COVID 19 - The Coronavirus: Easter Isn't Cancelled!

He is risen! Happy Easter!

Shane watched a kid's service with us in the morning (10 AM). Carrie and I watched an adult service later on (1 PM?). 

If you can't tell from the times, it was a slow day. Laura came and did the morning barn chores for her once a week turn and Ellie came in the evening for hers. It was the first day we didn't have to do anything in the barn in a looooong time.

We did a good job of avoiding work for the day.

Though Shane found Mom's riddle to be a ridiculous amount of work!

Carrie told Shane that she hid a "large egg" in the house. She said that it was somewhere under the roof of the house and that it was delicious. It wasn't going to be in a bathroom or Mom and Dad's bedroom and it wasn't going to be hidden in a cabinet or anything out of the ordinary.

The "egg" was a cake in the garage fridge!

We told Shane that he'd get the "egg" no matter what, but if he figured out the riddle he'd see what it was early!

Shane got super frustrated. He was a little butt about it, too. We wouldn't give him extra clues or help no matter how he pouted. When he did figure it out, he apologized and was really excited (probably because Carrie pulled it out for lunch!).

On the presents front, Shane got a game from Uncle Patrick! Patrick actually bought the game almost a month ago (3/20), but I held it in my back pocket until now to reveal. It helped make the day more special!

Shane has obsessed over the game ever he played at Patrick's. He was watching YouTube play-throughs at school! I'm hoping actually playing it some more will cure him of the obsession (it normally did for me).

I didn't want to only play video games for the day. It was Easter! I wanted to do something special to make it memorable!

We made "corona-eggs."

I don't think anyone predicted toilet paper and paper towels becoming the hot, panic-bought commodity of the season. We haven't been to the recycling center for months, so we plenty of raw materials to decroate!

I started to get experimental by the end.

Carrie made hers artsy. She wanted to incorporate the leftover toiletpaper into the design!

Shane made a few, too. I'm not sure the zombie bunny was the most Eastery of decorations, but he had fun making it.

He did a more traditional one, too.

I made 14 or 15 of the 18 'eggs.' Shane went to his room to read while we hid them. Some of the hiding places were traditional.

Others were uniquely suited to the 'eggs!' I was especially pleased that Shane kept walking by the roll I wrote "You can't see me" on so many times!

The philosophy I hid things with was "Keep them mostly in sight. Some should be hard enough to take a while, but none should be hard enough we find them searching for Christmas gifts."

I put one on top of the door to fall on Shane's head when he checked the bathroom, but he saw it right away.

He didn't see the 'eggs' hanging out on the fan until near the end!

And I've got proof! Here he's walking right under them.

There was one egg that was much harder to find than all the others. That's because it traveled!

It took energy upfront to make the eggs and the hunt didn't last all that long, but it was all worth it.

I hope it's a memory Shane will cherish.

Loki cherished whenever he got to chew on an egg.

By the way, I got a great picture of the final reveal! Carrie kept turning to face Shane to keep the egg 'invisible.' She gave some hints at the end and he was excited when he figured it out!

Gotta love the love!

Carrie took a picture of all the gathered eggs and posted on Facebook. She enjoyed the hunt, too!

Ellie came and did evening horse chores, so we all got to stay inside. Carrie cooked a Mexican themed dish ("Mexican always works for my boys' pallets!") and we watched the movie Abominable from Dreamworks to finish the night.

Happy Easter all! He is risen, indeed!

Easter 2019

We went to the early church service for Easter. The sound mix/bass at our church has really bothered Carrie, but she was up for service after surviving a show on the ship. 

We ended up in the lobby to listen, but I was happy to have her at my side.

The weather was beautiful when we got back.

All the kids were out save Rah!

We easily could have stayed outside and played for longer, but what's Easter without an egg hunt? We discovered all of our gear was already packed away (or tossed), so I had searched for egg hunts online. There was one at a local UMC church we decided to try.

Shane wasn't into the arts and crafts beforehand.

But he's been real big on bunny ears!

We ran into a family that Carrie knows. The family has triplets who had wanted to see a horse and she invited them all out to visit Nibs for free. They picked something else up from us when we were donating items to clear out the house and now they're acquaintances. Funny how that happens.

The kids all piled out for the egg hunt at 10:30 AM after an Easter story. The eggs were empty to represent the empty tomb (and probably to save on work and prevent squabbles!).

Shane was bummed about the lack of candy, but ready to go. I think he had high hopes based off of last year at Nana's and this year wasn't up to his expectations.

The kids were off in a flash when the signal was given. It can take hours to clean up a simple mess, but kids will pick a playground full of eggs clean in under five minutes.

Shane's basket spilled under the slide and some of the other kids descended like vultures upon him. He wasn't too happy about it!

