Easter Feast

I have fond memories of dying Easter eggs at my Aunt Sherry's house so I just couldn't imagine throwing an Easter party without dying eggs. And eating ham. One of my favorite memories of Aunt Sherry's kids happened at my mom and dad's house during a family party. Tirra came upstairs and tried the ham and said, "this is good ham." Then, her brother Kip came into the room and took a bite and said, "good ham." Then, their sister Mandy joined them and took a bite and said, "who brought this great ham?" Sherry has 7 kids and several were married at the time so you can imagine. I think Mandy's husband Travis was one of the final ham inspectors to express his approval of this amazing ham. That's always stuck with me. Ham makes a great party; it brings out the "island" in folks. So for my Easter party, I just got a big, pre-sliced ham at Costco and was really happy with it. Here is a picture of Lindsay F. and Luke, and Russell and Casey who is just about to take a bite of ham.

Then, I made "Funeral Potatoes" and these pink, cupcakes. I wonder if we call them "Funeral Potatoes" because they are often served at funerals, or because they are so fattening that you eat them, you die. Either way, it didn't stop me from eating two helpings. Below on the left is Trevor and Trista. Not pictured are the delicious brownies that Trista made and the chocolate bunnies they brought. I also don't have Samantha and Warren pictured because I didn't know if they wanted me to post their baby on my blog. It was so fun to see him! 12 lbs. now! He's adorable.

In this Easter basket is a cute, stuffed bunny from Bunnies by the Bay that Gloria got at her baby shower. One of these days, I'll go to La Conner when the store is open and get to peek.

Here is Marcus and Vashti, and me and Brandon. And also the delicious homemade pies Vashti brought. Everyone loved these pies and Brandon and I were so impressed that we know someone who knows how to make really good, traditional fruit pie from scratch! Vashti is amazing in the kitchen. This picture of her also solves the mystery of who left the cute, white pullover from The Gap. I'll have to return it to her soon. Next is a picture of Jennilyn and Andrew, then one of Lindsay W. and me.

Finally is a picture of Jason and Shalise and then the delicious, chocolate trifle Shalise made. My poor, pregnant stomach didn't know what hit it last night. There was so many good things to eat. I made 3 trips to Lindsay W.'s green salad with olives in it. I think it was the olives and green onions that had me going back. Thanks so much for everyone who came and shared and for Brandon who made the party possible and helped me with cleanup. It was a great time. We're so sorry the Jazz lost to the Nuggets, but at least we had a good dinner!