Egg citement

Easter started a little late this year -- we had to obtain white eggs (instead of our usual locally-sourced brown ones) and age them a little for better peeling later. But Saturday afternoon the dye cups came out and we got to work with the little white crayon.





One of the things that came in the kids' Easter box from their Grandma Libby and Grandpa Alex were these egg grabbers, which they took turns using to dip their creations.




Nine colors, nine eggs at a time, two waves ...




(we like our eggs brilliantly colored and smelling of vinegar) ...




... eighteen shades of the Easter rainbow.




From this ...




... to this. (Cady Gray wanted to put stickers on. I've never gotten the hang of these things -- they never stick, no matter how dry the dyed eggs are.)




But the hunt for our homemade eggs would have to wait until after church, which featured a hunt for these red plastic eggs (red in honor of Mary Magdalene).




The kids were in two separate egg hunts (or "egg races" as the kids more accurately termed them). I was there to capture Cady Gray's speedy technique.




She got so many that her basket wouldn't hold them all.




As you see from Archer's basket (to his left), he didn't do too badly either.




Later in the afternoon, it was time for a more challenging and protein-centered hunt in our front yard. At the word go, the kids were off.




I didn't hide the eggs too thoroughly, but they certainly weren't just scattered on the lawn as tends to be the case at the church pell-mell.




When they found all eighteen, they demanded I rate the eggs they found so they could end up with point values.




My attempt to give their comparable eggs the same rating was met with demands for "competition."




In the end, I had to rate how much egg coloring had rubbed off on their hands to break the tie.




Easter was a great success, from the lovely church services to the eggs (and the deviled version we consumed later for dinner). It all took place in a brief respite between days of stormy weather -- a hopeful glimpse of a more beautiful future. And isn't that what Easter is all about?