Huntin' for Eggs

Saturday was Easter Egg Hunt Day!  The Dunn's were kind enough to invite our family to join them for their annual hunt and potluck, and we were excited to accept!  We baked up some Cadbury Egg Cookies (it's Easter, after all!) for the potluck and got the kids ready to go.

Danny thought Johnny and I were looking like a pretty spiffy pair, so he took a quick picture.  I can't say I disagree!  I let Johnny do most the work, that's my secret. :)

The Dunn's are one of our closest neighbors, living less than a 1/2 mile away, but we feel transported out of the desert when we're there.  They've landscaped their yard so beautifully, with trees, and shrubs, and GRASS!  Our kids go crazy for it!  They are also pretty fond of Jerry's fish pond.

    

But this was an Easter Egg hunt, not a fishing trip!  Before long, the kids got down to business.  

Claire remembered the Easter Egg hunt at Grandma Candy's last year, so she knew to keep moving in order to find more eggs.  But this was Sophie's first time hunting on her own, and she was so thrilled!

She quickly scooped up whatever eggs were nearest to her and easiest to get her hands on, and then she sat down to partake of her loot.  Sophie is all about instant gratification!

Poor Johnny wasn't feeling good at all.  He was running a 103 degree fever earlier that afternoon.  So he stayed snuggled close to me and just observed the kids running around.  I'm sure he'll be more than ready to fill his own basket next year...

Sophie soon realized her mistake, and quit eating all her candy.  There were more eggs to be found!  Daddy helped the girls, but only a little. :)

Even though there were about 250 eggs, there were a lot of kids and it didn't take long before the hunt was declared over.  Despite the fact that our girls only had about 6-8 eggs in their basket, they were still so happy.  

And really, they didn't need that much candy anyway. :)

The Dunn's have quite a few grandkids, so their house is made for fun!  The girls had an absolute BLAST playing on their trampoline and swing set.  Oh, how we wish for a yard!  Claire loved jumping on the tramp, which really surprised me.  She usually shies away from even getting on one, much less jumping on it.  But she got like three feet of air sometimes! ;)

Johnny and I decided to hang out on the swings until it was dinnertime.

And the girls decided to start in on their candy.  These two little girls make beautiful sisters.

When the dinner bell rang, we went inside to enjoy all sorts of yummy things.  There was pizza, and chicken, and assorted chips and salads...even sushi!  The girls ate good, and headed right back out to play.  I did my best to eat what I could, but Johnny was getting awfully fussy.  On top of fighting off whatever virus was giving him the high fever, I think the little guy is trying to get his incisors through.  Ouch!  But what to do for him?  Then it struck me!  Chicken Bone!

As you can see, Johnny was fully placated after that!  Since Johnny has happily drooling over his little chicken bone, we decided to let the girls enjoy the evening outside.  We were in no rush.  Besides, Claire was having so much fun with her old friend Claire.  See, the Dunn's have a granddaughter named Claire that is just about the same age as our darling Claire.  And they get along famously!

Funny story:  I was trying to teach Claire how to pump herself higher on the swings.  She wasn't really grasping the concept, so I kept having to go back and push her and the other Claire higher and higher.  At one point, I got distracted by a conversation with Danny.  Then we hear our Claire yelling, "Mom!  We need another breast pump, Mom!  We need another BREAST PUMP!"  Oh, the connections three-year-olds make. :)

Sophie spent a lot of her time climbing up and down and in and out of the playhouse.  She loved pretending that the yellow rope used to climb up into the playhouse was actually her golden hair. :)  Then she discovered the baby swing that was hanging on the tree.  Perfect for spinning around!  If it doesn't make Sophie slightly nauseous, then it's no fun...

But all that spinning can make a girl tired!  Even Sophie needs a break sometimes...and Mama needs a break almost all the time!  This beautiful hammock was the perfect solution.

But what about John-boy?  My carnivorous son was still happily chomping away at his little chicken bone.  He's a boy after his Mama's heart...

"Mmmm...So good, Mom!"

We had a wonderful afternoon with our wonderful neighbors.  It's so nice to be surrounded by people who we feel have become family to us.  And can I just say, every holiday is better as a parent.  It makes Danny and I so happy to see our kids have a fun and exciting day.  They have such a pure joy, and it's truly infectious.  And it helps that they're too darn cute for words...