Finally, Easter

A few days late and many dollars short, here is the Easter weekend wrap-up.....the weather was just glorious and Saturday, LM and I headed out for a car swap to Enfield, CT. As always, it is rollicking big fun when we set out on the road, and the KIA dealer sent us off in this bright red Soul. If you are familiar with the KIA ads for this cute thing, you know that it is featured with two hamsters driving, music blaring, etc....alas, no cute hamster outfits for us, but it sure would've been fun and we imagined ourselves that way. At each stop the car attracted a lot of attention and inspection, too. The photo was taken at Craigville Beach as we began the trip. My darling "hamster" is driving a lot of these lately. They are new this year and wildly popular, it seems. On the way back we took the back roads and witnessed many of the areas which had so recently been seriously flooded. Lunch found us at the Publick House in Sturbridge, MA. Lovely, and it brought back many memories of visits there with Mum and Dad. The wonderful bakery was jammed with people buying Easter treats. You can bet that LM came away with some chocolate confection.
Easter morning we were delighted to see that the kitchen geranium was just about to begin blooming. In our family it was a tradition to receive a geranium on Easter morning at church, so I have been nurturing this beauty since last summer, and we are going to have lots of blooms soon.
Easter dinner was planned for 2 at Jason and Alison's but first we stopped to see Kristi and her mother, and bring them some Easter gifts and treats. Kristi faithfully saves her Christmas tree and re-purposes it into her Easter tree.
and, she decorates the wall outside the door.
She was staying home for the day with her Mom, but we had to have a photo with Dad
Kristi's cat posing on the back of the chair.
When we arrived at Jason and Alison's, Teddy and his daddy were having a little nap, but soon they were up and about, and Teddy and I had a great time. Aunt Trish arrived with her bunny ears and decided I needed to wear them for a photo shoot with Teddy and his very soft new bunny. Trish drove down, and Sam and Nate rode their bikes to the Cape from Cohasset. A perfect day for the trip.
...and, of course, LM had his turn to cuddle a bit with Teddy (although, that day, Teddy just wanted to be with his Nana!

I am so sad that I didn't get a photo of Alison's beautifully set Easter table, but I was repeatedly distracted by this little charmer. He was all excited to get to some rooms that are beyond his usual bounds. He had a short rock in his swan (found and restored by Alison as a gift last year).
As soon as he saw me, the arms went up and he wanted "out"......so sweet....melts my heart.
He was a man with a mission....to touch and investigate as much of the "forbidden" as possible. Aunt Trish briefly thwarted his efforts but he soon wriggled himself down again and was off and running. Lovely to see the family antiques....the what not shelf came with Jason's paternal great grandparents from Germany, and the mirror is from his maternal great grandparents.
hmmmmmmm. can I make it before Dad grabs me???
Nate and Sam enjoy dinner....sorry guys for catching you with mouths full....a Morse family tradition, it seems.
Playing with a cell phone as we finish dinner. His current passion is technology - he wants live phones and remote controls - fakes will not do and evoke huge outburst of frustration.
Meanwhile, as dinner was ending, poor Nate was fast falling asleep so we suggested he take a nap. After a bit I went to check on him and found him playing with Teddy's toys....there is a little boy in all of us!
Teddy's beautiful Mum and preparer of our sumptuous Easter feast, shares some laughs at the table. Teddy is holding a photo of their two cats, Sting and Ray (dear departed Ray) and laughing with Aunt Trish. Note the fake REJECTED cell phone on the table.

Next up was hunting for Easter eggs....sweet Samantha and Teddy had a great time running around the back yard on the hunt!
The loot!
Sara looking very lovely watches over the festivities.
Samantha and her Daddy, check out her Easter egg prizes
Last but not least, it was time for dessert. Samantha was enjoying one of the coconut cupcakes and took time to give Nana a big smile. The bouquet of daffodils was a thoughtful Easter gift for Samantha from Alison and Jason. A fitting gift for our little princess. We left around 5 to allow for LM to visit John at the jail. Good news from there these days. John will be out soon as he is doing so well. His first college course is complete with very high grades and he is now in a pre-release center. What a high price he has paid for choosing to get in to a stolen car and then get caught joyriding with some he thought were friends. I am continually amazed at LM's unwavering support of John. A good man! We've actually been having fun helping John study for his papers and exams on the phone.
That about wraps up our Easter weekend. So nice to have so much family together.