Sometimes the Midwest really sucks.

We had a decent Easter weekend, weather-wise. Not perfect – if it was 5–10 degrees warmer it would have been ideal – but at least it was warm enough to do little kid activities outside.

Then this morning it was snowing when I woke up. And it’s going to be 80 by Friday.

Sheesh.

We had our family Easter celebration on Saturday. Just about all the locals were there, including all the nephews under six. The girls had fun hiding eggs for them then helping the youngest ones find them. With five boys in that group, it always gets a little chaotic, but they were generally well behaved. As were our girls.

Luckily we had a brunch-time gathering, as L had two basketball games later in the day. They won game one by 12 or 13 but they made us nervous. After leading 8–0, they gave up a big run late in the first half and trailed 15–14. A little five-point run gave us the lead back before half and then we cruised in the second half.

L looked like she hadn’t played a competitive game in a month. Which, to be fair, was the case. She made some terrible passes, rushed shots, and went 0–4 from the line. One play summed up her game. She missed a free throw, battled her ass off to get the rebound – tipping it twice in traffic before grabbing it in the corner – then dribbled in for a wide-open layup before she panicked and traveled when she got stuck between shooting and passing to a cutting teammate. After the game I asked her what happened and she said she was so wide open that she wondered if the ref had blown the whistle and the play was dead so she just stopped.

She also got absolutely trucked by a girl when she was leading a break. They both went flying and parents in the crowd let out gasps. They both popped right up and L was laughing, although he had a big bruise Sunday. On our way out of the gym I heard that girl’s dad saying, “You about put that girl in the hospital!”

They had three hours off until game two, so it was nice that they were playing just 20 minutes from home. They trounced this poor team, winning by 40. L played much better, scoring eight while going 2–3 from the line. She was most proud of getting fouled on the break, making the basket, then converting the free throw. “I got an and-one!” was the first thing she told her sisters when we got home. Not sure they know what an and-one is…

Even though this was not a tournament, they still got medals. Which caused come grumbling from the parents. One dad said to me, sarcastically, “I guess everyone gets trophies now?”

“That orange team doesn’t,” was my response, referring to the team we just destroyed.

Harsh, but fair.

With Sunday open we got some cleaning down around the house. We planned on power washing all the outdoor stuff that needs power washed but our damn power washer wouldn’t start. We hauled out some of the porch furniture. It was cooler Sunday but it still felt like pool season was close.

The girls are all off today – Easter Monday is a Catholic school holiday – so there are some doctor appointments; maybe the first kickball game of the year if the parking lot dries off; practices for track, tennis, and basketball; and M is hanging out with the girls in her prom group getting ideas for how to do their makeup this weekend.