Saturday, March 30th
Nicole posted on Cool Kids Doing Cool Things about having a game night in March and everyone seemed to be on board. We all agreed on the last Saturday in March. We didn't realize that Easter was the next day. I wrote on our Facebook group that Ben and I could host, but it will probably be the last time we have a game night in our current house because we had planned on starting the process of moving as soon as possible.
We cleaned the house, got the food prepared, did laundry, drove to Hawks Prairie to get some grapes, Costco was still out of them, not sure why (we even asked Heather, and she had no clue), had to settle for Safeway grapes and I had time to make mini cupcakes for Easter Sunday. I decorated the house with Easter stuff since it served a dual purpose, game night and Easter.
Celeste and Isaac had the Easter eggs from the last time we had an Easter themed game night, which was at Nicole and Del's the previous year. Ben and I decided on a baked potato night and assigned everyone something to bring. I wanted to avoid people bringing the same thing and forgetting to bring things we needed. We would provide the potatoes, bacon bits, salt, pepper, butter and sour cream. I set the time for 6, to allow everyone to have a Saturday but not make it too late.
Megan arrived first, brought cheese and a buffalo chicken dip, assembled and heated it up here, Heather and Josh showed up next, with their gluten free chili, a charcuterie board full of goodies and some gluten free brownies, Nicole and Del rolled up with their green onions, broccoli and a plethora of games to play and then Justin and Lindsay with chips and salsa. Isaac and Celese came late because she had a client that went over their appointment at the salon. She made gluten free lemon bars, and she told us that we could eat without them.
We dished up food, ate and visited. We talked about the upcoming wedding and the stuff we still had left to do. Nicole and Del kinda had an idea of what they wanted to do but they still had a lot of work to do. Celeste and Issac arrived, and we left them eat before the Easter egg hunt while we continued to chat about stuff. I went outside and opened both the side gates to make going from yard to yard a little easier.
We cleaned up a little bit and then Celeste and Issac went outside to hide eggs while we stayed away from the windows. I let them know that the back yard and front yard were fair game. I was so happy the weather held up for us. We didn't have to wear rain jackets or hold umbrellas. They finished up and I let everyone know the parameters of the yard. Everyone either grabbed a flashlight or used their phone, I handed everyone a bag and off we went!
We raced around looking for eggs, there was some giggling, and I was excited to see what Celeste put in the eggs. We took a couple more searches to the yard and Celeste said there were a few more hiding and the golden egg hasn't been found yet. We found all the smaller eggs but that golden egg was hidden very well. Lindsay and Justin happened to be in the right spot, saw it in the brush and grabbed it. They will either have to host and hide eggs or hide the eggs at the host's house.
We went inside and dumped our bags out on the table to see what we got. She packed them with different types of candy and in the ones where airplane shots are supposed to go, because several years ago Nicole cut holes in the tops for them to fit, Celeste put in small bottles of hot sauce to make things a little different.
We played two games, Neanderthals and Big Bucket of Doom, two games we haven't played before. We had fun learning how to play them. We all talked about the bachelor and bachelorette party since most of the people were there who were probably going to go. Both Ben and I were excited for our upcoming parties with our friends.
As the night came to an end, people gathered their stuff and went home. We thanked everyone for coming over. Nicole, Del and Megan stayed behind a little bit more.
Ben and I cleaned up the living room and kitchen and finally went to bed after 2 a.m.
Sunday, March 31st
I got up around 10 and started the ham. I got it out of its packaging, mixed up the brown sugar with some warm water, dumped out most of the juice for the pineapple rings, added some pineapple juice to the bottom of the cooker and got out my toothpicks. I slathered the brown sugar mixture all over the ham and added the pineapple rings secured with toothpicks all over the top of the ham. I put the foil over it, secured it with the lid and set the temperature.
Wade was being annoying because he wanted fed. I grabbed the can of wet food and fed him and Oliver. I made Ben get out of bed. I got in a really light breakfast, sat and relaxed a bit. Over the past few weeks to a month or so, I've gathered some Easter stuff and candy for the baskets. I assembled them as I collected things. This time, I was able to store them in the extra bedroom because Doug wasn't in there anymore. It was nice having that extra room to store stuff away from the kitties.
Dad had come over the day before to bring money over for the plastic eggs. We sat at the table and counted change. It took about an hour or so. We had 35 plastic eggs with candy and 50 with change inside. I had one large silver egg and one that is shaped like a chocolate bunny. I asked Mom if she would donate some $5 gift cards to put inside of them and she said she would. Dad brought those over as well. We put them all in a plastic bag and put them into the back bedroom with the baskets. I thanked him for the change and helping me get them together.
As it got closer to food time, I checked the ham a few times to make sure it was getting up to temperature, I had Ben help with the mashed potatoes, and I heated up the green beans and started in on the gravy. I got the table ready in between stirs and temperature checks. Trish, Ed and Amy showed up earlier than everyone, she brought a green salad, and I had her help stir the gravy, so it didn't get chunky. Ben was in and out of the kitchen checking in on his potatoes. They were almost done.
Once the ham and potatoes were done, I helped Ben mash the potatoes while he got out the electric carving knife to cut up the ham. I got out the salad dressing, croutons, cheese, Mom made Easter cookies and brought a veggie tray and dip, Erika brought rolls, a bunny cake and root beer.
Doug didn't collaborate with his family very well. I gave him all the information he needed but he and Sonya decided to wreck the day and decided to be late coming over for the Easter egg and basket hunt. All it takes is a couple seconds of communication. We have cell phones, we check them. I was irritated with them.
We ate, always way too much, ate desserts and I got the baskets and eggs organized so Ben and I could hide them. Dad helped me take them outside into the back yard. Ben and I scattered baskets and eggs around the yard. Some were harder to find than others. I told everyone the rules (how many eggs everyone got and the yard boundaries) and Doug and Sonya finally showed up around 45 minutes late. They joined in on the festivities but didn't look that excited to be there. It disappointed me because I put a lot of time, money and work into making sure everyone had a great time.
Zac must have not been listening to the rule or had forgotten what we did over the past few years and basically grabbed all of the eggs. Mom kinda scolded him and Erika took his eggs away and gave them to the people who didn't get any. We took a family picture and then everyone got ready to go since it was a Sunday, and everyone had to get ready for the work week.
I had some stuff set out for Erika and she forgot to take it home, so I was stuck with it again. We thanked everyone for coming over. Ben and I spent some time cleaning up and putting everything back. Trish had done the bulk of the dishes while we were hiding eggs and baskets.
Mom had given Grandma her wedding dress a few weeks back. Grandma was able to get the yellow out of it and brought it over for me to use for mine at some point. I knew I was running out of time to figure out a dress for the wedding in a very short four months.
I was a nice evening, I decided to go for a bike ride in the park to get some exercise and to feel less guilty from all the crap I had eaten in the past two days. Ben worked on his taxes, and I was able to relax for a bit after entertaining people all weekend long. It was going to get busier and busier as July creeped closer and closer.
Happy Easter!
Next Adventure: Lewiston Cache Machine Weekend: Lacey to Lewiston
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