Oh, What fun we had!

The Bean, Little Bean, Mommy and Dad arrived Friday night.
We started our weekend with energy, happiness... and a full house.

The extra bedroom instantly became the central headquarters for artistic endeavors. I really need a bigger workspace for two little boys that love to create things. Little Bean moved his projects to the dining room table and that helped considerably. The house was filled with activity.

...and getting to know each other again.
Playing outside...

Lots of drawing, cutting and painting.

And throwing a Frisbee.
(Nice job, little Bean!)

Later that night we had some Apple Crisp and ice cream... and we all settled in for a good night's sleep.

Saturday morning Dad and Papa took the Beans downtown to an Easter Egg Hunt on Main St.
 Mom and Noni went shopping and ate lunch in Sutter Creek. YES!
We went to a few of our favorite stores. Fine Eye Gallery and On Purpose.
On Purpose is filled with New Age, mystical, magical things... Buddhas, books and all things to transform your life. This is the store that promises positive energy to all.

 We talked to a man about a car.

 He and his wife were sitting outside of the Twisted Fork Restaurant. We asked if this was his car and he said "Yes". So we got permission to take some pictures and he told us that he buys and sells these beautiful old "masterpieces" and I think he said this one was for sale for something like $50,000. THAT'S a lot of money... but it was completely restored. It's an old bakery wagon with a wood ceiling in it.

We walked down to a favorite store for clothes and holidays. 

Tomorrow's Heirlooms is eye candy for beautiful things.

It's filled with charming good taste.

Beautiful window displays...

Hand made banners, soap and good smelling things.

 There is a wonderful children's section.

 And beautiful clothing.

I always ask if I can take pictures. The lady who owns Tomorrow's Heirlooms always says "YES".
When  you do a pictorial on your blog about a store it's kind of like free advertising for them but, even though, sometimes I'm told "No". Then I put the camera away. It's a good idea to always ask first.

We came home. Robbin and I took a short nap and then started dinner . The Beans went fishing with Dad and Papa. It's getting to be a tradition in this family. It's a good thing that we weren't having FISH for dinner though, because the fish decided to lay deep down in the Mokelumne River and didn't come home with the guys.
 The weather was beautiful.  The dinner was good. We had Easter dinner on Saturday because our kids would have to leave early on Sunday.
 I don't cook big meals much anymore, so the ham took longer than expected. I hate to admit that I'm a little out of practice but I will just say that everyone was good and hungry when we finally sat down  to eat.
We held hands and said, "Thank you for this food and bless all of those who couldn't be with us.".
We enjoyed the meal and discussed The Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy as we ate. The Bean lost another tooth earlier in the day.

He wanted to be sure that the Tooth Fairy would know where to find him. We assured him that she (or he) would know where the Bean was for the weekend.
The day ended with a bath for the Beans. They went right to sleep.
Robbin and I did the late night bunny run... leaving a few plastic eggs with glow sticks coiled up in them so the Easter Bunny could find us up here on the mountain.
This looked so cool. Hard to take pictures of... but it looked wonderful.

We floated them in the birdbath to take pictures and them scattered them around the yard. ( A Pinterest idea that Robbin found.)

Tomorrow I will show you our lovely Easter Morning, and the hunt for Easter Eggs. What a joy to have the Beans looking for eggs in our garden. Can't express my happiness at this.

OH... and guess who came back Saturday... just for an Easter visit?

The little Screech Owl came back to see us. He hasn't been here for two months or so. But, he arrived on Saturday. We never know when he is going to come and perch on our porch eaves, but it was nice of him to arrive on Easter weekend.
I don't think that he liked all the commotion, but he stayed up there and surveyed the comings and goings underneath him until dark. At some mark, on his internal clock, he flew away.
Now, he is gone. I hope he comes back soon.

Tomorrow... The Egg Hunt.