Easter

Well I finally got my ring back so I was going to write about that but I thought that it might be a little inappropriate to gush about a wedding ring on Maunday Thursday so I decided to wait and write about that later. I will say that I'm soooo happy to have my ring back, I feel married again. Anyway, I got this brilliant idea that this year we should go out to visit my parents, brother and sister and her family in Rapid City over Easter weekend. I figured that with the holiday falling during the second week of April we would have nice sunny weather and I wanted the kids to experience Sunrise Services at Mt. Rushmore. We used to do that a lot when I was younger. Get up, put on warm clothes and sit/stand through a short outdoor service with (at the time) hymns sung by a group of local Cowboy musicians. Then back home for Easter baskets and pancakes. Those years it was too chilly or snowy or wet we dressed up and went to services at our church. Oh the misty watercolor memories.... Now fast forward to reality and the Black Hills have been buried under feet of snow with more expected. Instead of cute spring clothes and a fun trip to the park we will be packing snow clothes and maybe planning on sledding and making a snowman. For obvious reasons the Mt. Rushmore plans won't be happening. I'm thinking maybe we could do the Easter Vigil Saturday night at the Cathedral instead. Mom still wants to go to Deadwood for brunch so I'm sure that is what we will be doing Sunday afternoon. Even though it won't be quite what I wanted I still plan on having fun with my family. I have spent all this week trying to get things ready for the trip. Yesterday I did all the laundry there was to do so that I would have clean clothes for the kids and a lot less laundry to do when we came back on Monday. Earlier in the week I made sure to get the snacks and cleaned out the van so it looks nice again. The only thing I had not gotten to was the fish feeder. I thought I still had a weekend feeder somewhere in the house but I must have used it because it was not where it was supposed to be. My grand Thursday plan was to make sure the kids were bathed and showered by the time hubby came home from work so we could all leave for Tae Kwan Do class at the same time. Hubby usually helps teach the kids class so he likes to leave the house by 6:30. I figured that we could go to the Wellness Center and I drop the kids and husband off and pop over to Target and pick up the food. I'd be back before the 8:00 adult class. Simple. NOT!! My afternoon routine was going great and I had supper ready to go by the usual time and then the best laid plans went kersplat. Carolyn pitched a huge fit because I got after her for eating Jim's sweet roll for supper instead of her stir fry. She started screaming she hated stir fry and stomped off to her room and slammed the door. I'm sure I heard a few "I hate mommy" phrases too. After 10 or so minutes all was quiet in the room and when I opened the door there was a small lump buried under the comforter snoring. Meanwhile, Matthew finished his food and then wanted me to move the laundry that was on his bed because he wanted a nap. Within minutes of me finishing that task Matthew was fast asleep. Past experience has taught me that it is better to let the kids nap than to try and keep them awake so I let them sleep and hubby went by himself to class and I did not get to Target. I then waited until after we got home from class, the kids were in bed and I had packed the bag for the kids for our trip and set out for Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is always a challenge to do and when it is done after 10 pm then it is even more of a challenge. It still amazes me how busy the store is even at late hours. As I was walking in a family was coming out with three carts loaded with groceries and supplies. And by family, I mean there was at least one small child. I go to the store on the East side of Sioux Falls and that area has a lot of working class families. I'm sure many of them work second or third shift jobs and this is the only time they have to shop. When doing late night Wal-Mart it is best to have a sense of humor and lots of patience because stuff is usually sold out/not restocked yet, help is nowhere to be found and the cashiers have limited English skills. They do however, have a greeter so that even at midnight you can be cheerfully welcomed into the store. I got my few items--they did not have any size 6 Luvs diapers-- and went to find a person to stand behind that did not have an overflowing cart of items. Remember, it's late and there are very few checkout lanes open and the majority of shoppers are grocery shopping for the month. I found my line, the person ahead of me was more than half done getting checked out. It was going great and then I hear "I never see it do this before" Yes, this is a direct quote. The name on the cashier's badge along with her accent was enough to convince me that English was not her first language. Anyway her till had frozen up and she could not finish the transaction. The floor manager was also not able to got it to work so she was calling for more assistance. I had five items and was trying to be patient but I was tired and wanted to get the heck out of there so I finally asked if I should just move to another line. The till next to her was almost finishing up and there was no wait. I quickly moved over and sorry to say forgot to mention it to the lady behind me with the very full cart. The cashier did tell her not to put anything on the belt because her till was broken. If I wasn't so tired I might have told her to move past me to the other line but truthfully, I did not want to wait another 20 minutes. I now have all that I need for the trip and the fish won't starve. I hope all of you have a very happy and blessed Easter. I'll fill you in on my trip next week when I get back.