Easter 2021

There are some traditions that we adhere to year after year when it comes to Easter -- the egg coloring, leaving a snack out for the Easter Bunny the night before, leaving empty Easter baskets out on the table to (hopefully) be filled by the Easter Bunny and some sort of an Easter Egg Hunt on Easter morning.  But, the unknown part seems to be how the Easter Egg Hunt is conducted and where.

I didn't really intend to keep mixing it up; it just kind of happened because I didn't want the older girls to become bored and I desperately wanted to continue to keep the magic of the holiday alive as long as I could.  Plus, I enjoy coming up with creative ideas and then spending the time and energy to make them a reality.  (I usually keep Steve in the dark about most of them too, just so that he can be a part of it with the kids).  

Over the years, we've done simple egg hunts inside the house; we've done egg hunts with certain colors of eggs designated for each child; one year, there were puzzle pieces hidden inside the eggs and the kids had to find all of the pieces so that they could read the puzzle and know where their baskets were hidden; we've done a scavenger hunt with clues; we've done hunts outside.

This year, I drafted, printed and decorated a letter from the Easter Bunny and left it on the table where their filled baskets would have been.  But, the baskets weren't there!  Instead, the note provided instructions to follow the string attached to a bunny with their name on it and that it would eventually lead them to their basket.  It also gave details for colored eggs hidden outside ...

Lots of yellow yarn was draped around the house, starting at the empty table.

The bunnies were something that I quickly made the week before as a starting place for the yarn and later, we used them as placeholders at our Easter table.

Jimmy was so excited to see that the Easter Bunny ate some of the snack that he had helped to leave out on our usual Easter platter.

Jack was chosen to read the note out loud to everyone so that they would know what to do.

Carefully following the string:

Steve DID help with this part the night before and we made it pretty tricky for them by using all of the same colored yarn for everyone.  The kids had to carefully keep their fingers on the string at all times because sometimes they intersected with one another.

Around door handles, into the bathroom and back out again.

Eventually, their individual string led them to their own basket as each one was stashed in a different location.  

Then, they carried them out to the table so that they could slowly pull everything out and show everyone.

That is my favorite part -- hearing them squeal with excitement over each and every single thing that the Easter Bunny has perfectly picked out for them.

Smiles for miles.

After they went through their baskets, the kids put on their boots (wet grass!) and headed outside to look for eggs.  Each kid was assigned a certain color and they traveled over both the front yard and the back searching for their 20 eggs apiece.

Some eggs were in plain sight and others were a little more tricky to find.

Sophia was in her winter coat for the event ...

And of course, Jack opted for a short-sleeved t-shirt.

Eventually, once they counted their eggs and discovered exactly how many they were missing, they worked as a team to find the remaining hidden eggs.

This boy is forever a ray of sunshine.

And then ... Jack realized exactly how cold it was outside (just above freezing!) and ran back inside for an appropriate jacket!  By the way, the Easter Bunny hid a couple of yellow eggs right there with those yellow construction vehicles and then NO ONE could seem to locate them.

Back inside to open all of their eggs and organize their loot.

Everyone had a dollar bill in one of the eggs and then a few chocolates and lots of gummies and starbursts.  The Easter Bunny seems to know exactly what everyone's favorites are ...

Swedish Fish are another favorite!

Later that day, we had family join us and we indulged in a big family dinner with all of the fixings -- chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, dessert and then just enjoyed the beautiful 60 degree weather.  It was the perfect day and we were so happy to enjoy a "normal"  holiday after the pandemic.

Easter Egg Hunt at the Park

Our Easter weekend began with the traditional Egg Hunt on Saturday down at the neighborhood park.  I know that it is something that we have done since ... forever ... but I didn't realize just how much the kids really enjoyed it until it was cancelled last year due to the pandemic.  We've done it year after year, and even if the weather was formidable, it was simply scheduled to Easter Day with no worries at all.  Last year was surely a disappointment but it this year's Hunt even more special.

The air was a little chilly (it always is down by the lake), but we were grateful for fresh air and a bit of sunshine. Along with the Hunt, there was the annual hard boiled egg race and Sam jumped at the opportunity to participate.

Jack made good time running laps and filling his bag with plastic eggs.  Later, the kids would open them and score candy and little prizes.

Sophia was fast too -- and likely yelling at Jack -- as she was searching not only for the little colored eggs but also for one of the 6 golden eggs, which would yield a bigger and better prize to whomever found them.

Jimmy knew just what to do with no assistance needed this year.  He may not have secured the most eggs but he was content with what he added to his bag.

My Big and my Little, both on a mission, with the beauty of the lake behind them.  Soon this grass will be green and we'll be spending many of our summer days down at the beach.

Afterwards, they kindly obliged me and let me take a picture of them together.  I can't believe just how tall they are getting!

Easter Egg Coloring 2021

This year, Easter was a more highly-anticipated holiday than I think that it has ever been before.  We always look forward to it -- the signs of Spring, the Easter Egg Hunts, gathering with family -- but we are finally starting to turn a corner on the pandemic.  

Easter 2020 was a somber one; we couldn't gather with anyone outside of our household and all Easter-related events were cancelled.  Our dinner gathering was quaint and quiet and the chills of what the future held for our state and our country were still very real.  

This year, we made up for a lot of what we missed by celebrating all weekend.  We began with our annual egg coloring on Friday afternoon.

Over the years, we have perfected our system.  I always put down a disposable tablecloth (pulled out of a bin of random partyware) that can be wrapped up and thrown away afterwards.

We use plastic trays underneath for each kid -- these trays were an Amazon purchase about 6 years ago and are used for anything and everything in our house.

 

The glass teacups are part of a punchbowl set that belonged to my grandma and are ideal for egg-dying.  They are the perfect size and clean up easily.

We attempted a few eggs using a wax crayon and it was semi-successful.

I boiled 4 dozen eggs so that each child could color 12 eggs apiece.  They would have colored double that amount, but I couldn't imagine eating that many hard-boiled eggs and egg-salad sandwiches over the course of the week!

Sophia's creations were beautiful -- blended colors, swirling and filled with patience; just like any art project that she does.

Jack still puts his tongue between his teeth when he is concentrating ... and I love that.

This scene makes me smile.  Each one of the kids is focused on their own eggs, but still working together sharing colors.  And this is the first year where they all had almost complete independence.  I just sat back and watched.

Jimmy tried a method of dribbling color onto eggs.  It required some supervision and a steady hand, but he managed just fine.

Mia was a bystander over on the couch and Samantha asked to have a picture taken with her so that we could know that she was "here."  Mia is now about 12 years old and (sadly) I'm not sure how many more Easters we will be lucky enough to have her with us.

So many colors and so many designs!