The Outside Hunt

I didn't take a ton of pictures of Easter this year-- mostly just shots of the hunt. But, we'll start out with the obligatory picture of the kids lined up to go in to see their baskets. We were finally heading in at about 10, after eating our delicious traditional breakfast of bran muffins and cheesy scrambled eggs. 

The kids each got a new t-shirt in their baskets. That's it. Oh, and grass. No candy, no trinkets. They all loved their shirts and, don't worry, we broke out some candy later for an after-dinner treat so they weren't totally deprived. We aren't child abusers! :)

After looking at everyone's new shirts, we headed outside for the egg hunt. We haven't had an outside hunt for ages due to cold weather, but this year it was going to be just about perfect. It seemed right to do it in the new yard, too. As usual, each kid had an assigned color to look for, eight eggs each, each egg contained $1. The kids were thrilled.

Edith picked out her own outfit for the hunt. I think she looks gorgeous. The Easter Bunny needs to make her eggs a little harder to find next year. She's a shark!

Ginger got stumped a few times, so she was thrilled when she made a discovery.

I think 8 eggs per kid was just about the right number. The hunt lasted just long enough, without kids getting sad or discouraged because they couldn't find eggs. We might do a few more next year since they're all getting older, but I think it was so great this year.

Edith was a little perplexed, so I gave her a small hint.

Success and a smile!

Edith is happy to have all 8 pink eggs in her basket. Way to go, Edith!

This pose Big is standing in as he takes a break just cracks me up for some reason. He was hoping that a broad view of the yard would reveal some hiding spots.

I guess it did!

He's happy to have all 8 of his eggs, too! Awesome job, Big!

The kids spent the afternoon re-hiding the eggs for each other around the house. It was such a pleasant and relaxing day. Low-key and quiet. 

Rophone and I went over to my mom's house to borrow a few things to decorate the table for dinner. I'm trying to do better at making our holiday meals feel different and special rather than just same old same old. I work hard on our holiday meals, so they need to feel like a celebration! 

I think that even with minimal effort it looks pretty good. Definitely more Eastery than a plain old table sitting there. We even broke out the goblets that we never use. I love it!

We were able to have the daughter of some good friends over to share our Easter dinner with us. It was so good to have her here. I was terrible and didn't take any pictures, so I stole this selfie she took. I think Edith has a new best friend. 

Easter was just right this year. Just enough celebration without excess to make us feel like we overdid anything. I hope we can continue to go through all of our holidays in the future in the same way. I sure do love the family (and friends) that I get to spend them with!