The girls got up and found their Easter Baskets, ate Grampa's Munchkins and joined everyone for the big neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. Lily worried about Teagan the whole time, putting all her eggs in T's basket- so cute! Maddie and Hannah were hand and hand the whole time. Em and I went out on our own and filled her basket. Everyone had a blast.
The girls came back and played for awhile (Hannah included!) and then got ready to head to Easter dinner with the cousins. We did have one stop to make prior which was to swing by Mar-A-Lago for Em's big photo opp!
Here's the background on the photo shoot. The night Aunt Meg and Uncle Jim took the whole clan out for dinner in Palm Beach (when we saw the dog that was really a pig), we had a very nice woman come up to the table and ask if Em was a Dr. Paley patient. I told her yes and she explained that she handled the fund raising for his foundation and spoke about the mission that Dr. Paley had just returned from (Dr. Paley went to Nicaragua the day after Em's surgery to perform over 300 surgeries in a week with his Team). This woman Claude explained that Mr. Trump was on the board of this foundation and that he would be in town at the end of March and she would love it if we would agree to have Em's picture taken with him, in the same dress she had on. I gave her my contact info and said that it sounds great. We basically had forgotten about it besides an occasional joke from Dad or a wish or two from mom, when we got a call leaving the Zoo on Saturday asking if we could be at Mr. Trump's house (Mar-A-Lago) on Easter Sunday at 12:15. These were about the only details we had until pulling up to the front gate. So imagine this- Mom's got the girls in their best little Easter outfits (Claude was in the fashion industry), Mom's looking good in her fancy dress and nice shoes while Dad's in a polo shirt, shorts and flip flops. I've come to realize after the 5 year mark, Mom doesn't really fight Dad on his attire any longer (although she does buy all his clothes). We turn through the gates to find two lanes of cars (Bentley's, Rolls Royce's, Ferrari's, Lamborghinis, etc...- put it this way, a Porsche, Mercedes, BMW or TOYOTA SIENNA are very few and far between) going through the valet process. Come to think of it, the smartest thing I could have done was to take a picture of the loser cruiser next to these fine automobiles and market it to Toyota making them aware that they produce a perfectly fine vehicle that blends right in with the rest of the world's top cars. I may have if I would have washed it first!
Anyway, I knew that this was not only one of Mr. Trump's houses but also an exclusive club. Although, I had no idea the rich and famous got together for an Easter party! It was pretty much like the walking into the most formal wedding you could imagine, with the exception of me and a few cartoon characters dressed up to entertain the kids! We were escorted to the side with Noah and his family (another Paley patient), Dr. Paley and his wife, Dr. Ben Carson and his wife, while we waited for Mr. Trump and the pictures to be taken.
When Mr. Trump sat down, a few pictures were taken with him, Em and Noah. Then Dr. Paley and Dr. Carson joined in. Mr. Trump grabbed Emma and put her on his lap. Someone made a joke saying "Of course you picked the blond"! A few chuckles, a bunch of pictures and done. Mr. Trump invited us to join the Easter Egg Hunt and for lunch. We mixed and mingled, the girls found some Easter Eggs and Mom checked on lunch. I brought the girls into a kid’s ballroom where they had the cartoon characters singing and dancing. Mr. Trump and his family enjoyed the scene from a few feet away, along with Rod Stewart and many others then they were off to have lunch. Mom returned saying that lunch was super formal and they asked if we should be at Mr. Trump’s table. Mom walked away deciding to pass on lunch, thinking that probably wouldn’t be a good idea. We gave the valet our ticket, we pulled up the shaggin wagon (in front of everyone) and opened the doors to a juice box and a few goldfish littering Mr. Trump's driveway and away we went. Mom hiding her face and Dad smiling away like someone just tooted in church!
We headed north to see the cousins, stopping at McDonald's for lunch (how ironic I know). The girls went straight to the pool when we got there. Dad had a beer and watched Florida get beat (knocking him down to 2nd place in his NCAA pool) and everyone was relaxed. We enjoyed a very nice dinner (thank you Kim and John), had another Easter egg hunt with the cousins (so glad they are over) and then Dad and John wetted a line in the back pond. We got the kids settled down, packed up, gave hugs and headed home. All the kids came down from their sugar highs nicely, falling asleep on the way home and a smooth transfer into bed!
Happy Easter and we thank you all, as you are the ones who have made this time away from home easier on the OBrien Family.
No comments:
Post a Comment