Easter Weekend – Part One

For the past several weeks our family has been sick (whipped through the house like wildfire) and subsequently healing (at a snails pace). But with the coming of Spring – celebrating Easter, rebirth, and renewal, we are back to health. By some stroke of benevolent fortune, Alvin and I each had a three day weekend for Easter – a rarity as of late.

The Easter festivities began Friday morning with egg coloring. Eighteen eggs later (barely 30 minutes) the eggs were colored and the kids were desperate to hide them! We headed over to my parents house to meet up with the cousins for a little pre-Easter fun. After a few rounds of Easter egg hunts in the back yard we only had one MIA egg – I hope we find it before Abbi, my parents 130 lb Newfoundland, does.

Waiting “patiently” for the eggs to dye

Dying eggs

Our Easter eggs

Next we loaded up all four kids and headed over to the Tractor Supply store to check out the baby chicks. Last year the chicks were out in the open so you could hold them. This year someone got wise to the fact that lots of little hands holding and squeezing baby chicks is probably not the safest practice – for chicks or kids – and the put a fence around the chick bins.

Baby chicks

My own baby chick on the tractor

After lunch, the cousins came over to our house to hang for the afternoon. We enjoyed the last afternoon of sunshine before the rain moved in. Avery and D hung out at the “beach” (think driveway with beach chairs, sand toys, and plenty of imagination) while Caedon and M stayed closer to home.

Snack time

My little niece enjoying some apple slices

We closed out the evening by dining at Bistro Des Copains in Occidental. My father is co-owner of the Bistro and after nearly 7 years, it is still my favorite restaurant in Sonoma County. The Bistro was recently reviewed by Jeff Cox for the Press Democrat – read the review here. Fortunately, the Bistro has two patios – front and back, both of which are dog-friendly. We brought Duncan, our German Shepherd, with us and sat out on the front patio. The weather was pleasant, if not quite warm, and the restaurant-provided blankets coupled with soul-warming food made for a perfect evening.

Bistro Des Copains

Wood-fired ovens at the Bistro

Stay tuned for part two of our Easter weekend in a post to come.