Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny came! Jo was excited that the bunny left chocolate & bubbles for her. Oliver was thrilled with the hard-boiled eggs and squirt animals.

After breakfast, we went outside to find the eggs that the bunny must have left behind on the way to our house. Oliver had the time of his life! Seriously, he wore that grin the entire time. He doesn't like candy all that much (he usually only takes a couple bites), but he was so proud of his hard work that he ate basically all of the contents of those eggs (Jo helped, too).

Happy Easter!

Waveland Park Egg Hunt

We went to the Waveland Park egg hunt at Perkins Elementary School with the kids. It was such a cute set up. They had three areas for kids: under 3, 3-5, and 6-10.

The little kid section was full of pinwheels for the little ones to "find." I think there were only about 20 kids who did that hunt, including a handful of babies.

Oliver was really excited for the egg hunt, but it didn't go very well for him. Their hunt was pretty much dominated by the older kids in the group. Although they had a rule of 10 eggs per kid, most of the bigger kids left with sacks full, and Oliver got two eggs. 

 There's the set up for the 3-5 year olds. It's a really nice neighborhood activity.

We were eagerly awaiting the fire truck sirens to run into the park! Oliver talked about the 10 eggs he was going to find. He wanted to go up the steps, get an egg, and then slide down the slide to get an egg on the slide...

Once the siren rang out, Oliver went into the playground. He went for one egg, but another kid got it first. He went to pick up another egg, and a girl took it out of his hand. All of that happened in about 5 seconds. He just laid down on the ground and covered his eyes to try not to cry. I convinced him to get up to get more eggs. We found two that had been trampled and were partially open, but we never found any more eggs. The other kids were too quick. It was so sad. Oliver started to cry and told me he was supposed to get 10 eggs.

We wandered around, hoping to find an egg someone had missed, but it was picked clean. I heard a husband & wife talking, and he said, "I thought our kids were only supposed to get 10 eggs," and she said, "I don't think it really matters." I probably should have just kept my mouth shut, but I didn't. I said, "I think it does matter because now there are kids with only two." She looked at Oliver who was sniffling, and she seemed genuinely apologetic. I felt like a jerk because I didn't mean to ruin her fun at the hunt. It's just a fun little activity for kids, not worth being upset about. It just sucked seeing Oliver get completely left behind in the hunt when we went there for him to have a good time. A few minutes later, she came up to us and handed Oliver a couple of eggs. I was really grateful for her kindness, especially after I wasn't all that kind to her.

Joanna had a completely different experience at the egg hunt. She got to take her time and pick up eggs and open them before moving on. She also got a pinwheel!

Inside the eggs were random prizes. Jo won a $5 gift card to a natural grocery store! I think it's awesome, but I also laughed at the idea of a 9 year old opening up a prize like that. Some of the prizes were big toys! It was a little discouraging seeing some children leaving with 3 or 4 toys in addition to sacks full of candy, but I just kept reminding myself to keep it in perspective. Besides, our kids aren't old enough to figure out that those prizes were something they could have won.

They also gave us coupons for free tacos, a free ice cream cone, and a free mini-pizza. Really, it was a nice event. You could tell the organizers put a lot of work in: contacting local vendors, printing out flyers with rules, setting up egg-recycle bins for next year. I just think it could have been more enjoyable for little kids if the age groups were broken up a little better. A lot of our friends with kids Oliver's age went to hunts that were set up for 0-4 year olds, and I think that would have been a lot more fun for the kids. Oh well. Next year, he'll be 5, and I bet he'll be able to get 10 eggs!

Toddler Dyes Easter Eggs, 2.0

Here are the kiddos dyeing Easter eggs at Grandma Judy & Grandpa Larry's house. It brings me back to Oliver's first time dyeing eggs when he was 17 months old (Jo is now 16 months). They're so cute!

                       

Volcano Easter Eggs!

We took the kids over to my in-law's house today to dye some Easter eggs. Colleen asked me if I'd seen the pin she'd found on Pinterest (I hadn't). It was for volcano Easter eggs, and she wanted to give it a try. You can find the pin right here, and it will direct you to a fun blog called "Toddler Approved." Check it out!

The basic idea behind the activity is this: You paint your Easter eggs using a baking soda and food coloring mixture. Then, you drizzle the egg with vinegar. It foams and dyes the egg!

It reminds me a lot of the vinegar and baking soda color explosion activity we've done (many times now) in the past. This one doesn't have quite as sensational of an explosion, but it's absolutely a new and fun way to dye those eggs!

To make the paint, I eyeballed about a Tablespoon of baking soda. I added 6 drops of food coloring, and then I added just splash of water. That was enough to thin it out enough to paint.

Here are the kids painting their eggs with Grandma Colleen:

Once your egg is painted, set it in a bowl or other container (something you don't love dearly, in case it stains) and drizzle some vinegar on it. It foams! Oliver was in awe and said, "Wow, Grammi, wow!"

Here's a video of our kids making volcano Easter eggs:
                       

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.

Glow-in-the-Dark Egg Hunt

I found a pin for an unusual egg hunt on Pinterest:

http://pinterest.com/pin/216383957066394684/

It's a glow-in-the-dark egg hunt! Like all of my favorite children's activities, the idea for this one is simple. You purchase some glow-in-the-dark bracelets (they're just like glow sticks, only thinner and more pliable). Then, you crack them to get them glowing and stick them in those cheap, plastic Easter eggs.

I read through the pin, and the woman who originally came up with the idea recommended using the large, plastic eggs. I'd saved our eggs from last year, and all but one were the standard sized. With help from Colleen and her brother, Gene, we were able to get the glow bracelets into the eggs, but the eggs wouldn't stay shut without the help of some tape. Once we got them sealed, the activity was a lot of fun.As I mentioned, we were in Texas at the beach over Easter (a very generous gift from my in-laws), and the weather was phenomenal. At twilight, the temperature was in the high 70s. We went out to the gazebo in the condo complex, and Colleen and Gene tucked the glowing eggs in the bushes, on some steps, and on some patio furniture. Andrew and I led Oliver outside and told him to go put the eggs in his basket. He did a great job! He had a lot of fun running around and putting them in, although I think I had more fun shouting encouragement and letting him know when he needed to keep looking in a certain area. Halfway through, he decided rocks were even better than eggs, and he started putting rocks in his basket as well.

This glow-in-the-dark egg hunt was a hit, as far as I'm concerned. I look forward to doing it in future years. The only downside I see to this activity is that, in other parts of the country, the temperature can be quite cold in late March and early April, especially at night. I'm sure there will be many years when an outdoor, nighttime egg hunt just isn't practical.

Oliver's First Egg Hunt

Oliver's Works of Art

My mom invited us to come over this week and dye Easter eggs. I was excited to have Oliver try dyeing eggs and wasn't brave enough to let him attempt at our house. However, I also know Oliver's cautious personality, and I thought it was unlikely he'd be "brave" enough to actually try dyeing any eggs. Boy, was I wrong! He took to it immediately. I set a tray of hard-boiled eggs in front of him and told him to put them in the cups. He dunked away and had a blast! His eggs turned out lovely, too.