I hummed as I placed the second ham in the oven. Giggles and barks carried over from the table in the next room, where Grandpa C was probably doing magic tricks. Footsteps thundered down the stairs and Tyler emerged, adjusting his tie. He pretended to hang himself when our eyes met, and I followed him into the dining room. I checked the food and drink levels before sitting down to my own breakfast.

"Mommy?" Harry offered me a hard boiled egg he had just bit into. "Here."

"You don't like it?" I asked. He wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. I took it from him and casually put it onto the small pile of salt on my plate. I started on my toast, waiting until he was engrossed in what Roy was doing with Scottie before putting it back onto his plate.

"Ninja parenting at it's best," Josh joked from across the table.

I grinned. "He'll never notice."

Josh leaned over to Tyler and stage whispered. "Sam found out if she salts whatever he doesn't like and put it back on his plate, he'll eat it."

Tyler and Rich laughed. Sure enough, once Roy was done fishing a quarter out of Scottie's ear, Harry turned back to his plate and picked up the egg and ate it without complaint. The men started laughing again, and I rolled my eyes.

"You," I said, pointing a spoon of yogurt at Josh, "have better go get dressed, or you'll all be late to church. You know how Momma Bass gets when you run late."  Not only was the entire Chasez clan in town for Easter, but Lance's parents and sister's family had made it in for an extended weekend, since Easter fell on Aydin and Aurora's birthday this year.

 

"How come Mom's not coming?" Olivia whined as she put on her dress shoes.

"Because someone was naughty this week and now I have to stay home and ask the Easter Bunny to leave his eggs behind for you to find."

She pouted but finished getting dressed. I helped them all get into the various cars they were taking. Tyler lucked out in getting a car to himself, since we had planned for him to slip away a bit early and dress up as the Easter Bunny and hop around the yard for a bit.

The moment they were all out of the drive, I headed up to the master bedroom to gather up the cheap plastic eggs that Josh and I had spent the last few days filling with candy and money.

Bag in hand, I started tucking them away in various places throughout the first floor of the house, but most ended up in the yard. With that task finally finished, I went back upstairs and got out the Easter baskets and arranged them on top of the dryer, out of both my way and the reach of the dogs.

With the egg hunt ready to go, I concentrated on preparing the rest of the food for when everyone returned. The kitchen was a mess when the door to the garage opened and Tyler came in.

"They're going to be awhile, the pastor was really into it," he said by way of greeting.

"Not surprising, it's one of their biggest days," I replied as I poured milk into the crock pot of potatoes. Tyler went to the fridge and placed a container of sour cream and dug through the spices to find the oregano and put them next to the cock pot on the counter.

"Try these," he suggested. "Mom would use a tub of the sour cream and a little oregano on holidays to 'dress up' the potatoes."

I raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

"Spent a lot of time helping in the kitchen."

"Ah," I said, opening the container and spooning it in. He picked up the hand held mixer and started whipping the potatoes. He whipped while I added the rest of the sour cream slowly and then the butter and some spices.

"I'm sorry to hear you and C are having problems," he said over the sound of the mixer.

I sighed. "Yeah, me too. Must be the season though, we couldn't get an appointment in until the end of this month."

"That's insane."

"I know." I frowned. "It's made us put everything on hold and it just feels weird." I paused while tasting the potatoes, adjusting the spices a little. "Sorry. Didn't mean to drag you into it."

"It's alright. I want to see you two make it. You're good together." He paused as he gently beat the mixer against the bowl, cleaning off the beaters and handed it to me. "If you ask me, I can't imagine anyone better for him."

"Aww, Tyler," I hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're awesome, you know that, right?" I asked as I wiped at the bit of tinted gloss that had stuck to his cheek. He gave me a small smile. I glanced at the clock. "You better go get dressed, they'll be home soon, I think." His gaze followed mine to the clock and he nodded.

 

It was about a half hour before the first car of people arrived. The food was almost ready as the twins bounded through the door, followed by Leyton and Keegan, then the rest of the Basses.

"Hey kiddos. Happy birthday!" I said as the bounced into the kitchen.

"Thanks Mom!" they replied at the same time. The four kids went running for the couch in the family room.

"The Easter Bunny just left the eggs, so if you see any, leave them be until everyone's here!" I called after them. "Hello," I said to the adults.

"Hi Sam, dear," Diane said as she placed her light coat on the back of a chair. "Need any help?"

I shook my head. "It's all ready, I'll just need help carrying it to the table."

The door opened, and the first car of Chasezes came in. The noise level went way up and the kitchen became a flurry of movement as we started moving food to the table, and cornering kids to sit down. Which was useless since as soon as they were all gathered in the room, Tyler the Easter Bunny came in from the backyard, carrying a large basket full of dyed eggs. The younger girls, as well as Stacy's kids, got very excited to meet the Easter Bunny. Harry's eyes got wide and he edged closer and closer to me, trying to hide from the big white bunny.

Cameras came out and Tyler took the time to pose with each of the kids first, and then some of the adults too. I think, possibly, my favorite was the one of him with his parents. Karen sat to his left, smiling, and Roy to his right, looking annoyed at the fact he was wearing the rabbit ears Josh slipped on at the last second before backing out of frame.

Nobody noticed, after the Easter Bunny had left out the back door, when a few minutes later, Tyler came back in through the garage door and slipped quietly into his seat. We shared a secret glance when Josh discovered I had made the mashed potatoes "Exactly like Mom's". 

Once dinner was over, we handed the kids their Easter baskets, and they devoured the candy inside while we cleaned up. When the older ones started whining about doing the egg hunt, we handed out empty baskets and sat back, watching as they scoured the house and yard, sometimes squealing when they found a particularly hidden one.

Eventually both Diane and Karen shoved me out of the kitchen, telling me to go enjoy the afternoon with my children, that they'd finish cleaning up. I headed out to the backyard, sitting down with Stacy and Ford at the table. I poured myself a glass of lemonade and watched as all nine kids crawled around the yard, looking for eggs. Josh was following behind Harry, picking up the eggs he kept dropping on the ground.

After awhile, when they weren't finding any more, we had them come over and we counted them up, making sure they were all accounted for (they were). Then we let them open the eggs to find their prizes. 

It was later in the evening, after some leftovers for a light dinner, Josh and I got the cakes out of the freezer - I had opted for ice cream cakes this year, since I was going to be busy making the dinner to make two cakes. We quietly worked next to each other, forcing eight candles a piece into the cakes. One was covered in disney princesses, the other had a space theme to it. Once they were lit, we headed into the dining room, singing. We carefully put the cakes down and let them blow out the candles before cutting and serving everyone that wanted a slice a slice.

They both got a couple of presents from their siblings, grandparents and Josh.  Lance pulled out two envelopes at the end, and handed one to each twin.

"Your mother and I decided you were old enough to do this if you wanted," he said. "Happy birthday, kids."

They tore open the envelopes, and Aydin started screaming as he read what was written on them - acceptance papers to the same space camp Lance went to as a child.  He jumped out of his seat and hugged Lance first, then me. His sister followed immediately behind.

"Thanks, Mom, Dad!" He could barely contain his excietment.

I ruffled his hair. "You're welcome, sweetie. I hope you have fun there this summer." 

"I will, I will!" he bounced over to Diane and showed her.

"Space camp, Grandma! Just like Dad did!"

"That's awesome, Aydin." She gave him a hug. "You'll have just as much fun as he did, I'm sure."

It wasn't long before the Bass clan headed back to Lance's and we took all the sugar away from anyone under 12 so that they'd start to wind down for bed. The plan for the next day was Disney Land and we were going to need our rest.