the hunt

like most holidays, we have several traditions we like to do each easter. one that we have done for the last few years is the family egg hunt at the botanic gardens. this year it was the day before easter just like every other egg hunt.

waiting can be so hard . . .

last year, our experience was horrible. this year, i was determined to be on time so we wouldn't have the same problem. in actuality, we were early (i know, can you believe it?) so, after a few activities, we went to wait at the designated area for our age egg hunt (3-5 year olds). we started to worry when the people next to us broke the tape keeping everyone out of the hunt area so they would have an advantage (i am not kidding). we heard people strategizing about where to go and how to get the most eggs. (really?) then, they finally sounded the horn and right out of the gate, carter tripped and fell in the mud. (it had been raining for days.) just like anyone else, we become suddenly competitive and start yelling at her to get up and go when we see this . . .

bless his heart! he can't take the stress. it happens every year. but, for some reason, they will allow one parent to accompany a child in this age group, so i run out to assist him. remember, my competitive nature has reared it's head and i proceed to drag miller to every area i can see eggs just in time for someone else to snatch them up! along the way, i see adults grabbing eggs and dropping them in their kid's baskets and i even saw one woman with at least 100 eggs being held in her shirt like a sling. (fyi, this egg hunt might have lasted all of two minutes and the children participating were supposed to be 3-5.)

sweet girl still searching for more eggs

assessing the damage to the knee

the walk of shame, i mean honor 

because we did not cheat for the 9 and 11 eggs they collected.

after a brief discussion about why we still follow the rules when many choose not to, we headed for pictures with the easter bunny. poor spencer, she didn't even see it coming . . .

followed by her "i-am-really-beside-myself-and-you-don't-seem-to-care" face

a quick race to the big tree on our way to daffodil hill

my sweet girls in the beautiful white daffodils

and, miller marching through the dead ones, but i really dig the way josh framed it. 

after daffodil hill, the kids had their faces painted with stencils. (really? a stencil. it was horrible. they couldn't find anyone who had enough talent to paint simple spring images on kids' cheeks.) and, they ran out of water- the only thing miller and i wanted to drink. so, josh bought me a diet coke. it didn't taste right, so i commented, "this diet coke taste like . . . " and josh chimed in " . . . disappointment." 

we couldn't take any more, so we headed out early, picked up some sonic happy hour treats and headed home for another holiday tradition that evening.