were trying to figure out where to eat. Trying to get 8 grown people to decide on a location isn't easy. For once, I tried not to be too picky and went with whatever. It was FINALLY decided that we'd go to Golden Corral. I was starving and ate more than I should have, but in the end I don't really regret it. It kept me satisfied for the rest of the night.

After dinner, a few of us had to go grocery shopping. Because only I really needed to do the shopping I sent Eric 'home' with the kids and I went shopping with my parent. It made Eric and I both happier parties. He didn't get dragged along on a long shopping trip (although, he did graciously offer to go with me since I wasn't feeling great) and I didn't have to deal with kids while I was shopping. The shopping trip was uneventful, but I had a nice talk with my Mom on the way 'home'.

SUCKIN' IT UP

When I got back from grocery shopping I got bombarded with the question of, "Can we dye eggs now?"
It was 9 o'clock at night and I was exhausted. When I told the kids that we could do it the next night, they were heartbroken, so I relented.

I did feel bad because in the time it took me to put the groceries away, boil the eggs and get the dye ready, Nathaniel had fallen asleep.

The rest of the kids had a blast dying eggs and I dyed a few for Nate using colors I knew he'd like. Although it doesn't really even matter because he never looked at the eggs or asked about them.

Lex only did a few eggs and dyed them all the same color and then he was ready for a bath and bed. Tanis lasted a bit longer, but only a bit. Shaylyn and I held out the longest and Shaylyn had some awesome looking eggs.