Knowing my love for all things holiday-related, it probably doesn't surprise you to learn that I'm in full pre-Easter mode right now.  There are eggs to dye, cookies to cut out and frost, and baskets to fill.  I'm trying not to go overboard, as I apparently did last year.  At least that's what my folks and Thom seem to think.  Since it was the first Easter with my baby niece, Alexis, I decided we should go all out.  I bought about 85 plastic eggs and filled them with candy.  Then in some of the eggs I put "prize indicators".  They were little foam figures and if you got one in your egg, it meant you got a prize.  The Easter Bunny was kind enough to hide all of the eggs around my mom and dad's house.  Then my brother, Craig, my sister-in-law Noelle, Thom and I all went hunting for them.  We did pretty well.  I think there were only about 4 eggs we didn't find.  Who knew the Easter Bunny could be such a good hider!  I made individual baskets for everybody in the family but had the most fun with Alexis'.  Easter means a lot to us and it was really neat to see everyone enjoy the day so much.

With Easter arriving so early this year, I was barely getting over Christmas before I realized it was time to start planning this year's fun.  There will be no prize indicators in the eggs, but they're filled with candy just like last year.  There aren't quite as many, but since Alexis is walking this year, I'm hoping she can hunt for a few herself.  Even though I love getting ready for Easter, it's the time with family and the true meaning behind the holiday that makes it so special.  I try to keep that in mind when the to-do list...albeit fun to complete...seems quite long with only four more days until Easter Sunday.