I love Easter. It was a non-event in the past but now with kids, and maybe being in Australia... it's become a big deal. It's 4 glorious days off (now much appreciated, being back at work full-time)... and there is so much going on in Sydney.
Good Friday
We usually spend Good Friday at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Last year, we had a good time but thought it was getting expensive and very crowded. I still wanted to do a "show" (Yanks, read: fair. I am allowed to call my American friends "Yanks" (as in Yankee) now that I'm Aussie. Hee, hee.) so we checked out the Sydney Family Show. This one is free entry and you purchase the activities you want to do. At the end of the day, we had a fun day and it worked out cheaper than the Sydney Royal Easter Show (1 child admission, cheaper).
Eden enjoyed Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo (a life-sized puppet show). He was even brave enough to go up and 'pat' the baby dinosaur. We also visited the Animal Nursery. MissE loved the calf (so cute!) and Mr.E, the baby ducks. Finally, we let MissE choose 3 rides (Eden was fast asleep by this point). Her favourite was the Bungee Jump.
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| Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo |
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| Feeding the calf |
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| Eden chasing the goat |
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| Flymotion |
'Okay' Saturday
Mr.H dubbed the Saturday after Good Friday as 'Okay' Saturday. Hee, hee. The name has stuck. We spent most of the day getting ready for Easter Sunday as we were having 15 people over for an egg hunt and lunch. At least we had the time to enjoy a coffee and babyccino's.
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| Handlebar milk-mustache |
Also during the long weekend, Eloise (and Mr.H) had their first backyard campout! MissE had been asking to sleep in a tent for some time. A few weeks ago, they picked out a tent at the camping store and had it set-up in our living room as a practice run. She didn't sleep in it but played and set-up her own bed.
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| The Easter bunny delivered one present early! A Disney Princess mattress |
So after putting Eden down for the night, we trekked outside to the tent. We roasted marshmallows (I found Campfire marshmallows in Australia!!!) with Eloise having her first s'mores. She declared it her "most favourite dessert EVER!" See, she's my daughter.
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| Eloise's first bite of s'mores |
Then I came into the house for the evening (I used to love camping but after hardcore camping (as in the hole in the ground is my toilet) in Africa, I can do without for a little while longer). Mr.H and Eloise played games in the tent until she was ready to go to bed... and they lasted the night!
Easter Sunday
Oh what fun! The weather was beautiful for us. Eloise and Eden woke up to find the Easter Bunny had left them gifts. I know what you are thinking, a bit much for Easter. Well, Eloise's birthday is very close to Christmas which means her presents come at the same time. I give Easter gifts for those in-between toys.
Soon, the crew had arrived (5 children and 10 adults) and we were hunting! Cousin H and MissE were all game-faced. Eden was more about multi-tasking: snatching up all the eggs on the trampoline and having a jump at the same time... yes, we had several squashed chocolate eggs.
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| Hunting eggs |
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| Now where are those eggs? |
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| What's a few smashed eggs? |
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| The haul! (enough chocolate to last until next year!) |
Then it was lunch time. We had a menu of both seafood and BBQ. And the finale was my 'Chocolate Overload Easter Basket' cake. It looks impressive, was so yummy... and was fairly easy to make.
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| Chocolate Overload cake |
I used my favourite chocolate cake and frosting recipe (Martha Stewart). I made 2 layers, using frosting between the layers then frosted the outside. I used KitKat (one of Mr.H's favourite), securing with the frosting and a ribbon. Frost the top of the cake, and distribute your favourite eggs (Cadbury Mini Eggs are mine). I topped the cake with Eden's Peter Rabbit from his first Easter.
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| I think someone is enjoying the cake |
MissE Says the Darnedest Things: Easter Edition
Chelle: I am going to try one of these carrots.
MissE: Don't eat it! It's a trap!
Easter Monday
It all fell apart Easter Monday. The kids were exhausted as were the adults! I woke up feeling cold-symptoms... from all the activity and because I had the flu shot a few days before. It never fails I get a cold post-flu shot but I rather a cold than the flu (remember my flu turned bronchitis turned walking pneumonia from last year?) We scrapped all plans (sorry J! Next time you're in Sydney) for movies and naps.
It's funny, it's been a while since I spent 4 straight days with the kids... maybe it was being hopped up on so much chocolate?! I really did enjoy the long weekend with them but boy, was I happy to be back at work on Tuesday... for PEACE and QUIET!
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