Easter Day

The kids have been very excited about "Easter Day," as they call it. Today, when I put my cell phone up to Arlo's ear as he was buried in the sand, he yelled out "HI GRAMMA BETSY! MERRY EASTER!!!!"

Can you imagine anything sweeter?

The kiddos woke up to find a letter from the Easter Bunny. Evan and I both grew up having to find our hidden Easter Baskets, so our kids need to seek them out as well. This year, I thought it might be nice for the kids to work together to find their baskets.

I woke up at 5am to tinkle and found Oscar watching TV. Sent him back to sleep and managed to get another hour or two of winks.

The kids woke up to find this letter on the dining room table, framed by Peeps.

E.B. has asked the kids to work together and suss out the clues to find their baskets,

Here's their first clue:

The first clue is: seek somewhere hot.
Put your heads together, think a lot!
It’s where Mama bakes muffins and cakes.
and here is a clue you can take:.
The fridge is the spot that’s it’s not!

To the oven they go! The next clue:

You’ve found my first clue! I’m glad.
The next one regards your dad.
He finds comics quite fun --
carefully filing every one,
if you mess with these boxes, he’s mad!

Into the comics closet, where this is found:

Sometimes, Oscar’s feet get stinky.
So much that Mama’s eyes get blinky
Daddy fires up this shower
in the early morning hour
So we don’t plug our nose with our pinky!

The next clue is  hanging off the shower head. (And yes, Oscar's feet early do get that stinky.)

Look at that, you’re halfway there!
Now you must find the place where
catchy tunes go ‘round and round
That’s where the clue  can be found
It’s Daddy’s, so open with care!

Daddy was a good sport, letting his turntable be used.

Castle and knight, bishop and pawn.
Dance a game on a wooden lawn.
But you won’t know your fate
until the call, “Checkmate!”
Only then, in your head, the clue will dawn.

I had hoped this one might actually make them think, but Oscar went right for the chessboard. 

From New Jersey  your family all came
I know that California’s not the same!
But, there’s one tiny house
( still too big for a mouse!)
Which travelled on a truck in the rain!

Can you figure this one out? My kids sure did.

It should be full of lots of paper and such
But usually it’s full of toys: a bunch!
Cars and trains, sticks and rocks.
Arlo stuffs them in this box.
And the mailman? He must scrunch.

This one gave them a minute or two pause. But in the mailbox, they discovered the last clue:

It’s your last clue! A good job, you three.
Teamwork : what this bunny likes to see.
Your baskets can be found
if you just look around:
They are behind you as you watch T.V.

The baskets were hidden in the trunk behind the couch in the den.

A chocolate bunny from Trader Joe's. Peeps, in honor of their Gretta. And, because I am The Best Mama Ever, new toothbrushes and Easter-branded toothpaste.

 Aunt Tiff and Uncle Bartie shipped us Kindereggs from Mexico. I can't begin to tell you how happy the kids were to see Kindereggs in their Easter Baskets. Kindereggs are German chocolate eggs that have a small toy within. They are banned in the USA, but they are prized by toy designers and geeks like us.

A kinderegg toy: a private eye bear, holding a giant working magnifying glass.

Evan snuck off to the backyard to hide the eggs while they all stuffed their candy in their gaping maws (and I did the same with coffee, blessed coffee).

The egg hunt was a hit. They played with their new toys a bit, we plopped them in front of the TV for a bit, and packed the car for a beach day. We were on the road by 11:30.

We drove another glorious ride through the canyons and down the shore. Today, it was a little hotter, so we wanted to go somewhere we could swim (and by we I mean the kids). We ended up at Zuma Beach, a gorgeous, white-sand beach with a vicious rip-current and waves breaking right next to shore.

 We saw five pods of dolphins and then, a sweet little seal beached himself.

Luckily, there was a member of the wildlife rescue squad there, and he shooed us all away. The poor little thing was an elephant seal, about three months old, and was crawling up on the beach to warm himself up. After a while, the Wildlife Rescue showed up and took the little fellow away, They will rehabilitate him and release him back in the wild when he is well.

All of a sudden, folks were peering out at a fin in the water, about 50 feet from the shore. I thought that it was just a dolphin, until I saw the flappy fin fly out of the water, and a nose dart out about ten feet away. We gaped at two young gray whales swimming near the shore, keeping away from the great white sharks that were a little further out. I got all of this information from the wildlife guy, who was totally thrilled to have multiple animal sightings to talk about.

 A boy with some seaweed.

 A girl tormenting her brother with some seaweed.


After four hours, we managed to pry the kids away from the beach and drive back home. On the way home, we turned off the main road to peep at a gorgeous and random Hindu temple.

 I also convinced Evan to pull over for one of the strawberry stands right off of Malibu Canyon Road. I thought I could just buy a pint or two, but instead I bought I flat of the most gorgeous, sweet berries I have ever eaten for $11. Arlo ate a pint on the way home.

He ate another pint once we got home.

We fed the kids, watched DC Nation, and tucked everyone in.

Goddammit, Southern California.  Stop being so lovable. I can't be this cynical much longer.