Easter 2013

Happy Easter to everyone who celebrates today! The Easter Bunny came to our house, and he kind of outdid himself this year.

Oliver's basket: a pinwheel, bunny ears (recycled from last year's basket), a carrot bubble necklace (recycled from last year's basket), an egg timer, a rubber ducky, a squirt gun dolphin, a Jacob's ladder, strawberries, and some Reese's eggs.

Joanna's basket: a pinwheel, bunny ears (recycled from last year's basket), and Ernie doll (I found it for $5 at Once Upon a Child!), hair bands, a chirping chick (which she doesn't like, so Oliver plays with it), strawberries, and underwear for potty training in a few months.

The Bunny left a trail of M&Ms from the kids' bedroom down to the Easter basket. I don't think it was a big success. Oliver skipped over them as soon as he saw the baskets anyway.

Joanna cracked the eggs.

At first, Joanna was upset at the Ernie doll that sang. She cried when it played. I was surprised because Jo loves Ernie.

 They're scoping out the baskets! Jo went back again and again to dig through their baskets. 

Later, Jo decided she loved the Ernie doll after all!

Once it warmed up a bit outside, we went out back for an egg hunt! I put mini Oreos in each egg. I actually showed the eggs to Oliver before the hunt so he'd understand.

Oliver was pretty good at finding the eggs!

Jo needed help from Dad.

 Here's Oliver, enjoying his loot with a glass of milk and an Easter egg.

Oliver helped Grandma Judy make a lamb cake yesterday, and we brought it with us to Paul's cousin's house for Easter.

Here's Joanna in her Easter dress! She's wearing a hair bow from Grandma Colleen and Grandpa Paul, and her leg is blue from egg dye.

Later, we went over to my mom and dad's house. My Grandma Jo's cousin, Kevin, was in town, so we visited with him and Heather and her son, who is just a few years older than Oliver.

Heather set up an egg and candy hunt for the kids. Oliver kind of got it! He needed a little help from loved ones to find even the easy ones, but it was a good time. Jackson had a blast, and Jo was happy to crinkle the package of the candy she found.

I brought along the confetti eggs I'd made. I put them in painted egg cartons (Pinterest idea).

 

Oliver and his cousin broke all the confetti eggs in about two minutes. Jackson smashed some together, and they broke open in an explosion of confetti. Oliver cracked his against the deck. It was a royal mess, but definitely fun.

I love holidays! We're totally wiped out from all the festivities, not to mention the sun. It was nearly 70 degrees and sunny. The forecast tomorrow evening? Snow!

Making Confetti Eggs (Cascarónes)

Last year, Oliver was introduced to confetti eggs in Texas. Andrew's extended family in Texas were surprised to learn that I'd never seen confetti eggs before. Apparently, they're a tradition from Mexico's Carnival that's been adapted for Easter celebrations in Texas. All the grocery stores there sell egg cartons full of these confetti eggs that you bust open. Here's Oliver checking them out:

Well, in spite of our high Mexican-Hispanic population here in the Denver area, I've never seen confetti eggs sold in supermarkets or anywhere else. So, I decided to set the bar high and make some of my own. But wait, you're thinking. It's still February! You're right, of course. And to that, I answer: If I'm going to hollow out a couple dozen eggs before Easter next month, then I think I'd better start now. OK, yeah, maybe I'm just crazy...

Well, read on to see how I made confetti eggs. I got the step-by-step instructions from Martha Stewart's website. I took photos of each step as I did them.

Our Son, the Genius