Easter is...

I wanted to share a little bit about why Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. No it has nothing to do with Jesus and I am not going to make any religious references (sorry). I think it all started my first real easter. Although I don't remember it, I have fond memories through pictures. That is the year I got my first bunny stuffed animal. His name was Mickey (no relation to the mouse). He was blue and had two puff balls for cheeks and one for a nose. His hands velcro on them so they could hug you. It was love at first site. We were inseperable. I still have him today. Although with half of my stuff being in storage I couldn't seem to find him to post a pic. I slept with him every night and brought him everywhere I went on into middle school...I know a little old for a stuffed animal, don't judge. Here are a couple pics from my first Easter.

My favorite animal has always been a bunny. I have to assume that it comes from easter. Because I would be surrounded by them. Real ones, stuffed ones, chocolate ones and even marshmallow ones.  How can it get any better. I have always had a sweet tooth. Any holiday when my parents would let me eat candy all day was ok in my book. I also always enjoyed mystery. I loved hard boiled eggs. The "Easter Bunny" would always come early and hide lots of yummy treats for us to find. Me, My Brother and my two little cousins, Steph and Kris would wake up early and head out to collect our riches. We always had a contest to see who could find the most eggs. Pretty sure I always won. I was much faster and have always been slightly competetive. My family used to hide "The Golden Egg". This one was different from the regular eggs with chocolate or change in them. This one had money. Real money. It would always be hidden some place a little less obvious and we would all race to get to it first. It would usually have about $5 or $10 in it. And hey for a 7 year old that is big money. I could buy enough candy to last a week. I remember one year I found the egg in 15 min. A new record. I think it was unfair because it was hidden kind of high and the other kids probably couldn't see it because they were too short. It was hidden in the middle of an old wagon wheel. I was so excited I spotted it from across the lawn, ran up to it and opened it. I was speechless at what I found. A Twenty Dollar Bill. A whole $20. I don't think I had ever had that amount of money in my hand. I think I was 8 years old. I thought I was rich.

Easter was always spent at either my Grandmas ranch in the mountains or at my Aunt Linda's house. I believe we traded off each year. When we went to my grandma's house, I remember her always making a big production out of easter. We would get up the day before and start dying our eggs. Dozens and dozens of eggs. All different colors. We even had stickers and glitter. No two eggs were alike. We would have a big feast with ham and potatoes, deviled eggs and anything else she came up with. We never go hungry there that's for sure.

We would end Easter day with so many eggs and chocolates we didn't know what to do with them. Our Easter baskets were always filled with all kinds of goodies.

Another thing about Easter that I loved was getting to dress up in fancy clothes. Luckily I can say that I didn't dress myself in this next one. Although I did think I was pretty stylish. What do you think?

I think the main reason that I have always loved eater is that I get to spend time with my family. My mom was one of 5 children, and they all had at least 2 children, so I had a lot of cousins. We didn't get to see each other very often, but would all be there for Easter. We would have a huge Easter egg hunt that would start off on a ride to go search for the Easter Bunny. We would all pile into the back of my uncles truck and go searching through the fields by their house. This would give time for the "Easter Bunny" to hide all of the eggs. I remember one year we actually spotted the Easter Bunny. Turns out later I find out that it was my mom who had dressed up. We were supposed to spot her then keep driving. Problem is that The older kids thought jumped out of the truck to catch her. Maybe they thought that if they caught her she would have to give them a special treat like a leprichan and his pot of gold. Anyway, My mom started running and they kept chasing her. I guess she made it back to the house ok, ran inside an changed, before we even caught on. I always felt special at easter because it landed right around my birthday most years. We would usually celebrate my birthday on Easter so we could be with the whole family.

Now Easter isn't as fun. I still try and spend them with my family and most years am able to. No more Easter egg hunts or chocolate bunnies. I guess not for a couple years anyway, until I have children. I can't wait to pass on all the fun and memories that I have of Easter to them.