1st English Easter

Easter at the Bungalow was as usual a little bittersweet.  I love this holiday and always have a great time celebrating it with my kids but I always miss my family back in South Carolina. This is how it is for me most holidays.  I always have a mixture of things that go right and things that go wrong.  I never seem to pull off that perfect Easter like my mom did when I was growing up. 

My Easter weekend started with the deaths of both my laptop and my desktop computers.  I think the laptop may be salvageable but needs a new hard disk.  It shouldn't be too hard to replace but I need to call HP to see if it is under the new extended warranty that I purchased a couple of months ago.  If not, then I will just go find a new hard disk and replace it myself.  I talked to my Dad and it doesn't seem like it is too difficult.  If that doesn't fix it, then I don't know what I will do.  We will just have to cross that bridge when we get there.

In the meantime I guess most of you guys saw my message on Friday evening.  I went and bought a MacBook.  I have actually not used an Apple computer since I was in elementary school, when the Apple II computers were all the rage.  So it has been a few years to say the least.  Learning how to use a system other than one that is Windows based has been like learning how to ride a bike all over again.  I finally think I have my balance and know what I am doing, but I expect to fall and skin my knees a few times.  I am still confused as to why the MacBook doesn't have a SD card slot.  What is up with that?  

So Saturday evening, the Easter Bunnies in my house decided to play a friendly game of Risk once the kids went to bed.  About halfway through the game they decided to take a break and set out the Easter baskets.  Now, Mommy Easter Bunny did not have time to get to the store to purchase Easter items, so she sent Daddy Easter Bunny on his way home from work.  He came home with two premade Easter baskets and no extra candy or plastic eggs.  Needless to say at 11pm when the Easter baskets were being set out, Mommy Easter Bunny was scampering about the Bungalow looking for extra goodies to stick in the almost bare Easter baskets.  She came up with conversation hearts that hadn't been given out on Valentines day and toys that Santa had accidentally left at the top of one of the closets.  After the crisis was averted, she went back to her game of Risk.  At 1am a draw was called (even though Mommy Easter Bunny was coming back and was totally getting ready to kick Daddy Easter Bunny's butt) because it was getting late.  

The next morning, the girls woke up and had a blast rummaging through their Easter baskets.  They were thrilled with the new DVD that Daddy Easter Bunny has picked up in a stroke of brilliance.  They also thought the new toys that Mommy Easter Bunny had found in the top of the closet were the bees knees.  My kids are pretty easy to please.  They didn't even notice the lack of candy (there was some but not a lot) in their baskets.  

We then went to the Banham Zoo.  KiKi had already been to the zoo once when my parents were here, but this was the first time for LaLa at this zoo.  This zoo is kind of out of the way in a small village about 40 minutes away from the house.  Honestly, the first time I went to this zoo I was not expecting much.  However, it is an awesome zoo.  It has a very large variety of animals, and honestly is one of the cleanest zoo's I have ever been to.  I have been to quite a few large zoo's, which include the National Zoo in Washington, DC and the Kansas City Zoo and I have to say, this little zoo is better.  The only animals it doesn't have that I wish it had, is lions and elephants.  I could go on and on about this zoo but I think I will save it for another post.  Lets just say we had a marvelous time there.

By the time we got back from the zoo it was 4pm and the evening Easter church service on base started at 5.  There was just no way we were going to have time to make it.  So I went and got everyone some dinner and I settled onto the couch to watch Pastor Rick Warren give his Easter sermon on FoxNews.  (Hey if I couldn't get to church, I was at least going to try to get some sort of Easter message.)  It was int erupted by the breaking news that the Captain of the Mersk ship that was hijacked by pirates off the Somali coast was freed by the brave Navy Seals.  It was an Easter Miracle.  Earlier in the week, I had said "it is going to take a miracle to get that man home alive".  Well that miracle came in the form of Navy Seals.  My hats off to the Navy and the fine job they did to get that man home safe and sound to his family.  

Lastly last night, I called my family to wish them a Happy Easter.  They were gathered at my Auntie A's house.  I spoke to my 16 year old cousin B, and he told me that I sound like crap because I have lost my voice from this zombie cold.  Then I talked to my Granny, who gave me a hard time about not making it to church, which I had promised her that we would attend.  I should have made it to church, but I still had an awesome day out with my kids and husband.  Once I get a cord for my camera, since this MacBook doesn't have an SD slot, I will share all the pictures I took over the weekend.  I hope you all had as great Easter or Passover weekend as I did.  I may have not pulled off the perfect Easter like my mom used to, but I did my best.