Easter in Japan

Friday afternoon:

BBQ Lunch and Easter Egg Hunt for Med Group families outside the base hospital.  Creepy life-sized Bunny in attendance.  Numerous eggs gathered.  Max cashes in candy for nickels.

Saturday Morning:

Church Easter Pancake Breakfast and Egg Hunt.  (I'm the Activities Chair so I got to make the pancakes!)  Fortunately, no life-size Bunny in attendance.  Once again, numerous eggs gathered.  Max cashes in--again.

Saturday Afternoon:

Listened to General Conference

Sunday All Day:

More General Conference.   The talks were all excellent as usual.  We got a few games for Max and actually forced him to watch one whole two-hour session.  He did pretty well!  

Then our friends came for dinner (bringing most of it with them.)  It was OH so delicious!  

On the menu:  Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Parker House Rolls, (THANK YOU ERIN!!!) Susan's Scrumptious Spinach Salad, Martinelli's Sparkling Cidar,  America's Test Kitchen Carrots, & Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce for dessert.  With a side of this little cutie pie...

Unlike Thanksgiving, when Gabe fell backwards off his seat and had to have his head stapled, and Christmas when I bashed my head on the bottom corner of a cupboard (blunting the corner permanently and requiring the three adults in the above picture to glue me back together...) NO ONE got injured at this gathering!!!  HOORAY!

Monday Morning:  The Easter Bunny, who is SO not talked-up in our family, finally decides to visit and leaves the boys baskets.

So what do you put in an Easter Basket when you're avoiding candy?  (Besides a "Frame-Name" which they didn't get since they both have two from Grandpa Dale.) A T-shirt, (Sam's is pictured below.  Max's say's "Batman for President") Shortbread Animal Cookies, Extra Sugar-Free Bubble Gum, mini cans of Japanese juice, (at least we think it's got juice in it...) a church book or C.D. and a banana if it's for Gabey.   

They did all get a Pez Dispenser too...but only because I found STAR WARS ones at the Commissary and couldn't pass them up.  I told Max just to throw his candy away and he was fine with that.  (You think we're being mean not giving him candy, but you should see the dollars signs gleaming in his eyes!  Believe me, he doesn't feel deprived at all!)

Me:  "Show me your new Easter Shirt Sammy!!!"

Sam:  "No mo pictoes, okay, Mom?"(Notice the laundry on the kitchen table?  It was placed there in the middle of the night when we had to put all of Sam's bedding in the wash after he threw-up.  Twice.  Unfortunately, Doug is sick now too.  Darn Misawa-Petri-Dish-of-Germs!)

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday.  And we're especially grateful for the Reason for the Season!  My friend Melissa says it very well on her blog!  

As does Elder Holland in this video clip:



Happy Easter everyone!!!