Easter Weekend

Okay, as previously mentioned, I'm gonna post a bit about Easter (finally).  So, Easter was relatively uneventful, which is nice when you have a 5 & 1/2 month old.  I find myself taking much more pleasure in laid-back, leisurely activity these days, rather than grandiose celebrations.  I guess that just comes with the territory of rarely having a good amount of relaxing "me" time.  Anyway, before I get ahead of myself...we mostly celebrated Easter the day before.  Me, my mom, Ryker, my sister Colby, my niece Ashlyn, and Ashlyn's mom Chelsey all decided to go to some park in Ogden where there was a free Easter Egg Hunt for kids of all ages.  We arrived about 2 minutes late, but that's all it took for the hunt to be over.  So, we decided to retreat to Village Inn for some breakfast.  Unfortunately, the people at the Village Inn on 1765 E. Skyline Dr., in South Ogden were extremely unaccomodating.  They sat all six of us in a cramped corner, that could only accomodate up to four people, next to another group of six.  So we elected to leave and go to the Denny's just down the street. Before leaving, my sister thought she'd speak to the manager to let her know how poorly seated we'd been.  The only response my sister got from the manager on duty that day is that she "doesn't have time to talk" to her.  WTF?!!  Now, I usually opt for Village Inn over Denny's any day (too much Denny's at 1 in the morning in my youth STILL has me burned out!), but now I'm reconsidering my late night diner of yester-years.  Not only did they have enough seating for us all, but I found the service and the food there exceptionally good, much to my surprise. 

So, now that I've gotten my Denny's plug out of the way, onto the rest of the day.  After breakfast, we had Easter pictures of Ashlyn scheduled at the JC Penney Portrait Studio my sister manages.  Ashlyn wasn't feeling up to getting her picture taken.  Well, what 2 year old is?  So, it took some coercing in several ways to get her to even sit in one place, let alone look at the camera.  The most effective method was telling her that if she cooperated we'd go Easter Egg Hunting at The Dinosaur Park.  Ashlyn loves The Dinosaur Park.  I haven't been there in years so I was looking forward to the prospect of going as well.  Delightfully, Colby got in some good shots of Ashlyn, so it was off to The Dinosaur Park, that is...after me and my mom picked up a whole new wardrobe for my growing Bugglesworth! 

I love the Carter's store.  I can always find a ton of clothes I like for Ryker, and they usually have really decent prices and sales.  I just wish they had one closer to Layton, but I guess me and/or my mom get up to Ogden enough to pick things up for Ryker.  So, we picked up more clothes than we probably should have and then it was off to The Dinosaur Park!  If you've never been there, Ogden's George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park has a ton of various dinosaur sculptures all over the place, with little signs giving information on each type of dinosaur (pretty much like a zoo, except the dinos aren't real, obviously).  As you walk around, you can also hear all sorts of savage, large reptilian roars and screeches radiating around the trails.  There's a "Paleontology" area where kids can unearth dinosaur "skeletons", a huge fake tree in the middle of a dino-themed playground (which Ashlyn loved), lots of picnic areas to enjoy a bite to eat, and a ton of dino-trails.  Because they were having Easter celebrations, there were various booths, clowns, and extra play areas. 

Ashlyn got her face painted...

And I met a mysterious older man...

Ryker slept most of the time we were in the park, though I'm sure the sounds and slight wind that day were interesting to him for awhile. 

It was a terrific day, in general, and I'm glad we didn't do a big family dinner or something like that.  No pressure or stress...just hanging out with Ashlyn.  Easter day, itself, was even less eventful.  I went to tha SLC with my mom & stepdad to take my grandma out to breakfast at Coachman's Dinner and Pancake House.  I don't know how many of you (if any) have ever been to Coachman's.  It's on the corner of 1300 South and State Street, and it's one of my grandma's favorite places to eat.  If you can get past the outdated appearance, it's actually a decent place to eat.  It's rather large, the service is excellent, the prices are decent, and the food generally comes in somewhat copius amounts so you really get a bang for your buck.  The only thing to keep in mind is that they DON'T accept credit/debit cards.  ONLY cash or check.  Apparently, Coachmans' appearance and decor aren't the only things that are outdated about the place. 

Anyway, about halfway through breakfast, Ryker started fussing.  It was about time for him to eat, but what was the one thing mom forgot to pack in his diaper bag?  His bottle.  Ummmm...yep.  I felt like such an idiot!  Ryker was a trooper though.  He zonked out while we finished breakfast and looked for a bottle to buy.  Good thing Rite Aid was open, and they had the exact bottle I normally use.  It sure taught me a lesson though.  I've resolved to have one bottle for home and the other exclusively for his diaper bag, rather than sharing one bottle between them.  WHY this strategy never occurred to me before is beyond me.  After SLC, me and Ryker just vegg'd at home for the rest of the day.  Like I said...it was a pretty good Easter.  :)