We got Daddy!!! April Fools!!! Everyone was in a pretty low mood this morning.  I guess it was the crash after the constant sugar rush and Easter excitement from yesterday.  I decided to prank the kids with a small joke for April Fools Day (hoping to lift the dark cloud).  While they were busy in the classroom and loft, I snuck their favorite stuffed animals downstairs. I set up an adorable scene for them to find.  I placed our second child's prized whale on the sink, holding a toothbrush and brushing his teeth.  I placed our youngest child's beloved pink bear on the step stool, holding a brush and brushing her hair.  The largest stuffed animal (which belongs to our oldest son) is a black toucan bird.  I placed him on the potty holding toilet paper.  I know how gross that seems but hey, I have two sons.  If it is not gross it will not get their attention! :) I called the kids downstairs.  They were shocked to find the scene in the bathroom.  Their little eyes were huge!  You could tell they were trying to figure out exactly what was going on.  I lead them on for a few minutes; helping their imaginations run.  By the end, I had them almost convinced that their animals had snuck into the bathroom, stole their stuff, and ran down the stairs to the other bathroom.  Then I jumped up and down and yelled surprise!  It was so much fun!!! The kids laughed so hard and told me I did a good job.  The mood in the house instantly lifted.  The kids got so excited and asked if we could play a joke on Daddy.  Ummmm, YES!!!! We decided to fill his truck with balloons.  The hard part was figuring out how we were going to get the keys from him.  We have lost the extra set and he always keeps his keys in his front pocket.  We called Nana (my mother in law) to get in on the action.  She was more than willing to have a little fun with her youngest son.  The five of us blew up about 30 balloons.  The kids linked several long skinny balloons together to make a "sausage link" ( remember my husband is a butcher).  We figured out our plan and headed for the meat market. 1.  Upon arrival, I went into the market and told him I had a flat tire and that his mom and I took my car to the tire shop.  She was bringing me to the market to borrow his car for the rest of the day.  He followed me out to her car and starting firing twenty questions at us.  How did this happen?  Which tire?  Are you sure?  Didn't we just replace that tire?  The questions went on and on!  I even got the giggles at one point and he just kept going!  The kids were great, they answered all of his questions and played right a long (all of them had little twinkles of excitement in their eyes).  We finally convinced him to go back inside so I could switch the kids from Nana's car to his truck.  I also convinced him that we would be back in a couple of hours to return the truck. 2.  After he went inside, the boys jumped out and frantically started unloading balloons into his truck.  They were giggling so much they could hardly focus on the task.  Our daughter decided she just wanted to watch.  She is only three so she was a bit timid about the whole thing. 3.  Now what do we do????  We hadn't thought this part through.  The kids wanted to see him find the surprise.  So we really couldn't leave.  I decided to go back into the market and tell him his truck wouldn't start.  The boys hid in the bed of his truck.  Nana was going to give them a signal for jumping up and yelling April Fools. 4.  Telling him his truck wouldn't start and not laughing was so hard!  He started firing questions again. What do you mean it won't start?  Did I leave the lights on?  For a man of little words, he had a million questions today! :) 5.  The boys did a great job.  As he came up to the truck they jumped out and yelled as loud as they could.  He was shocked!  Then he fooled them right back by telling them they were grounded for the rest of the week.  The whole thing was priceless!!!