A Bunny, A Dog, A Redhead And A Basket

Since it was a beautiful day in Richmond, Virginia, I thought that I might do a little Easter photo shoot with some inanimate objects. Surely that would be easier than taking pictures of people or live animals or so I thought…
 
I went outside in the bright sunshine with the Cadbury bunny and
 
 

 
 
the bunny-earred dog and
 
 

 
 
a bunch of eggs.
 
 

 
 
At first I posed the bunny and dog apart from each other with the eggs all around, but that looked lame.
 
 

 
 
So I moved them closer together and I got closer. They looked cute, but still not what I had envisioned.
 
 

 
 
Then I thought I would get a shot with more of the grass and landscape behind them, but I also got part of my jeans in the photo.
 
 

 
 
The dog got tired and fell over. Well, not really. What actually happened was a big gust of wind came along and blew him over, so I figured the photo shoot needed to end.
 
 

 
 
For just a bit of history:

• Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus
• We decorate Easter eggs as a symbol of the empty tomb of Jesus
• Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus
• Many of the other parts of the Easter celebration have no bearing on the religious aspects of the day

Every year I have given Alyssa an Easter basket filled with goodies ranging from candy to clothes and jewelry. Since she is quickly approaching her last year of being a teenager, I thought I would be a little reminiscent in what I put in her basket.
 
The bunny was quite happy to be nestled amongst all the goodies in the basket and away from the bunny-eared dog.
 

 
 
I found this really cool squishy ball that lights up when you mash it, so I bought it because we both like flashy, bright things.
 
 

 
 
Of course, Alyssa will find all kinds of candy in the basket too. Things like Ghirardelli chocolate eggs, Smarties sweet tarts, Ferrero Rocher truffles, Sour Patch jelly beans…
 
 

 
 
Ferrero chocolate filled eggs, fireballs and all kinds of sugary bubblegums.
 
 

 
 
Alyssa’s basket also has an Etch-A-Sketch Doodler and
 
 

 
 
a redheaded Lego Friends girl with her dog which are toys that are completely in there for nostalgia sake. Alyssa will surely think I’ve lost my mind, but she can put them in her hope chest.
 
 

 
 
I couldn’t believe that I found Teaberry gum, so she will find that among the pink grass in her Easter basket too. I used to chew that kind of gum all the time when I was a little girl.
 
 

 
 
Can any holiday be complete without Hershey Chocolate Kisses?
 
 

 
 
Easter just wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t put jelly beans in the eggs too. I’m amazed at all the flavors that I found while shopping for the goodies. There were not only the regular flavors and the wild jelly belly flavors, but I also found some fruit smoothie flavors. I tasted them when I got home and the smoothies were great tasting!
 
 

 
 
I had to buy the Lemon Heds because they just seemed to go with the crazy eggs.
 
 

 
 
After putting all the other stuff in her basket, it was time to cover it with egg decorated cellophane paper.
 
 

 
 
The basket looks complete.
 
 

 
 
It also is festive and reminds me of all the years Alyssa would leap out of bed to find her basket sitting in the middle of her bedroom floor. She would squeal with delight and immediately set down and start going through it. After opening each egg, Alyssa would ooooh and aaaah at the contents then move on to the next egg.
 
 

 
 
To complete the basket, I added a shiny pinwheel to the top. When she was young, Alyssa would stick her pinwheel out the sunroof of my car and watch it spin like crazy. I’m pretty sure she won’t be doing that in her car while driving.
 
 

 
 
Well, before I got out of the sunshine, the bunny and dog finally posed for me so that we could say…

Happy Easter everyone!

 
Happy Easter Alyssa. I hope you always remember the real meaning of Easter and that the memories we share together will bring you happiness throughout your life. I love you.