Open for Business.

We hosted our first official back yard party yesterday (I like to call it the Backyardyparty.) A bunch of my mom friends came over to hunt for Easter eggs. They apparently did it last year too, on the day that Adam was born (his birthday was originally supposed to be my baby sprinkle, but they changed it to an egg hunt when I had to tell them that I would be unable to attend my own party.) So this year, I offered to host!

It was really nice - each mom brought over a dozen eggs for the kids, and after everyone arrived and got settled, we dumped the eggs in the yard and set the kids loose. They ranged in age from three and a half to freshly two, so they're not very competitive yet, and they sort of bumbled around the yard like puppies, sometimes completely oblivious to an egg that was sitting right at their feet. They all had a good time, and there was no pushing or shoving or egg stealing, which was nice. I've heard a lot about how crazy things can get when communities and churches do egg hunts, so it was nice to do something low key. Ellie was happy to open one egg, eat a package of fruit snacks and then head back into the house to get her friends to play airplane with her (they drag bags around the house and then go sit on the bed in Adam's room, pretending it's the airplane that's taking them to either Chicago or Lake Tahoe.) Adam had two other little baby friends to play with on a blanket, and he was also happy to crawl around and get into things, like usual. The only sad moment was when he was sitting in front of the slider, and one of the other kids kept asking him to look out, and then finally yelled "LOOK OUT" and Adam burst into tears and laid face down on the concrete. His little feelers get hurt so easily, and he does not appear to have the Miller hollering gene (when we first got married and got in a fight, I started yelling, as I prone to do, and Tim was so sad because he thought I was going to divorce him. I JUST LIKE TO YELL, OKAY! IT HELPS ME HEAR MYSELF BETTER! [I know, I know, add it to the long list of self improvements that I'm working on.])

So the yard did well for egg hunting, and the table was great for the mom guests (and one dad, who beat a pretty hasty retreat to Starbucks after we started talking about childbirth - there's two new baby brothers who will be joining the group in the next three months, one who should be here in three weeks or less!) I'm so glad we went with eight chairs and the extra huge table - it seated everyone perfectly. The one downside Tim and I noticed when we had dinner outside earlier in the week was that you have to get up to pass the condiments if there's a small group. Perhaps we will hire a manservant to deal with this problem. Ellie and I made snowball cookies in the morning, and I also put together some avocado dip, and a baked brie.

NAILED IT

Overall, a good time was had by all. Until six, when the kids started getting tired, hungry and overall ornery. Why is it that all departures seem to involve tears? Just the way of our small folk, I suppose.

The whole crew, post hunt

Throw your hands in the air, if you're a true player

Hey, DOWN IN FRONT. And get a hair cut, you damn hippie.