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!

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!

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.