Though I’m still technically taking a break, I know better than to let too many experiences/photos pile up, only to reach the end of my vacation and feel more overwhelmed than refreshed (you know, like when you come home after much-needed time away to a dirty house and screaming kids and wonder if it was even worth it?!). So, just a little about our Easter and a last-minute surprise…

We dyed eggs with plants again this year with equally lovely and surprising results. Now I’m officially obsessed with this tradition and may have to take it up a notch next year, charting color combinations and logging dye lots. {Seriously.} The kids make fun of me for my enthusiasm, but their total engagement gives away their own fascination. This year, we invited friends…

I can’t tell you how we produced the results, as the kids got a little crazy with the double dipping, but I did notice that the beets seemed to eat away some sort of film on the outside of the eggs (producing the following effect) and that you really need a strong concentration of red cabbage to obtain the turquoise we produced last year (this year it ended up a robin egg blue).

Here are this year’s favorites (my favorites, that is)…

Gorgeous, huh?

As for the surprise? We decided that rather than fight (I mean embrace) the kid mess and chaos for the rest of spring break, we’d take a little road trip! We’re hopping on the overnight bus to San Cristóbal de las Casas in just a couple of hours!!!!!!! We are all a little beside ourselves with anticipation and excitement to return to our home away from home away from home, as the girls and I haven’t been back since our move nearly a year ago.

For those of you who’ve yet to explore Mexico, here’s where we’re headed…

Looks like an easy little jaunt, huh? Well, actually, the tickets say it takes 16 hours, but last time we did it, it was every bit of 19, so, between the gut-wrenching swagger of the bus around mountain curves, multiple stops at federales check points, and dramamine-enabled, child-interrupted “sleep,” let’s just say…adventure awaits!! (Don’t worry All-You-Who-Are-Already-Uncomfortable-That-We-Live-In-Mexico-To-Begin-With, the feds are just looking for drugs {and we won’t have any}, the drivers are pros and do this all the time and the sights you see passing though mountain clouds and rural villages are totally worth any ensuing vomit.)

Better yet? Return tickets by air were cheaper than by land, so our Saturday trip home will be a breeze.

I’ve explained that I am silly-in love with Chiapas, but the why is sprinkled throughout multiple posts (you can search for San Cristóbal in the left-hand column for a few of our tales), so I’m hoping to steal away here and there and let you in on a little bit of the lovely.

I need to sign off and make sandwiches, so here’s to a safe, sleep-filled, puke-free adventure, I hope your Easter was swell and we’ll see you in San Cris!!