I let him climb in a tree while Carrie and the family talked. Shane worried an older woman who asked him to get down. He looked at me and I nodded. "Not our turf and some little kids are mimicking you." Carrie was a little worried, too, but I commented, "He could fall head first and not crack anything from that height," to (not) reassure her.

Shane tried to get his climb on elsewhere, but it wasn't the same.

We got smoothies and went to Lowe's afterward.

The outside fun continued when we got home. The weather was too good to take time to change.

Shane's been on a baseball kick.....which is ironic since he asked me not to sign him up for it!

I pitched some whiffle balls for him before we went inside. It was a low-key Easter, but the day still felt special to me.

Easter 2018

"Nana doesn't mind when I wake up early!" Shane said.

Yes she does!

Nana made it clear that Shane was not allowed out of his room before 7 AM. I found them watching Blaze and the Monster Machines when I sauntered down for coffee.

Shane really wanted to see what the Easter bunny had brought him. "Have you all been talking it up or something!?" Nana asked.

Nope. Shane talked himself into getting excited he might get some presents. I never said a word or promised anything.

Nana and Pop put together a small bag with some books and eggs with money. Shane went nuts. Especially over the cash. It was only $6.53, but from his reaction you'd have thought the eggs were full of solid gold.

We all went to the 8:45 AM church service. Shane went with Nana and Pop to Children's church. Cole and Evelyn were there. Carrie and I went to the contemporary service. The bass/music was too loud for Carrie, so we ducked into a side room and streamed it. Shane went to Sunday school next. Carrie and I didn't have a class. We took our time moving around and drove around town a little before picking him up at the appointed time.

From there, it was back to the house. The weather was beautiful. Indy was happy to have company.

Shane was happy to climb.

It was a minor challenge to keep Shane from searching for Easter eggs. Kathleen, Stu, and cru showed up after noon.

Energy levels were high (and obvious statements are obvious).

With everyone here, the egg hunt could begin.

The kids each had their own rooms to search. Evelyn was in Nana and Pop's room. Cole had the den. Shane had the TV/Living room.

There were 18 eggs hidden for each kid.

Carrie upgraded the difficulty of Cole's eggs for him. She thought they were 'too easy!'

Plus, it helped keep Shane from searching for his eggs while we had to wait.

I love these kind of events. I'm not good at organizing them myself, but they're Nana's bread and butter.

Tenley stuffed her face. She's less shy than she used to be.

Megan called over Skype.

She's in Norway with Billy and B. They're visiting friends. Megan took a temporary job with Fleur and lived with Nana and Pop for a month to pay for the trip. Nana and Pop provided childcare for B. Megan and B had only left a couple of weeks before Shane, Carrie, and I moved in for Spring Break!

Kathleen's bunch went home for nap and rest time. Shane watched TV, so that Nana could have her daily nap.

It was time to dye eggs when Nana woke up.

It was also prime chicken shooting time. Shane won a pair of rubber chickens at church to stretch and shoot. He'd already lost one and we discovered that a lucky shot could make the chicken stick in unlikely places.

That chicken could fly! "Who said chickens can't fly!" Shane ran around and squawked.

And fly it did. Carrie sailed it right over the fence. Shane has to ask the neighbor to throw it back.

While the chicken was away, Shane finished dying his eggs.

That's another seasonal activity I'm glad Nana set up. If it was up to me it probably wouldn't have happened.

Carrie and I slipped out for a half an hour walk. She kept an eye out for turtles in the pond. A duplicitous decoy duped us into thinking a pair of ducks were enjoying the bubbles from an underwater jet ('jacuzzi!").

I set up Nana's new switch when we got back.

Then I put it on the TV.

Kathleen returned with her kids, so they could dye eggs, too.

Nana discovered that she had NOT brought out the hard-boiled eggs for Shane to dye earlier. She'd brought out normal eggs! We were lucky there were no breaks! She brought out the hard-boiled eggs, said something, and of course the boys started to test the eggs. Shane started to crack a hard boiled one, but when Cole followed suit he found his egg raw.

I threw it away before their was a mess. Cole strikes things with less initial gusto than Shane. He's more cautious than my son.

Shane and Cole took a Pokemon Go break while Nana cleaned up.

Then I showed them Mario Odyssey.

The boys did an admirable job of sharing. It went way smoother than I anticipated!

The girls filtered in and soon it was a regular party.

They weren't as interested in the video game as much as the company.

Kathleen took Evelyn and Tenley home for bed sometime after 7 PM. Shane and Cole continued to play on.

Yes, that is a box of nerds Shane is inhaling. It's Easter! It's a holiday with family! You have to celebrate and live!

I took the box away before he could get himself sick on it, though. Nana and Pop took Cole home for bed and Shane calmed down for his own sleep schedule. It was a full and exciting day! I love being around family. Especially for holidays.

Happy Easter, all! Christ is risen indeed!