Easter Sunday - A Visit from the Easter Bunny

I had every intention of getting up early Easter Sunday morning.  The Easter Bunny needed a little help hiding eggs.  He told me he didn't want Kassidy to eat them so it might be best if he just left the eggs with me instead of hiding them in the yard with her so long before the boys would be awake to discover them.  So I was hearby deputised or sworn in.  But given that I had driven a distance probably greater than the whole state of Massachusetts, or Connecticut, or one of those other tiny little New England states that I can't spell without spell check either on Saturday and we hadn't gotten in until late... well, the best laid plans...

So once the kids were up and dressed I snuck outside and helped to hide all the Easter Eggs that had been left in my custody while they watched a movie.  Or tried to.  The wind wreaked havoc on my attempts.

By the time I surreptiously snuck back inside the boys weren't paying much attention to the movie so I suggested that we go outside instead.  Ever cooperative kid that he is Ryan agreed, but insisted that we go out into the front yard.  And despite my best efforts to guide him to the back door he would not be swayed easily.  I finally suggested that maybe we could play in the sandbox - the one thing I hoped that he couldn't resist.  So he came running and we finally all made it out the back door.  And "What is this??"  The boys quickly discovered the treats the Easter Bunny had left for them and then saw some the eggs hiding in the grass.  They excitedly picked up a couple and realized they would need their baskets to get them all.

So we grabbed their baskets conviently emptied and ready by the back door and they were off to the races.

They zigged and zagged picking up eggs all throughout the yard.

Sometimes grabbing one and inadverntly overlooking its friends practically staring them in the face.

They found them hidden on the swingset.

And in, on, or around the bushes.  Or weeds as Ryan or Kevin one called them in the excitement of the moment.

Unfortunatley in trying to solve one problem with my camera I managed to create another far worse.  And the vast majority of my pictures of the frantic hunt managed to capture them looking like Superman, Dash (The Incredibles), or Stephanie Powell in No Ordinary Family.

I was surpirsed at just how quickly they managed to gather the eggs filling their baskets near the top in no time at all.

Even poor Connor who had spied several eggs first, but after exclaming out loud about his sighting was beat out by Ryan to the punch of actually grabbing them despite Connor being practically in spitting distance, and Ryan coming from much further away.  Poor Connor - he is going to have to get faster or learn to keep his discoveries to himself to have any hope.

Though by the time they were done their baskets were surprisingly pretty even.  And let the record state that I did NOT intentionally trip Ryan, I was just trying to slow him down a tiny little bit.  The record should also reflect that it did not work and he still swiped Connor's find out from under his nose.  Though the accidental trip did result in Ryan spilling some of his eggs and Connor may or may not have "found" a few of them on the ground as they rested at his feet.

Ryan was actually pretty sweet and even gave Connor a few eggs he found towards the end.

With all the eggs gathered the boys ventured back to the other treats the Easter Bunny had left behind and decided that they wanted them for breakfast.  Breakfast of champions I tell you.

They were marshmallow treats in the shape of critters.  Connor started by telling us he was going to eat an eye first and then proceeding to do just as he claimed.  Monkey See.  Monkey Do.  Ryan had to eat his eye, too.

They proceeded to viciously cannabilize their critters laughing as they went.

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

And once they had eaten their fill, Ryan, with the memory of the elephant, promptly remembered I had lured them out with talk of playing the in sandbox and reminded me I had said they could play in it and they were ready now.