Easter Party Palooza

First thing i did on Sunday was hit up the 8 am service. It's been awhile since i have gotten up that early but staying awake didn't seem to be a problem while sitting during the sermon. It was mostly about why there were two thieves chillin on the two crosses on either side of jesus.

After the church thing i went straight to my bed and took a two and half hour nap. i need to make sure i was rested for the Easter Egg hunt. It is pretty intense every year. Though last year i didn't do to well, i got a bunch of panera bread gift cards. i don't even know where panera bread is.

i didn't arrive at the house until 1:50pm, i was told to be there at 1:30 pm but my nap lasted longer than i meant it to. Turned out a bunch of people weren't there yet when i arrived so the food was just hanging out in the kitchen for a good 30 minutes before the rest of the guests showed up. After the early dinner everyone just hung out and talked a bit.

Brent actually stuck around a bit after the meal, which was nice because he usually peaces family gatherings as soon as possible unless he has brought a lady to the shindig. Before the egg hunt got started Brent left, he didn't want anything to do with the Egg Hunt. i tried to convince him to participate because he could find cash in the eggs that would then pay for his next beer. He then came back with that he has a 'job' and he doesn't need a few bones found in eggs because he makes 'blah blah blah' a month. Fine, more eggs for this guy!Here is josh, he always has to say something to make fun of me. One of his comments was that Carter (JR and Megan's baby) and i do the same thing everyday...bastard. Austin and Rach. Austin doesn't seem to like the camera...

Here is Winston, he's due for a bath and hair cut. Carter was not a fan of him, i thought all babies liked dogs...i just wanted a picture of Winston, but bekah had to get in the frame and do something weird...
Sometime after 4pm the Egg Hunt finally got started. We were told there would only be candy and cash eggs and there would not be crazy slips of paper with numbers in the eggs that corresponded to bags with gift cards like there usually are. The money to be had were some ones, fives, tens, and one twenty dollar bill. i was determined to grab that egg with the Andrew Jackson inside.

There is actually a few techniques to proper egg hunting. No matter how cold it is outside, don't wear a jacket it'll just slow you down. If you get cold you're not running around fast enough. When you bend down to pick up an egg, bend at the knees and lean forward so that you can easily sprint to the next egg location. The most crucial, is to throw a hip check towards other egg hunters when snatching the egg. What also helps is to watch where the adults hide the eggs.

We were only allowed to pick up 11 eggs this year. Last year i think it was 12, and for some reason there were 8 'bonus' eggs that could be picked up after everyone has collected their 11.
i of course picked up a 12th egg before i was told everyone had collected their 11 eggs. You snooze you lose, and since i did so horribly during the egg hunt last year i thought i would just help myself to an extra one before we were allowed to.
The house soon turns into a chicken coop minus the chickens and the eggs are colored because everyone just throws their eggs once they crack open its contents. The first egg i opened had some candy and a one dollar bill...it wasn't a good start but the next egg also had another dollar bill. The next couple eggs only had candy in them. i was about to think i stuck out with no more eggs in cash in them until i opened the largest yellow egg in my bag....there was a bill in it, Andrew Jackson! i knew i was going to find him! The last couple eggs contained some more candy and one more with a dollar bill in it. My total cash winnings was 23 bones. Not too bad, good enough for a few rounds of beers.

After all the eggs were opened, Uncle Gary broke out a bag with a bunch of lame knick knacks and office supplies that companies give out at conventions or something that he went to. One of the items was a stapleless stapler that did not use staples. Can you even call it a stapler that doesn't use staples? It was a pretty crazy device. Some how it punches a hole in the paper and then tucks a flap of the paper into a hole...its hard to explain you'll just have to find one and see it for yourself. Of course it doesn't work was well as staples but it gets the job done and its environmentally friendly.

When it came to my turn to pick out one of these cheesy give aways, i picked the carabiner multi-tool in blue. It has a flashlight, bottle opener, and a clipping thing...pretty much everything you'll ever need. i guess the only thing cooler than this would be the Guppie just because it has a knife, wrench, and a couple different screws drivers. i'm still happy with my inferior multi-tool.

Here is the carabiner light in action...Austin got one too.

Apparently Josh and Abby have been playing violin together and josh thought he would share one of the few songs he has learned. It was pretty painful, at least it looks like he knows what he's doing.Every family gathering with this family, there has to be a lame photo taken with the four sisters. Here it is with some ridiculous flowers.

Buttons...

Clarence...

The girls use to have another cat, Cindy. That was the cool cat because if you ever fell asleep in the house, you would wake up with Cindy sleeping on your chest. But Cindy ran away and is probably dead, rotting in the woods somewhere.

Everyone left around 7pm. i on the other hand thought i would overstay my welcome since i haven't seen these kids for awhile. i finally left around 8:10 to come home to find out that i had missed the Simpsons...bummer, should have left earlier.

To The Diner

After everyone bounced from the Easter dinner, brent messaged me and said he wanted to get something to eat. His restuarant of choice was Michael's Restaurant. Pretty sure i've never been here before but i've heard good things from brent and other people so i was willing to give it a try even though i wasn't hungry. Turns out my sister ria worked there according to my dad a million years ago as a host.
Sorry for the blurry picture, i'm no professional photographer. Brent arrived at the diner a little bit before me. We walked in and ask for non-smoking. The guy asked if a table was okay rather than a booth, and before i could answer brent said a table would be fine. While i was thinking, "no! if i got to a place that has booths, i want a booth!". Its pretty much the rule when going to a diner with a small party, you have to sit at a booth. Oh well, i guess i'll live. We sat down and our waitress was kind of rude, and she didn't refill my glass of water. i wasn't going to order anything but while looking at the very extensive menu i saw something that caught my eye, the Greek Gyro. Not quite sure what other kind of gyros there but i had to have one. Its the closest thing to a shawarma i can get, and boy do i enjoy my shawarmas.

Brent took his healthy root as usualy and got some mozzarella sticks and a burger. The mozzarella sticks were massive, like they were the largest sticks i've ever seen in my life. i wanted to try one but i kept telling myself i'm fat and i don't need a deep fried piece of cheese. The gyro i had was pretty much amazing, just as good as the ones i use to get at the grease trucks in philly. The only thing that would have made that second dinner more enjoyable was if our waitress was a little more friendly. i'm sure she just wasn't having a fantastic day and she is much more enjoyable on other days.

Early Easter Dinner

Every year my mom has her Easter dinner the day before Easter. Because everyone already has plans Easter Day. Easter was a little different this year, my sister's and their family were not here so i didn't have my six nieces and nephews climbing on me before and after dinner like i'm some kind of organic jungle gym. One of their favorite things to do is to sit on my feet, and they ask me to walk around like i'm some ride at an amusement park...

i didn't get a Easter basket this year...i guess i'm too old to get an basket, sniff. Not only was i kind of saddened from the fact that i didn't get a basket, i had to look at this thing every time i walked into the kitchen...This has got to be one of the scariest ceramic objects in our house. Of course my mom thinks its cute but it has to be the scariest pig ever. It looks like a pig that died, got buried, dug himself out, killed a chef at a french restaurant, and jacked his clothes.

This was my uncles' and aunts' first time having ham, they said they liked it a lot. Usually when they pig, its your typical roast pig drenched in some red bbq sauce.My mom cooked up a storm. On the table there was egg rolls, salad, ham, corn, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and fried rice.
i wasn't really feeling the picture moment so i went head and started helping myself to the ham. i thought brent was going to eat a lot but he didn't to my disappointment. Turned out he had just woken up a little before dinner and this was really his lunch and it wouldn't be long until he got his second dinner.