What a week.

This week was fun for me. I was recovering from the most horrifying surgery known to men, and even though pain was not a problem, I got to milk it for a little extra down time. I’d like to say a big thanks to the wife for letting me take advantage of the situation and her hospitality. Her silent service to me during this time will surely be recorded in Heaven as yet another reason she deserves a Celestial glory.
Monday we had a lady bug over for dinner and the kids gave it a piece of lettuce and an orange rind to eat. The lady bug must have been thankful because it sat there right on the table and munched on the lettuce. The kids were mesmerized by our little guest all through dinner and when we were done we got to say goodbye and let it back out in the garden to find its friends.
Tuesday Dexter climbed under the music table and was practicing his skills as a mechanic with Lucy standing by to pass him his tools. Those are the first two pictures in the “Fun at the Table” album. I love the imagination that kids have.

Family Date this week was to the movie theater to see “Monsters vs. Aliens”. Lucy and Dexter climbed into the seats with their little boxes of popcorn and drinks and sat ready for the show like two old pros. Hazel got her first movie experience while awake and was laughing and clapping throughout the movie. Mommy and I had more fun watching them than the movie. The kids had a blast and were very well behaved so we decided to tempt fate and go to dinner. We headed out to a place we heard about on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” called the Blue Plate Diner. It reminded me of the Harbor House, which by the way I really miss, or that awesome Flames diner chain in NorCal. The kids gobbled up the food and we headed home.
Saturday we got up and went to the Easter Egg Hunt at the local Rec Center. I gotta tell ya… parents can really ruin an event for kids. Dexter and Lucy were in the 3 and under field which parents got to go in with the kids. The parents were not supposed to help pick up the candy for the kids, but these parents didn’t abide by the rules. Kids were almost getting trampled, and not a single piece of candy was let by for the littler and slower kids, like Lucy. It pissed me off. Dexter being the awesome speedster that he is, bolted out in front and filled his bag to the top, while dodging the parents that would have run him right over had he not kept his wits about him. I am thankful that he made it through unscathed because once the siren sounded the start of the hunt I immediately lost him in the mad crowd while I was trying to help Lucy. Now here is the kicker… Lucy maybe had 2 pieces of candy when the whole thing was said and done. Dexter came over after he finds us and takes two or three big handfuls of his candy and puts it in Lucy’s basket, effectively making the two baskets equal. I am tearing up right now as I write about this moment. I am so proud of my little boy for his love and consideration of his little sister. What an awesome example of tenderness and kindness that I think every parent on that field, including myself, could learn from. Sometimes kids do things because the parents tell them to, and sometimes they do them because they are being guided by the Spirit. This was one of those moments where I could see the light of Christ in my son and it hit me hard. The spirit of Easter should be in tune with the Spirit of Christ. I am glad that my son was able to fill me with that Spirit this day.



We then decided to brave the worsening weather and head out to some farm out in Murray that was having a festival. When we arrived it started raining which wasn’t too fun for the kids, but we decided to brave it anyway. The kids got to jump in the bouncy house then we went to get pictures taken. Lucy wanted to see the princess, but was scared of her up close. Dexter wanted to see the Star Wars geeks and ended up swacking one with the fake light saber. Some Jedi he was… he was actually kinda mad at Dexter for it. After that we got some cotton candy and walked around. They had some animals walking around and the kids had a lot of fun scaring the crud out of the poor ducks and geese while they chased them around mercilessly. We then went into the reptile show and that was well worth the 2 bucks to get in. The guy that was doing it had the kids super excited and he had some amazing animals. My favorite was the huge tortoise. Dexter and Lucy liked the small turtle. We then went to lunch at Red Robin and then home for naps.
It was a busy day that ended with the kids baking cookies and leaving a not for the Easter Bunny. The note in case you can’t read it in the picture said:
Dear Easter Bunny,
Thank you for our brother Jesus and his sacrifice for us. We love Him and we love Easter! Hope you enjoy these yummy cookies we made.
Love,
Lucy, Hazel & Dexter

To which the Easter Bunny has replied:
Thank you children! I loved the cookies. I left you some treats for later. Keep being good boys and girls and obey your parents. I love you!
E.B.

I had to put the shameless plug for them to obey us. I just hope they listen to the Easter Bunny.