Easter Weekend | 2016 — KINDRED STORY

What a jam-packed, fun/family-filled Easter weekend we had!

Thursday afternoon we moseyed on out to Ogallala - I say "moseyed" because 1. I've seen City Slickers and 2. we really did. First we got adjusted at the chiropractor, then we got beans and granitas from The Mill in Lincoln's Haymarket, then we stopped for some seriously good eats at "Chances R" in York (french dip, beef melt, hot dog and fries...salty and delicious!), and then we plowed through I-80 West to JD's hometown, the Cowboy Capitol of the World. It was late, but after a couple of hours of snoozing in the car, The Littles were wide awake and happy to see Papa who stayed up to greet us. We nested and made camp, but The Boy insisted on cuddling between us and hence tossed and turned til 2 a.m., gently touching our faces and hair and flopping himself around, while Alice was thrilled to have a "sleepover" - aka sleep on a nap pad at the end of the bed, surrounded by towels. Road trips have never agreed with her, so we were on high alert for any noise, but aside from a few bad dreams she was fine.

The next morning was filled with Daylight Donuts, cousin play, naps and catching up. Lunch was gourmet grilled cheese (any grilled cheese with more than one kind of cheese is "gourmet" in my book) and they were scrumptious. Just thinking about them has me salivating all over again. There was Scrabble and cherry pie and pecan pie and more naps and reading and pie - did I mention pie? Aunt Tarah and Alice made special crayons while Uncle Chris got out train tracks for Milo and Acadia. After building...wellll, more like destroying (Milo rightly earned the nickname Godzilla) - we attempted some wiggly cousin photos but resigned ourselves to having to wait a few more years for smiles and stillness. They have places to go, people!

For dinner we feasted on Peking's - one of the best Chinese restaurants this side of the Pacific - and capped our festivities with ice cream and a cut-throat game of Wahoo (pretty much the only time I get to play a board game). With no hard feelings (mostly) and full bellies, we all retired for a better night of sleep and gave our goodbyes to Chris and Tarah who would be leaving before we awoke.

The morning was slow and filled with coffee and more pie (don't judge) we lounged and packed. Linda whisked me off to a local antique store in nearby Paxton and it was not what I expected. While the outer shed was full of darling furniture finds (sadly, the ones she was coming back for had sold), the inside of the main building is what dazzled me. It was light and modern and airy, adorned with cake stands laden with beckoning baked goods, a well-curated antique selection, and lattes. Linda treated us to coffee, tea, a chocolate tort with molten sea salt caramel oozing out the middle and a rich raspberry confection that was ambrosial in decadence. We dined and browsed and eventually headed back home for breakfast burritos. (I know, I know - we eat a lot when we visit :D) Lunch was as tasty as ever and eventually we kissed, hugged, and parted ways.

The drive home was quick and enjoyable - we listen to audio books, and this time we were enthralled with Orson Scott Card's second book in the Ender Quintet, Speaker for the Dead - and hit up Trader Joe's and Jason's Deli on our journey back to Blair. We unpacked, cleaned up, put The Littles to bed, and called it a night. Traveling is fun, but it feels so good to sleep in your own bed again.

The next day dawned clear and cold, but we managed to adorn our best and get to church on time. It was a full house and Nick's message was riveting. Using only secular and historical evidence (read: not the Bible), he lead us through the case for Jesus - that he existed, that he was who he said he was, and that he rose from the dead. Give it a listen here. Thank you, Jesus for loving me to the point death and then beating it!

We picked up The Littles from the nursery wing and headed home to unwind before an all-day feast at the farm with my parents, sister, Gramma Alice, and Papa Milo. And let me tell you, we ate all. Day. Long. Here was the fare, in no particular order: cheesy bacon and hash brown casserole, corn casserole, ham, cream cheese roll ups, fruit salad, cashew coleslaw, bacon candy, cinnamon rolls, caramel pecan sticky rolls, homemade dinner rolls, barbeque meatballs, chips, wine, coffee with Kahlua and Bailey's...am I missing anything? It was good food weekend :D

There were gifts for the kiddos, an egg hunt downstairs (Milo was more interested in dumping the contents of his basket and then filling it back up again. Repeat two dozen times.), Alice and Gramma Jo dyed eggs and decorated them with stickers. Milo was not interested in napping - Mama, there are things to do! - but The Mister and I were hankering for one, so we sneaked away for 20 minutes of shuteye.

We talked. We listened. We lounged. We laughed. We ate. And ate some more. We had a delicious time with family, something I cherish more and more as the years click by.

Thank you, family, for loving us, for feeding us, for giving us a home, and for sharing our lives. We love you so much.

Happy Easter!

p.s. I know, I know, a lot of words, but since I write for myself, I want to remember everything I can. In fact, I doubt anyone is even reading this sentence, but in the even that you are, way to persevere!

Our weekend in pictures...

The Wiggly Hall Grandbabies

our silly girl

Thank you, Libby, for the darling headband!

Piano practice with Daddy

Milo the Stacker

Always building, this one.

Heart and dinosaur crayons, love - Aunt Tarah

The Halls

Back in Blair for Easter morning. Hi, everyone! Courtesy of a new remote for my camera.

And these two...Milo was enthralled with it. A little 10 second glimpse into this brother/sister duo...

Our little gentleman, complete with suspenders, cuffed sleeves and a pocket square from Aunt Lynnie. So dapper!

Easter presents

I'm such a sucker for books, and while Home had been sitting in my Amazon list for a year, The Tale of Three Trees is a perfect story for Easter and it was all of $1 at Half Priced Books. (Love that store!) If you haven't read the Three Trees, find it. It will move you to tears! Milo also got a $1 shovel from Target to match Alice's pink one from a prior Easter.