Easter

Easter weekend is finally here and I am starting to feel like I am pregnant with morning sickness all day and night. Fun times!

Tutu and Papa Phillips kicked off Easter with a surprise.

Kelsey was in Hawaii for Easter with her school choir. The day before Easter we took Kelsey and the boys to the beach and tried to dye eggs but the near- hurricane winds made it impossible so we decided to go home and dyed the eggs there.

Pearce and Connor dyeing away

We get old, but dyeing doesn't

Kelsey, Pearce and Connor. Wow. Real cheerful faces.

This is the first year Pearce could apply some of his recently acquired art skills. He put them to good work, but Connor remained the master, turning several chicken fetuses into works of art.

Easter Morning.

Pearce and Connor find their Easter Baskets


The big Easter egg hunt

Bunny pancakes

One very happy boy.

Enjoying the fruits from the Easter Bunny.

All in all, it was our best Easter in Hawaii. Mainly because the Easter Bunny actually had a place to hide our eggs. In years past, the Easter Bunny had to use parks or beaches, which meant we had to compete with vagrants and bums, who were in it more for the nutrition than the fun (and consequently were a lot more motivated). Thanks Easter Bunny.

Easter

Holidays are different when you are far from the fun family that you love. Hawaii, though, is a happy alternate. Love as a verb is openly encouraged in Hawaii and so everyone treats each other like family. Total strangers refer to other adults as Auntie or Uncle. Once, I was in a grocery store carrying too many items and as I was ready to drop something, a lady said to her son, go help Auntie. The son came right over to help me. A few weeks ago, Eric, Pearce and I were walking through a beach park and a family asked if we wanted to join them for BBQ or grindz as they call it here. Those are just a few of the examples. Of course, once in while we come across a rotten egg. But overall, the aloha spirit exists. And not just on holidays, birthdays, or special occasions.

We celebrated Easter this year with our Ohana. We had several Easter egg hunts. Some with plastic eggs, and some with real eggs we dyed. At our McCully playgroup a creative mom hollowed out real eggs, dyed them and carefully filled them each with stickers and treats. The idea was when you find an egg you have to crush it to get the prize inside. It made for a lot of excited toddlers. But first she had the kids make and decorate their own Easter baskets.

Decorating Easter baskets.


And Voila! A beautiful Easter basket.

Ready, set, hunt for Easter eggs.


Jackpot!


Open please!



The kids really loved stomping and crushing the eggs.

Grandmama and Papa Piller sent an Easter Rabbit filled with goodies.

Pearce had fun finding the treats.

The rabbits neck and belly also held treats. Yummy treats.

As always, this season filled us with gratitude for the life we have been given and the opportunity to make it better.