Easter Weekend

Happy Thursday, Friends!  Getting back to reality after a long

weekend with Mims and Gramps is made easier with

copious amounts of "just born" jellybeans and coffee. 

(Have you tried the just born brand of jelly beans? They

are so, SO good!) I thought I would hit you 

with a super larger Easter weekend recap...it has a lot

of Max pictures (I'm assuming that's what you come 

here for anyway!)...so withouth further ado we will 

proceed. 

I left work early on Friday and cleaned up the house a bit. 

I also packed everyone up with every single thing we might 

need for our little weekend jaunt. We headed to Dayton a little earlier

than expected on Friday...which ended up working out

well because I got to have some delicious egg salad

with my mama! I was a little salty she got rid

of her vintage skillet thing that she used to 

cook grilled cheese in...because grilled cheese is what I really wanted. 

But,,, the egg salad made up for it. 

 

On Saturday morning we actually got out the door early for an Easter 

egg hunt at Forest Field Park. I was expecting mass chaos (like the 

Hunger Games meme I had seen floating around) but alas it was

actually really chill and fun. Max was definitely not feeling

the "wait till it starts part" but we distracted him with 

running around on the tennis courts, eating snacks, and 

holding him. 

I appreciated that there were dedicated areas

for hunting eggs based on the child's age. 

Max held his own in the "2-4" age group area. 

Funny story - as we were waiting for it to begin, 

Max spotted an egg hidden on the lip of a trash can. 

The egg was yellow. I didn't think much of it but 

as the lady called for the egg hunt to begin...Max

took off. Past all of the eggs RIGHT IN FRONT HIM

and he kept running. I was like, what the heck is

he doing? And then I figured out that he was 

charging past all of the other eggs to get 

to the egg on the trashcan. He grabbed it and then 

proclaimed himself "done". 

I told him he could keep collecting eggs if he wanted

so he looked around and gathered up quite a few more. 

The eggs were hidden in the grass, around the trees, 

and even on the playground area. He did super great!

Once in the car, he was delighted to find the eggs

had tootsie rolls and gold coins in them too! 

We have also played with the Easter eggs non-stop

since that day. 

After the egg hunt concluded, we went to one of my

favorite Metro Parks - Cox Arboretum. 

In the spring time this place is full of the most

gorgeous daffodils!

Max loved running (and trampling) through the flowers. 

He could barely be convinced to stop for pictures. 

We hiked the tree tower, climbed over the bridges, 

looked for ducks and geese, and did a lot of bribing

for pictures. He did a little bit of walking, but 

mostly enjoyed riding on people's shoulders. 

Every year after vising this place, I'm convinced

I need to plant more bulbs in the fall. 

My mom is quick to point out that it takes a long

time for the bulbs to spread out and grow

in the mass quantities they have at the arboretum. 

Why is she always trying to dream crush me?

We had a quick lunch at McDonald's and then Max 

fell asleep on the way home. We were able to transfer him

to the pack and play (this feels like a major parent

victory every time it happens). After his nap, Auntie

Stacy (and Penny) arrived and we got down to the 

business of dying eggs!

This was the most fun year yet for egg dying!

Max loved dropping the eggs into each 

dye container - both using the whisk 

and tongs.  He was quick to take off his 

shirt to avoid it getting wet :)

We dyed 3 dozen eggs!  So basically I will 

be having egg salad every day for the next month

probably. We did one dozen that were brown eggs...

and even though everyone mocked me...I think 

they turned out so pretty! (though sadly, I have

no picture of them). 

The rest of the evening was spent playing 

with Penny at the tennis courts, strolling around 

the neighborhood, and convincing my parents that

take out food is kind of the greatest thing ever. 

They literally NEVER order take out. 

And Auntie Stacy and I were like - um....

take out is really just a win win. You don't have

to cook, there is no dishes to clean, you 

usually have left overs, and in my case, 

you don't have to entertain your toddler at a table

for a bajillion years. Once we had won them 

over with our arguments, we got 

take out from China Cottage (sadly - they messed

up Papa Rob's order and he got sweet and sour chicken

instead of Sesame...but he rolled with it!). 

Easter morning dawned and the Bunny did 

in fact hop over to our house! He left Max a 

carefully curated basket including Paw Patrol sunglasses, 

Paw Patrol socks, bubbles, chalk in the shape of eggs, 

a vehicle coloring pad, and some pretzels in the 

shape of bunnies. Max seemed pretty happy with all of it. 

He was bribed into wearing his church shirt and then 

we headed off to mass. 

After mass, we had brunch at the Station House. 

Usually we eat at my parents house, but at 

the end of our fabulous buffet experience

(complete with bloody mary's and mimosas!)

we all agreed we would definitely go this route again. 

Also, this place had amazing coffee. 

So good that I had to take some in a to-go cup. 

We had another egg hunt at Poppy's house. 

Max was really funny during this hunt because

he would shake each egg. If it didn't jingle (with the

sound of sweet sweet coins) he would throw it aside. 

Mims had to remind him that "dollars" don't always

make a sound. Meanwhile, Auntie Stacy was

going on about how much generous the Easter

bunny was this year. #truth

Once he collected his eggs (twice over) - we

went inside to count his spoils. 

At Poppy's house there is also a "nature trail" that 

leads to a nice pond...so since the weather was

outstanding - we also went on a walk. 

This time, Max walked the whole

way (pushing the stroller I assumed he would 

want to sit in). We stopped to see a small

garter snake, admire some spring wild flowers, 

and play around with my selfie stick. 

Once at the pond, we fed the fish two loaves

of bread. Max loves to throw whole pieces in the 

pond and watch the carp go to town. 

They went through the food fast and then we 

headed back. 

There was no nap to be had on Easter Sunday....

we just continued to play with chalk, new puzzles, 

and eat some ham sandwiches! 

One last picture of Poppy and me. We were out 

on the patio after dinner watching Max go down 

the slide. 

So thankful for our family and the chance to spend

such a sunny, fun day together. 

Hope your Easter was wonderful!

xoxo