Happy Easter!

(I’ll address the life-sized Elmo doll in a minute… )

Since my family and I went to Easter service last night (where I finally saw Shawn Johnson! I was beginning to think I was the last person in town to spot her!!) we were free to trickle into my parents house this morning. Of course my saintly Mom had an amazing brunch spread prepared for us when we got there, including crock pot egg casserole,

hand-cut fresh fruit,

and a cream-filled chocolate-drizzled butter braid!

I had a little of each.

Ok, it was definitely more than a little pineapple and I think I nibbled on 1,000,000 chunks throughout the day. Fresh pineapple is my kryptonite!

After brunch, Finn, my 1 1/2 year old nephew, got to open his Easter basket which included a Finn-sized huggable Elmo doll!

The Easter Bunny, aka my Mom and Dad, know that Finn is crazy for Elmo…

and indeed – he went CRAZY FOR ELMO!!!! Look at that face!!!

This post has a lot of photos of my nephew, btw. He’s so dang cute!

The family enjoyed mimosas, bloody mary’s and a rousing game of hearts (which I totally blew) before we decided to head outside to get some fresh air.

After weeks of cold, wind, rain and clouds – the sun was finally out today!

Finn brought Elmo out to enjoy the nice weather too.

Papa dutifully followed him around and blew bubbles with his new bubble gun,

while Grammy was on hand to supply hugs, when needed.

My little brother played Elmo butler. Super thrilled about it too. Just kidding, he actually was.

We are all smitten with our little man. We’d do anything for him!

Later, after Finn went down for a nap, we had ourselves a little…vodka tasting competition. Because nothing says Easter like vodka, right?

Totally kidding. Ok, so my brother claims he can absolutely tell the difference between cheap and expensive vodkas, so my Dad put him to the test. Three vodkas – one top, middle and bottom shelf – one sip each.

Sniff…taste…

and guess…

He got it wrong!! All wrong!

The one he thought was the tastiest and most expensive, ended up being the cheapest – Phillips – and the one he thought was the cheapest and least tasty ended up being the most expensive – Kettle One! Bahahaha!

Yeah, Easter got a little crazy this year…

We all finally settled down for a beautiful Easter lunch.

My Mom laid out the china and put Easter baskets at each of our places.

Filled with all of our favorites!

Mini Oreos, Trail Mix, Sour Patch Kids, Gummy Bears, Almond Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs. Go Mom!

That was for dessert though. Up first was the main event – our traditional Easter meal.

Fresh green beans sautéed with bacon, onions and toasted almonds,

cheesy party potatoes with a buttery cornflake crust,

salty Amana ham,

and my personal favorite – Grandmas Holiday Salad.

I’ve shown you Grandma’s Holiday Salad at least 20 times over the past two years, as we have it for every holiday meal, and I think it’s high time I share the recipe with you!

Grandma’s Holiday Salad

Ingredients:

2 eggs, well beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 small can pineapple tidbits, juice reserved

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups whipped cream

4 bananas

3/4 cup mini marshmallows

red seedless grapes

Directions:

Bring to a boil, then lower heat until thickened stirring constantly: eggs, sugar, and cornstarch dissolved in some pineapple juice. Stir in salt. Let mixture cool, then fold in 2 cups (or more) whipped cream, bananas, marshmallows, pineapple tidbits and grapes.

Best. Thing. Ever. I promise you this!

The whole meal was perfection as usual. Way to go, Mom!

Well, stuffed and sleepy, Ben and I are back at home resting and preparing to go back to work. I can’t believe it’s been 10 days since we were last there! Yep, it’s back to reality – but I can’t think of a better way to end our break than with a wonderful, family-filled weekend!

And because I can’t help myself – here’s another adorable picture of my nephew.

Have a great night and an even better Monday!

~~~~~

Do you have any special dishes you have every holiday?

What’s your favorite Easter candy? Least favorite?

I LOVE gummy bears at Easter, but I can never pass up a Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg! I loathe Cadbury’s!