Pre-Easter :: The Northern Tour

We had family Easter Round One today with the Northern Tour to Mom's ... and back. If I counted correctly, there were 22 of us who made it – 7 kids and the rest a mix of grand- and great-grandkids. My niece Beth brought the Easter Bunny, aka pineapple. Cute, huh? And yummy.

We had birthday cake and ice cream for dessert! I was good and only had what was left on Carter's plate. But that doesn't mean I followed Weight Watchers in the slightest when it came to Peanut Butter eggs!

We had a shortage of children this year. Technically, Carter (under 18) and my twin's granddaughter Hanna (2 1/2) were the only kids. My niece Ashley had fun hiding, er throwing, candy around the yard for the kids.

Since it drizzled rain all day, it was a very quick hunt! Not even full yard boundaries this year. And only about one or two treats each ... unless a Peanut Butter egg magically landed in your hands or lap courtesy a kind niece or nephew!

There was mix of visiting and some game playing. The guys claimed this game was too complicated for girls. Probably. Plus, it looked like whatever it was, it required way too much thinking!

Got a nice picture of the cousin class of 2016. My great-nephew Anthony just finished classes and will graduate high school in June. Carter still has 2 months and 2 days. They look like nice young men, not boys, now!

Had to be sure I got a photo of the birthday girl and her youngest grandson. He's a great grandson, just not a great-grandson. You know what I mean.

I suppose you're wondering if she is smiling because she got her new mailbox in. Well, funny story...

My brothers-in-law Rick and Steve were on the ball and fixing it in the rain while we were eating. I guess there was a bit of a disconnect. The old mailbox had been bungee corded to the board on top of the post because the board had rotted and couldn't hold the mailbox in place. So they put a new board on and got the mailbox secure.

Turns out Mom had a brand new mailbox she wanted in place of the old one. It sat in a box on the deck but the mailbox fixer uppers didn't know it. So now the "story" is that the screws they had "wouldn't work" on the new mailbox so this old box on new board is a temporary fix. In the meantime, one of the fixer guys is going to make sure the new mailbox gets prettied up in some way before they install. Then, she'll be really happy.

To secure their place as the sons-in-law of the year, those two also replaced the toilet seat at Mom's. This was all before lunch. Wow. I wonder if they make house calls to other moms in the family. I'm sure I could find a project or two.

I'd even pay with peanut butter eggs... just this once.