We had a wonderful Easter weekend with the family in Omaha and have had a week of the most perfect weather ever to enjoy it. Naturally, that meant multiple Easter Egg Hunts and extra time outside all around.

On Wednesday, Sam came by to spend some time with Hannah for the evening. She brought along a 1990 board game called Meet Me at the Mall, which Lexi apparently used to play when she was little.

Jake was back from Mexico and brought along a giant sombrero (which Aaron tried on) and a poncho, both of which he wore to Royal Rangers that evening. Aaron, in the meantime, got to make some cardboard “Armor of God” on his little group, dressed up as little soldiers in the Lord’s Army for evening. Yes, sir.

On Thursday, I dropped by the Pizza Ranch to hear from self-professed “tax geek” Bryan Sloan with the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He talked mostly about taxes, specifically the EPIC tax being proposed and Gov. Pillen’s current tax cut plan before the legislature. I also got to chat with a handful of other people about politics, including current craziness happening in the state legislature.

Then that evening, I made some unleavened bread to celebrate Passover, which we had with a little Kosher wine. Aaron got to try kneading the dough as well, which I found to be quite therapeutic to smash repeatedly on a flour-covered cutting board.

I took Good Friday off completely, specifically so we could take the kids to Lincoln for a long-overdue trip to Lost in Fun. They hadn’t been there for over two years — and will be aging out of it soon — so we wanted to give them both another chance to bounce on a jumping pillow, jump into the Space Pit, and run around playing with a few of the games and climbing through an obstacle course together for the afternoon.

Afterward, we got some smoothies from Pho Ngyuenn down the street and then explored some of the park and trails over by 22nd and Q. There was a small playground and some stone statuary and furniture for the kids to explore, and Aaron and Hannah walked around the river going through a “level” before we called it a day. Then we got some Chinese food at Egg Roll King before heading home (though I was tempted to explore the “Meat and Beer” across the street, which I presume has plenty of both).

The came Saturday. We managed to take the kids to two Easter Eggs hunts (out of the dozens and dozens happening in the area). The first was at Christ Cathedral up the street from us, which is where the family who started the Our Gathering Place dinners happens to attend. I got to meet Pastor Kevin Johnson, and the kids got to gather a few egg and get a few prizes from the prize table before having some hot dogs for lunch downstairs. We also got a nice family photo out in the foyer.

Afterward, we went down to Everett Park for a second Easter Egg hunt with Bellevue Christian Center. Hannah got a bucketful of eggs with candy as Aaron got some time on the swing and had his face painted (and Hannah got a spider on her hand). He and I did a little sword-fighting afterward before heading home.

Then came Sunday! We got up wit h the kids and let them look for their Easter Baskets to start the morning, which contained candy and a few UV “invisible ink” pens that U showed them how to use. We put on our Sunday Best and got a family photo before heading to church. We got to see several classrooms decorated as various scenes from the Easter story in the bible, including Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Empty Tomb. Someone also left Pastor Ron a giant Marshmallow Peep.

We returned home, where the kids got to have another Easter Egg hunt in our yard. Vivian and I spent a little more time afterward getting Easter Dinner ready and tidying up the house a bit. Vivian made a lovely glazed ham with pistachio fluff and broccoli casserole, and I made some mashed potatoes and deviled eggs. We had the whole family over — Vivian’s parents and mine, Uncle Jonny, Uncle Nathan, and even Cheryl. Donna brought a trio of pies and Uncle Nathan brought some donuts, so we had more food to go around than we knew what to do with.